| "It's Like That" | ||||
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| Single byMariah Carey featuringJermaine Dupri andFatman Scoop | ||||
| from the albumThe Emancipation of Mimi | ||||
| B-side | "Sprung" | |||
| Released | January 25, 2005 | |||
| Recorded | 2004 | |||
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| Label | Island | |||
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| Mariah Carey singles chronology | ||||
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| Music video | ||||
| "It's Like That" onYouTube | ||||
"It's Like That" is a song by American singerMariah Carey from her tenth studio album,The Emancipation of Mimi (2005). Written by Carey,Jermaine Dupri,Fatman Scoop,Manuel Seal, andJohntá Austin, and produced by Carey and Dupri, the song borrows the hook "It's Like That Y'all" from theRun–D.M.C. tracks "Hollis Crew" and "Here We Go (Live)". Several other tracks were contenders for the album's lead single. However, plans were changed whenIsland Def Jam Music headL.A. Reid suggested to Carey she record a few more strong songs to ensure the album's success, thus "It's Like That" was written and chosen as the album's lead single, being released on January 25, 2005.
"It's Like That" is an up-tempoR&Bclub song filled with elements ofhip hop instrumentation that features ad-libs by Fatman Scoop and Dupri. The focus of the song's lyrics (and Carey's vocal performance) revolve around the notion of Carey leaving behind her worries by going for a night out at the club partying to unwind in addition to rejoicing in her newly acquired sense of liberation; with Carey's alter-ego, known as "Mimi," symbolizing the act of being emancipated in the process.[2][3] The song received generally favorable reviews from music critics, most of whom noted its catchiness and carefree message. It was also nominated for a 2006Grammy Award forBest Female Pop Vocal Performance. Commercially, the song charted well worldwide, becoming a top twenty hit in several countries, including the United States, while peaking inside the top-ten in over five other countries.
The song's accompanyingmusic video, directed byBrett Ratner, was filmed as a two-part story with "We Belong Together". In the "It's Like That" video, Carey is shown at a masked party held at the home of her wealthy fiancé (played byEric Roberts), who watches the party from upstairs but does not attend, when an ex-lover of hers (played byWentworth Miller) appears. In the "We Belong Together" video, Carey and Robert's characters are getting ready to be married when Miller's character appears again, and Carey runs away with him. The song was heavily promoted by Carey in a number of places, includingThe Ellen DeGeneres Show,Good Morning America,BET,VH1 and more, while being performed on several of her concert tours.
In 2001, Carey released her debut filmGlitter, which was met with an overwhelmingly negative response critically and commercially, followed by personal and professional struggles.[4] Itsaccompanying soundtrack of the same name fared slightly better, spawning a top-five single in the United States and selling over three million units globally.[5] After posting a personally expressive letter on her official site, Carey checked into a hospital in Connecticut because of an "emotional and physical breakdown".[6] Following the events,Virgin Records bought out Carey's unprecedented $100 millionUSD recording contract. The company paid her $50 million to part ways.[7] Carey flew toCapri, Italy, after her two-week hospitalization.[8] During her five-month stay, she began to write a newstudio album, using experiences she had gone through in recent months as inspirational themes.[9]
After being signed byIsland Records and starting her own imprint,MonarC Entertainment, Carey released her intended "comeback" albumCharmbracelet (2002).[8] However, the album failed to revive her career, receiving mixed reviews and failing to spawning a hit in the US, but sold considerably well. After enduring three years of "carping" from critics, Carey planned her return to music.[7] On November 18, 2004, she revealed on her website that she would return to music and announced that the album would be calledThe Emancipation of Mimi, stating, "For the first time in my life, I feel free and unashamed to be who I really am," she wrote. "I am celebrating that I've grown into a person and artist who no longer feels imprisoned by my insecurities ... I can now honestly say, 'This is me, the real me, take it or leave it'."[10]
Originally, "Stay the Night" was planned to beThe Emancipation of Mimi's lead single, with an online music forum based in the United Kingdom, announcing that it would be in stores on October 11, 2004, in the region. A few weeks later, it was removed from the release schedule, later re-appearing with a different date, November 15, 2004.[11] Later, it was revealed that "Say Somethin'", featuringSnoop Dogg, was supposed to be the album's first single, as reported by Jennifer Vineyard ofMTV News, who also revealed that the song was originally supposed to go to radio by the end of November, but it was pushed back to January and would be accompanied by a video, according to Carey's label representative.[10] However, both singles were not released as the first single.
