Carey’s last truly great album to date.
Butterfly was Mariah Carey’s sixth album and the one where she departed from the formula that had been established on her breakthrough single, 1990’s Vision of You. The album was released after Carey’s much-publicised split with her husband and mentor, Tommy Mottola, the then-president of Sony Music Entertainment. At the time of the album’s release, Carey told the Los Angeles Times: "At this point, I feel free enough to express what I’m really feeling, without using a smokescreen… It’s definitely an evolution for me." This evolution meant that there would be a greater acknowledgment of her urban and hip hop influences and the last time that she worked significantly with her original producer, Walter Afanasieff, who had given her signature, ballad-heavy sound.