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On Carey's previous album, Butterfly, she began incorporating several other genres, including R&B and hip-hop, into her musical repertoire. In order to further push her musical horizons, Carey featured Jay-Z on the album's lead single, the first time in her career that another artist was featured on one of her lead singles. Carey wrote ballads that were closer to R&B than pop for this album, and worked with Snoop Dogg and Usher on songs such as "Crybaby" and "How Much", both of which featured strong R&B beats and grooves. Several of the ballads that Carey wrote during this period, including "Thank God I Found You" (written with Terry Lewis) and "After Tonight" (written with Diane Warren), mirrored sentiments she experienced in her personal life. Upon release, Rainbow received mixed to positive reviews from contemporary music critics. While many celebrated Carey's continued musical departure from her adult contemporary past, some felt the album was not as strong or as distinct as Butterfly. The album debuted at number two on the Billboard 200, with first week sales of over 323,000. It was her first album in years to not reach number one. Rainbow was certified triple-platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), denoting shipments of over three million copies within the United States. Outside the US, the album debuted atop the charts in France, and within the top five in Australia, Austria, Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, Japan, and Switzerland. In Europe, Rainbow was certified platinum by the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI), denoting shipments of over one million copies throughout the continent. Five singles were released from the album: two worldwide international releases, two promotional releases, and one European single. The album's lead single, "Heartbreaker", featured Jay-Z. The song became Carey's fourteenth chart topper on the Billboard Hot 100, and topped the charts in Canada, New Zealand, and Spain. "Thank God I Found You", featuring Joe and 98 Degrees, was the second single released from the album. The song peaked atop the chart in the US, becoming Carey's fifteenth song to do so, and achieved moderate international charting. The next two singles, "Can't Take That Away (Mariah's Theme) and "Crybaby"-featuring Snoop Dogg-were released as a double A-side. The songs were at the center of a public feud in between Carey and Sony due to Sony's alleged weak promotion of the singles. Carey's cover of Phil Collins "Against All Odds (Take a Look at Me Now)" was released in Europe, topping the charts in Ireland and becoming Carey's second chart topper in the United Kingdom. |