Then,Island Records headL.A. Reid suggested Carey travel to Atlanta for a period of three days to work withJermaine Dupri. When Reid heard the Dupri-helmed songs, Carey recalled, "He was like, 'Oh no! Now we've got to change the single, make these singles one and two'", and she agreed. "Nobody could tell me that 'Shake It Off' wasn't going to be my first single. It was my favorite song, just from the demo". Dupri had quickly sized up what he felt the album needed. "The records that I made are very melodic records, regardless of their hip-hop influence," Dupri said. "I think that's what she was missing."[12] On January 7, 2005, "It's Like That" leaked online and it was rumoured to be the official first single.[13] "It's Like That" aired first onHot 97 inNew York City; after the leak, over 40 stations begun playing the track.[14] On January 15, 2005, Carey posted a sound clip of "It's Like That", on her official website.[15] Ultimately, "It's Like That" was sent tomainstream andrhythmic radio on January 25, 2005.[16]
"It's Like That" was written byMariah Carey,Fatman Scoop,Jermaine Dupri,Manuel Seal andJohntá Austin, while Carey and Dupri produced the song, with additional co-production by Seal. The song also features Dupri andFatman Scoop providing adlibs andrap in the intro and outro, respectively.[17] It samplesRun–D.M.C.'s hook "It's Like that Y'all" from their track "Hollis Crew" (1984).[18] "It's Like That" is an up-tempoR&B and hip-hopclub song which talks about Carey going out for the night at the club to relax and forget her troubles,[2] refusing to give in to stress, strife and sadness.[19] Sal Cinquemani ofSlant Magazine went further, writing that in the song Carey arrives at the party "already shit-faced": "I came to have a party/Open off that Bacardi…Purple taking me higher/I'm lifted and I like it."[20] As described byPopMatters's Jozen Cummings, "Hand claps and a playful whistle set the pulse for four bars. After Dupri’s ad-libs, the whistle drops out and allows Carey’s voice to lead the hand claps and throbbing bass, while the chorus spawns a chord progression with strings and piano."[21]
During an interview forMTV, Mariah explained the meaning of the lines, "Them chickens is ash and I'm lotion," stating: "We were sitting around basically having jokes. [...] We're like making up stupid stuff just to entertain ourselves at this point. Then Jermaine [Dupri] came back in the room and we're all sitting there going something about ash and lotion. We're not calling somebody ashy. We're actually saying, 'You are ash and we're lotion.' So basically, you are the antithesis of us. Basically I'm talking to the guy like, 'Them chickens is ash and I'm lotion. You need to get rid of them and I'm the antidote'."[22]
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| The Irish Times |   [23] |
The song received mostly favorable reviews frommusic critics.AllMusic's Stephen Thomas Erlewine picked the song as a highlight fromThe Emancipation of Mimi.[24] Caroline Sullivan ofThe Guardian wrote a positive review for the song, praising the "headbanging Fatman Scoop rap", also noting that "Carey is very much a presence, unfurling her three octaves judiciously."[25] Keith Caulfield fromBillboard magazine assured that "Mariah Carey finally returns with a certifiably hot track. It's Like That is a sparse, bass-heavy, beat-driven cut that is primed for radio and dancefloors".[26] Tom Sinclair ofEntertainment Weekly described the song as "almost as cool asRun-DMC song (which shares the same title), with Carey fantasizing about easing into a nightclub buzzed onBacardi. 'No stress, no fights,' she sings, making it sound like a trip to a vacation spa."[27]Vibe editor Dimitri Enrlich wrote that the song is an "aggressive, off kilter joint with harshly stiff beat", pointing out that it was going to solidify comeback to her MTV crowd."[28]
Daniel Incognito ofSputnikmusic wrote that the song "offers another example of Carey taking the entire workload, and pulling it off with variety and a delicate touch."[29] Jozen Cummings ofPopMatters wrote a very positive reception, commenting that the song "is the perfect introduction for the rest of the album’s carefree feel," stating that the song "is able to go from catchy to infectious status."[21] Adam Webb ofBBC Music wrote the track "successfully re-writesChristina Aguilera's career blueprint, that even a typically bull-in-a-china-shop contribution from Fatman Scoop can't ruin it."[30]The New York Times editorJon Pareles wrote a more mixed review, calling it "a come-on set to bare-bones electro from the producer Jermaine Dupri to stay contemporary, sometimes reducing her voice to the processed nasality ofBritney Spears."[31]
In 2006, "It's Like That" received a nomination for aBest Female Pop Vocal Performance at the48th Annual Grammy Awards,[32] but lost toKelly Clarkson's "Since U Been Gone".[33] Raneisha Wilkinson ofThe Celebrity Cafe placed the song at number 5 among her "Top 10 Songs", calling it an enjoyable "catchy club banger song."[34] Mark Graham ofVH1 ranked the song at number 11 on her "43 Best Songs" list.[35]
"It's Like That" was one of Carey's biggest commercial successes in years, after an almost two-year absence from the charts, becoming her most successful single in the US since "Loverboy" (2001). On the USBillboard Hot 100 chart, the song debuted at number 53, becoming her highest-debuting Hot 100 song in almost five years.[36] It eventually peaked at number 16,[37] and stayed in the top forty for fifteen weeks, being ranked 69 on the Hot 100's "2005 year-end chart". It was certified gold by theRIAA, becoming Carey's first gold digital single.
