Carey's tenth studio album, The Emancipation of Mimi 2005....

Carey's tenth studio album, The Emancipation of Mimi (2005), contained contributions from producers such as The Neptunes, Kanye West and Carey's longtime collaborator, Jermaine Dupri. Carey said it was "very much like a party record ,the process of putting on makeup and getting ready to go out .I wanted to make a record that was reflective of that. The Emancipation of Mimi became 2005's best-selling album in the U.S., and The Guardian reviewer defined it as "cool, focused and urban ,some of] the first Mariah Carey tunes in years I wouldn't have to be paid to listen to again".The album earned Carey a Grammy Award for Best Contemporary R&B Album, and the single "We Belong Together" won Best Female R&B Vocal Performance and Best R&B Song. "We Belong Together" held the Hot 100's number-one position for fourteen weeks, her longest run at the top as a solo lead artist. Subsequently, the single "Shake It Off" reached number two for a week, making Carey the first female lead vocalist to have simultaneously held the Hot 100's top two positions. While topping the charts in 2002, Ashanti was the "featured" singer on the #2 single.

In mid-2006, Carey began The Adventures of Mimi Tour, which was the most successful of her career, although some dates had to be cancelled. She appeared on the cover of the March 2007 edition of Playboy magazine in a non-nude photo session. In early 2007, she was featured with Bow Wow on the Bone Thugs-n-Harmony single "Lil' L.O.V.E.".