Mariah Carey and Vevo are celebrating a major milestone of one of her biggest hits. In April 2005, Carey released “We Belong Together” a track that became one of her most beloved songs. To mark the 20th anniversary, the singer and Vevo are giving fans the opportunity to learn more about the creation of the song’s music video as part of the Footnotes series.
The famous clip takes place at a wedding, and actually continues a narrative that began in the previous single from The Emancipation Of Mimi, “It’s Like That.” The two videos see Carey in a love triangle with Wentworth Miller and Eric Roberts. “I was excited to be able to tell a story that spanned over two music videos,” Carey recalls in the Footnotes clip. “It was the first time I ever did that and I knew we’d be able to bring them together despite the songs being sonically different.”
Of course, it wouldn’t be a Mariah Carey video without some iconic fashion moments, and the clip for “We Belong Together” doesn’t slouch. The Vera Wang wedding dress in the music video is Carey’s actual wedding dress from her marriage to Tommy Mottola that she had in her closet. “Since I was going to do a scene with a wedding dress, rather than spend tons of money on a new dress, we just used the one I had lying around!” the singer shares in the clip.
Buoyed by the success of “We Belong Together,” The Emancipation Of Mimi went on to not only become the best-selling album of 2005, but a lasting gem in Carey’s varied discography. The album mixed contemporary R&B and traditional ballads—a combination that proved very popular. “I’m really happy that the label believed in me and let me have this big dramatic video,” Carey says, “and I’m happier that it resonated with a lot of people who are still enjoying this song today.”
Order The Emancipation of Mimi (20th Anniversary Edition) now.