Q&A: Mariah Carey enters ‘the era of me’ with her first album in 7 years
[September 26, 2025]
By LESLIE AMBRIZ
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Seven years after her last album and 35 years into a
powerhouse career, Mariah Carey continues her reign as the queen of pop
and R&B with “Here for It All.”
If good things come to those who wait, fans are about to audibly feast
on Carey’s evolution with this musically layered project.
Carey’s 16th studio album, out Friday, brings fans into what she’s
calling “the era of me” — leaning into her now-familiar,
unapologetically confident energy. “I’m D-I-V-A, that’s MC … I ain’t
checked a price since Emancipation Mi … I’m the movie and the muse/and
you couldn’t walk a mile in my shoes,” she sings on the first track,
“Mi.”
The 11-track album includes singles “Type Dangerous,” sampling Eric B.
and Rakim, and “Sugar Sweet,” featuring vocals from Kehlani and Shenseea.
Anderson .Paak and the Clark Sisters join in the fun.
Carey recently sat down with The Associated Press to discuss her
collaborations, the spirituality woven into her music and her most
liberating era. This interview has been edited for brevity and clarity.
AP: What comes first in the songwriting process for you? And has it
become almost like a spiritual discipline in a way where whenever you
need to enter a space of healing or process emotions, you immediately
turn to songwriting?
CAREY: It’s really interesting. I have all different ways of going about
it. Sometimes I’ll just have to say this happened in the past and
sometimes it happens again, you never know what it’s going to be. But
I’ll suddenly be like — I hear a melody and a lyric at the same time,
and I’ll go, you know, put it in my notes and sing it into the notes and
also just write down what I’m hearing, what I am feeling. I think
songwriting has definitely been my outlet for what I need when I’m ever
going through something, you know, whenever I’m feeling like the need to
express myself. It’s definitely songwriting.
AP: You get to work with The Clark Sisters on this project. I know in
the past you’ve listed them as an influence. What was it like to have
this full circle moment where you’re both collaborating on “Jesus I Do”?
CAREY: It was amazing. I was so thrilled to be able to work with the
Clark Sisters. ... I never could have imagined that it would have
happened that I would be able to work with The Clark Sisters, but we
did. So, it was major ... definitely butterflies coming into it. And
also just like, you know, shaking a little bit like, “This is really
happening.”
AP: You’ve mixed in your faith through different gospel tracks on
different albums. We see it in this one as well with “Jesus I Do.” Why
is it important for you to say, “I’m not necessarily making a gospel
album with this one, but I want to make sure that I bring my faith into
this a little bit?”
CAREY: Well, it was interesting. Also, the title track, “Here for It
All,” kind of has a spiritual tonality to it, and interestingly enough,
I put “Jesus I Do” right before that. ... Since the past few albums that
I’ve done, I’ve kind of had to put something spiritual in there because
it’s for me, it’s not like a “Let me impress this one or that one with
this.” That was, you know, always just for me to really feel like that
spiritual side of who I am ... it’s definitely almost like a dedication
to faith.
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Mariah Carey poses for a portrait on Friday, Aug. 29, 2025, in Los
Angeles. (Photo by Rebecca Cabage/Invision/AP)
 AP: I feel like you're one of the
few icons who is so connected to their fans and invites them in any
chance that you get. What is it about that love that is so important
to you and how much do they play into the decision-making of what
goes into the album?
CAREY: I love my fans, like we have this whole thing with the
Lambily, it’s a long story, but we love the Lambs. And I think the
fact that they really study the albums, you know, like it’s not just
like, “Oh, I’ll just throw this out.” I know they’re going to really
be focused on what I’ve written about, what type of musical
selections I’ve made, so, yeah, I don’t know, we just have an
incredible connection.
AP: “Here for It All” so beautifully ties everything together.
What led you to say this is the one that’s gonna be representing the
album, but it’s also gonna be the one that really ties it all
together at the end?
CAREY: Well, I knew it was going to be the one that ties it all
together at the end. But then I also, when listening to the album
that I had sequenced, I said I have to put “Here for It All” at the
end because I want people to take the time to listen to it. I want
my fans to take time to listen it and just to know that it’s, in a
way, it’s kind of for them. It’s interesting. It’s got a vibe to it
that just happened.
AP: You’re embarking on a new creative chapter for this. I’m
curious, did the album unfold as you were organically making new
music?
CAREY: Yeah, I was working on this album for so long, and I didn’t
even know, like, was I going to put it out? What was it going to be?
And it just became something that I then sort of focused on and
said, I’m going to make this my 16th album, which I can’t even
believe it is. But yeah, I am so thankful for where we are at with
this album, and I can wait for people to hear it. We're calling it
the era of me.
AP: I know you’ve mentioned that “Butterfly” era was the first
time that you felt free in your music. What does that mean to you to
feel free, and how have you continued to feel free throughout all of
these different eras that you’ve gone through?
CAREY: Well, the “Butterfly” era was amazing and also a scary moment
because I was going through like a breakup of a relationship that I
really couldn’t get out— it was a whole thing. I don’t want to go
into it because I hear people are saying that I won’t let it go so
I’m like, “It’s just one person, we don’t care about them.” But
yeah, “Butterfly” was definitely my first time feeling fully free
and just, yeah, loving the moment. Even though I was a little bit
stuck in a moment, I got through it.
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