Charmbracelet

Charmbracelet is the ninth studio album by American singer-songwriter Mariah Carey, released on December 3, 2002 through Island Records and MonarC Entertainment. The album was her first release since her breakdown following the release of her film Glitter (2001) and its accompanying soundtrack album, both of which were critical and commercial failures. Critics described Charmbracelet as one of her most personal records, following 1997's Butterfly, Throughout the project, Carey collaborated with several songwriters and producers, including Jermaine Dupri, Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, 7 Aurelius and Dre & Vidal.
According to Carey, love is the main album's main theme, and the songs combine introspective and personal themes with celebration and fun. The album contains a mixture of pop ballads and R&B beats, and the songs incorporate elements of other genres, such as gospel and soul. Compared to Glitter, which featured a variety of sampled melodies from the 1980s, Charmbracelet has a more adult contemporary sound. Cam'ron, Jay-Z and Freeway also appear on the album.
Critics gave Charmbracelet mixed reviews. Many wrote that although the songs were good, none of them stood out enough to make an impact. Some reviewers said that Carey's voice sounded thin, airy and damaged on the album. Charmbracelet debuted at number three on the US Billboard 200 chart, and sold 241,000 copies in its first week. The album peaked within the top 40 in seven countries, and attained top ten positions in Japan and Switzerland.
Three singles were released to promote the album. The lead single, "Through the Rain" became the most successful, reaching the top ten in Canada, Switzerland, Sweden and Italy and the United Kingdom. In the US, it topped the Hot Dance Club Play chart, but stalled at number 81 on the Billboard Hot 100. The follow-ups, "Boy (I Need You)" and "Bringin' On the Heartbreak", were not as commercially successful. Carey embarked on the Charmbracelet World Tour, and performed 69 shows in over eight months. She also performed on televised shows and promotional tours like the 30th annual American Music Awards, Today and The Oprah Winfrey Show.
The album experienced a moderate commercial success and an improvement from her previous soundtrack Glitter that was a critical and commercial failure, as of April 2008 Charmbracelet sold over 5 million copies worldwide.