Maps of Music

Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel (2009)

Where the lyrics of Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel take you, and where it was really made.

The remix album planned as a companion to this record, Angels Advocate, was cancelled because Memoirs sold less than expected.

Key places

Recording studio: The Boom Boom Room (2009)

Recording site The Enterprise (Burbank) — Listed in the source as a place where the album was recorded. The map pin sits at the city centre, not at the building. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Recording studio: Studio at the Palms (2009)

Recording site Studio at the Palms — Listed in the source as a studio where the album was recorded. The pin marks the building's exact location. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Recording studio: Honeywest (2009)

Recording site Record Plant Studios — Listed in the source as a studio where the album was recorded. The map pin sits at the city centre, not at the building. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Recording studio: Larrabee West (2009)

Recording site Motown Recording Studios — Listed in the source as a studio where the album was recorded. The map pin sits at the city centre, not at the building. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Recording studio: Triangle Sound (2009)

Recording site DARP Studios (Atlanta) — Listed in the source as a studio where the album was recorded. The map pin sits at the city centre, not at the building. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Recording studio: The Setai (2009)

Recording site The Setai (Miami) — Listed in the source as a studio where the album was recorded. The pin marks the building's exact location. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel: twelfth studio album by Mariah Carey
• Released 28 September 2009 in the Philippines and Hong Kong, and 29 September 2009 in the United States and Canada
• Issued by Island Records, Def Jam Recordings and The Island Def Jam Music Group
• Four singles released to promote the album
• Lead single Obsessed became the album's most successful song, peaking at number seven on the Billboard Hot 100

Background

• Carey began work on a new album after promotion for E=MC² (2008) ended
• Songs produced mainly with Terius The-Dream Nash and Christopher Tricky Stewart
• In early 2009 The-Dream said he and Carey had already begun the album
• In May 2009 Carey said the album was very personal and dedicated to the fans
• She worked with Timbaland for the first time in her career, but none of those tracks made the album

Cover

• Carey chose three images for the cover art because the album reveals many different emotions and stories
• The physical release came as a three-panel softpack, because it held two discs
• The packaging included a 34-page Elle mini-magazine

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Tracklist

Disc 1

Disc 2

Sources: musicbrainz.org

Artist

Early life

• Born March 27, 1969 in Huntington, New York, on Long Island.
• Youngest of three children of Patricia Hickey, a former opera singer, and Alfred Roy Carey, an aeronautical engineer.
• Began singing at age three; graduated from Harborfields High School in 1987.
• Worked as a demo singer and backup singer, including for Brenda K. Starr.

Career

• Signed to Columbia Records after Tommy Mottola heard her demo tape in December 1988.
• Debut album Mariah Carey (1990) topped the US Billboard 200 and won Best New Artist at the Grammys.
• Became the first artist whose first five singles reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100.
• Music Box (1993), Merry Christmas (1994), and Daydream (1995) achieved major global sales.
• Later albums moved toward hip-hop and R&B, including Butterfly (1997) and Rainbow (1999).
• Comeback album The Emancipation of Mimi (2005) was her fifth number-one album in the US.
• Known as the 'Songbird Supreme' and 'Queen of Christmas'; one of the best-selling artists in history with over 220 million records sold.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Reception

At release

• Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel received generally positive reviews from music critics.
• Metacritic average of 70 from 13 reviews, higher than The Emancipation of Mimi and E=MC²
• AllMusic: three and a half stars out of five, calling it her most interesting album in a decade
• The A.V. Club: positive review with a grade of B−
• Slant Magazine: mixed review, praising the sonic consistency but finding the final stretch disappointing
• Entertainment Weekly: grade of B, calling the album satisfactory rather than impressive
• The New York Times: mixed review, criticizing the overuse of softer vocal registers
• Billboard: positive review, noting a return to her R&B roots

Records

• Debuted at number three on the Billboard 200 with 168,000 copies sold in the first week
• Certified Gold on 14 December 2009, later certified platinum by the RIAA
• Sold 555,000 copies in the US as of November 2018
• Debuted at number five on the Canadian Albums Chart and reached number nine in Japan
• Peaked at number 23 in the UK, with a Silver certification for 60,000 shipments
• Ranked number 101 on the 2009 year-end Billboard 200 chart
• Lowest-selling album of Carey's career since Glitter in 2001 at the time of its Gold certification

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• Angels Advocate, a remix album planned around this record, was announced in 2009 but later cancelled after the album's underwhelming performance.
• Carey taped her performance of Obsessed for America's Got Talent on 2 August 2009, her first promotional appearance for the album.
• It's a Wrap was released as a promotional single in 2023 after going viral on TikTok.
• Two tracks planned for Angels Advocate appeared on the deluxe edition of Me. I Am Mariah... The Elusive Chanteuse (2014).
• The closing cover of Foreigner's I Want to Know What Love Is features a gospel choir and whistle notes.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

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