Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel

Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel
Studio album by
ReleasedSeptember 29, 2009 (2009-09-29)
RecordedJanuary 31 – August 25, 2009
Studio
  • The Boom Boom Room (Burbank)
  • Studio at the Palms (Las Vegas)
  • Honeywest (New York)
  • Germano (New York)
  • Larrabee West (Los Angeles)
  • Triangle Sound (Atlanta)
  • The Setai (Miami)
Genre
Length58:01
Label
Producer
Mariah Carey chronology
The Ballads
(2008)
Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel
(2009)
Merry Christmas II You
(2010)
Singles from Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel
  1. "Obsessed"
    Released: June 16, 2009
  2. "I Want to Know What Love Is"
    Released: September 22, 2009
  3. "H.A.T.E.U."
    Released: November 1, 2009
  4. "It's a Wrap"
    Released: February 10, 2023

Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel is the twelfth studio album by American singer-songwriter Mariah Carey. It was released on September 29, 2009 in the United States, by Island Records, Def Jam Recordings and The Island Def Jam Music Group. After promotion for her previous album, E=MC² (2008) ended, Carey began to work on a new album, producing songs with Terius "The-Dream" Nash and Christopher "Tricky" Stewart.

Six singles were released to promote the album. The lead single, "Obsessed", became the album's most successful song, peaking at number seven on the Billboard Hot 100, and reaching the top twenty in Japan, Canada and Australia and the top ten in Italy and France. The second single, "I Want to Know What Love Is", reached number 60 on the Billboard Hot 100, and topped the Brasil Hot 100 Airplay chart for 27 non-consecutive weeks. "H.A.T.E.U." was released as the third single, with "Up Out My Face", and "Angels Cry" being originally intended for the subsequently-cancelled remix album, Angels Advocate. "It's a Wrap" was released as the album's fourth single in 2023 after going viral on video sharing platform TikTok.

Upon its release, Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel received positive reviews from music critics, who felt it was one of Carey's most consistent and interesting records. Commercially, the album debuted at number three on the Billboard 200 with 168,000 copies sold in its first week, and peaked within the top-ten in other five countries. To promote the album, Carey made a pre-show in Madison Square Garden in 2009, embarked on the Angels Advocate Tour (2010), and performed on several television programs, including America's Got Talent, The Oprah Winfrey Show and Today.