Mariah Carey

=== 1997–2000: New image with ''Butterfly'', and ''Rainbow'' ===
Carey's subsequent musical releases followed the trend that began with ''Daydream''. Her music began relying less on pop and adult contemporary-tinged balladry and instead incorporating heavy elements of hip-hop and R&B. On ''[[Butterfly (Mariah Carey album)|Butterfly]]'', Carey collaborated with a bevy of producers other than Afanasieff, such as [[Sean Combs]], [[Q-Tip (musician)|Q-Tip]], [[Missy Elliott]] and Jean Claude Oliver and Samuel Barnes from [[Trackmasters]].<ref name="nickson40"/> In mid-1997, after four years of marriage, Carey and Mottola separated. Carey described Mottola as increasingly controlling, and viewed her newfound independence as a new lease on life.<ref name="nickson41"/> In the booklet of her twelfth studio album, ''[[Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel]]'' (2009), Carey wrote that she considers ''Butterfly'' her ''[[Masterpiece|magnum opus]]'' and a turning point in both her life and career. ''Butterfly'' introduced a more subdued style of singing, with critics noting Carey's incorporation of [[Breathy voice|breathy vocals]].<ref name="L2U7u"/> Some viewed her lack of propensity to use her upper range as a sign of maturity,<ref name="buff"/> while others questioned whether it forebode waning vocal prowess.<ref name="Iox35"/><ref name="shapiro18"/> The music video for the album's lead single, "[[Honey (Mariah Carey song)|Honey]]", her first since separating from Mottola, introduced a more overtly sexual image.<ref name="shapiro19"/> ''Butterfly'' became Carey's best-reviewed album, with attention placed on the album's exploration of more mature lyrical themes. In their review of the album, ''[[Rolling Stone]]'' wrote "[It's] not as if Carey has totally dispensed with her old saccharine, Houston-style balladry ... but the predominant mood of 'Butterfly' is one of coolly erotic reverie."<ref name="UjjXX"/> AllMusic editor [[Stephen Thomas Erlewine]] described Carey's vocals as "sultrier and more controlled than ever," and felt the album "illustrates that Carey continues to improve and refine her music, which makes her a rarity among her '90s peers.'"<ref name="all"/> "Honey" and "[[My All]]", the album's fifth single, both topped the Hot 100, making Carey a female artist with the most number-one singles in the chart's history. Though a commercial success, ''Butterfly'' failed to reach the commercial heights of her previous albums, ''Music Box'' and ''Daydream''.<ref name="shapiro20"/>

After concluding her [[Butterfly World Tour]], Carey participated in the [[VH1 Divas]] [[benefit concert]] on April 14, 1998, where she sang alongside [[Aretha Franklin]], [[Celine Dion]], [[Shania Twain]], [[Gloria Estefan]], and [[Carole King]].<ref name="divas"/> Carey began conceptualizing a film project ''All That Glitters'', later re-titled to simply ''[[Glitter (film)|Glitter]]'' (2001),<ref name="boston"/> and wrote songs for other projects, such as ''[[Men in Black (1997 film)|Men in Black]]'' (1997) and ''[[Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas (2000 film)|How the Grinch Stole Christmas]]'' (2000).<ref name="shapiro21"/> After ''Glitter'' fell into [[development hell|developmental hell]], Carey postponed the project, and began writing material for a new album.<ref name="shapiro21"/> [[Sony Music Entertainment|Sony Music]] executives insisted she prepare a greatest hits collection in time for the holiday season.<ref name="shapiro22"/> The album, titled ''[[Number 1's (Mariah Carey album)|#1's]]'' (1998), featured a cover of [[Brenda K. Starr]]'s "[[I Still Believe (Brenda K. Starr song)|I Still Believe]]" and a duet with [[Whitney Houston]], "[[When You Believe]]", which was included on the soundtrack for ''[[The Prince of Egypt]]'' (1998).<ref name="shapiro23"/> ''#1's'' became a phenomenon in Japan, selling over one million copies in its opening week, making Carey the only international artist to accomplish this feat.<ref name="japansales"/> It sold over 3.25&nbsp;million copies in Japan in its first three months, and holds the record as the [[List of best-selling albums in Japan|best-selling album]] by a non-Asian artist.<ref name="japansales"/>

[[File:Mariah Carey in Cannes, 2000.png|thumb|left|upright|Carey being interviewed in [[Cannes]] in 2000]]
With only one album left to fulfill her contract with Sony, and with a burning desire to separate herself professionally from the record label her ex-husband still headed, Carey completed the album in three months in mid-1999.<ref name="shapiro6">{{harvnb|Shapiro|2001|pp=75}}</ref> Titled ''[[Rainbow (Mariah Carey album)|Rainbow]]'', the album found Carey exploring with producers whom she had not worked with before. ''Rainbow'' became Carey's first album to not feature a collaboration with her longtime writing partner, [[Walter Afanasieff]]; instead she chose to work with [[David Foster]] and [[Diane Warren]]. "[[Heartbreaker (Mariah Carey song)|Heartbreaker]]" and "[[Thank God I Found You]]" both topped the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, while a collaboration with Irish boy band [[Westlife]] on the cover of [[Phil Collins]]' "[[Against All Odds (Take a Look at Me Now)]]" became Carey's second number-one hit on the UK charts. ''Rainbow'' was released on November 2, 1999, to the highest first-week sales of her career at the time; however, debuting at number two on the ''Billboard'' 200.<ref name="shapiro30"/> Carey's tense relationship with Columbia grew increasingly fractious; she began posting messages on her website, sharing inside information with fans on the dispute, as well as instructing them to request "[[Can't Take That Away (Mariah's Theme)]]" on radio stations.<ref name="shapiro28"/> Ultimately, the song was only given a very limited and low-promotion release.<ref name="shapiro29"/> Critical reception of ''Rainbow'' was generally positive, with the general consensus finding: "what began on ''Butterfly'' as a departure ends up on ''Rainbow'' a progression – perhaps the first compelling proof of Carey's true colors as an artist."<ref name=ew>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,271534,00.html|title=Mariah Carey – Rainbow|last=Smith|first=Danyel|magazine=[[Entertainment Weekly]]|date=November 12, 1999|access-date=March 8, 2011|archive-date=May 21, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110521001925/http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,271534,00.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> Though a commercial success, ''Rainbow'' became Carey's lowest selling album at that point in her career.<ref name="fox"/> On April 9, 2000, Carey participated in another [[VH1 Divas]] concert, in a tribute to [[Diana Ross]].