When news broke in early February that Mariah Carey had booked a return ticket to Las Vegas to mount another residency, it was revealed that she would design the set list as a celebration of her 2005 blockbuster album, The Emancipation of Mimi.

It inspired the title of the exclusive run — The Celebration of Mimi — as well as the timing. Carey took the stage at Park MGM’s Dolby Live to launch the 16-date residency on April 12, 2024, exactly 19 years to the day after the album was released. It’s no surprise Carey wanted to commemorate the 14-track effort, which sold more than 10 million copies worldwide and brought the elusive chanteuse back into familiar territory at the top of the charts. The success of Emancipation of Mimi was fueled by the No. 1 smash “We Belong Together” and punctuated by singles “It’s Like That,” “Shake It Off,” “Get Your Number,” “Don’t Forget About Us,...