The single was slightly more successful outside the US. In theUnited Kingdom, the song debuted at number 4, giving Carey her best charting-single since "Against All Odds (Take a Look at Me Now) (2000) withWestlife.[38] InAustralia, after debuting at number 9, "It's Like That" became Carey’s most successful single since "Loverboy",[39] while inItaly, while peaking at number 7, it matched the peak position of "Through the Rain" (2002).[40] InFrance, even with a peak of number 16, "It's Like That" was her most successful single since "Heartbreaker" (1999).[41]
An official remix produced byScott Storch has a moreMiddle Eastern flavor and a rap byFat Joe. Dance remixes, with re-recorded vocals by Carey, were produced byDavid Morales.Peter Rauhofer and Pound Boys (a.k.a. Mayhem & Craig C.) also remixed "It's Like That", but their remixes were not released. Because many singles by 2005 did not have commercial CD single releases, the remixes were only released on twelve-inch vinyl maxi single. Two maxi singles were released.
Carey initially wantedPaul Hunter to direct the music video.[42] However,Brett Ratner, who directed some of Carey's other videos, was chosen instead. The main setting of the video, which was shot on location atGreystone Mansion inBeverly Hills, California on February 11, 2005, features a party at a mansion on the night before Carey's character's wedding to the owner of the mansion (Eric Roberts). Several guests are seen wearing masks, and there are celebrity cameo appearances byBrian McKnight,Randy Jackson, and the two featured rappers on the track, Dupri and Fatman Scoop. Carey is singing along to Fatman Scoop's outro rap when she sees a party guest (played byWentworth Miller) taking off his mask and revealing himself to be an ex-lover of hers. The video ends on a cliffhanger, which leads to the video for the album's second single, "We Belong Together" (the two videos were filmed simultaneously).
European 2-track CD single[43]
International CD maxi-single[44]
French limited edition enhanced CD single[45]
UK 12-inch vinyl[46]
Japanese CD maxi-single[47]
| US 12-inch vinyl 1 (Remixes by David Morales)[48]
US 12-inch vinyl 2 (Remix by Scott Storch)[48]
MC30 EP[49]
|
Weekly charts[edit] | Year-end charts[edit]
|
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| Australia (ARIA)[102] | Gold | 35,000^ |
| Brazil (Pro-Música Brasil)[103] | Gold | 30,000‡ |
| New Zealand (RMNZ)[104] | Gold | 15,000‡ |
| United Kingdom (BPI)[105] | Silver | 200,000‡ |
| United States (RIAA)[106] | Platinum | 1,000,000‡ |
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. | ||
| Region | Date | Format(s) | Label(s) | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| United States | January 25, 2005 | [16][107] | ||
| Austria | March 21, 2005 | CD | Universal | [108] |
| Germany | Island | [109] | ||
| Australia | March 28, 2005 | Universal Music Australia | [110] | |
| Italy | — | Def Jam | [111] | |
| Poland | CD | Universal Music Polska | [112] | |
| United Kingdom |
| Mercury | [113] | |
| Japan | March 30, 2005 | CD | Universal Music Japan | [114] |
| United States | April 26, 2005 | 12-inch vinyl | Island Def Jam | [48] |
| Various | January 29, 2021 | EP | Def Jam | [115] |
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