Mariah Carey Confirms Her New Album Is Finished: ‘We Got Some Mariah Ballads’

Mariah Carey confirmed Monday that she’s finished her upcoming 16th studio album.

She sat down with Zane Lowe and Ebro Darden at the new Apple Music Studios in Culver City, California, during a special live broadcast to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the streaming service. The three briefly chatted about her latest single “Type Dangerous,” which Lowe described as a “heavy record, it’s got real weight to it” before asking if fans can expect more new music from her soon.

“I’m trying not to tell too much about the new album. ‘It’s a special occasion/ Mimi’s emancipation’ — that’s a lyric from one of my songs,” Carey said quoting 2005’s “It’s Like That.” “What is next? The album coming out. I don’t wanna tell too much about it because I just don’t want to reveal the whole thing. It’s finished.”

Mimi also revealed there are 11 or 12 songs featured on the full-length project. “We got some Mariah ballads,” she told Darden, adding that “a second single is coming soon. I’m very excited about it. It’s very summery. I like the beat as well.”

Carey released “Type Dangerous” at the top of last month via gamma., the company founded by former Apple Music executive Larry Jackson in 2023. “Type Dangerous,” which samples Eric B. & Rakim‘s 1986 track “Eric B. Is President,” became her 50th Billboard Hot 100 hit and hit the top 10 of R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay. She performed the song alongside Rakim at the 2025 BET Awards last month, when she received her first BET Award ever: the Ultimate Icon Award.

“I’ve always loved ‘Eric B. Is President.’ It wasn’t something like, ‘Oh, I’m gonna flip this’ — I just wouldn’t think of doing it,” she explained to Darden and Lowe. “But then we were in this restaurant in Aspen and they had different music on, and they played ‘Eric B. Is President’ and I was like, ‘Oh my gosh! I love this song!’ We ended up in the studio a couple months later and we did it.”

Chance the Rapper also briefly chatted with Lowe and Darden about his new album I’m the Star, due Thursday. Ciara, Dominic Fike, Fuerza Regida, FLO, Hit Boy, Kamasi Washington, Kevin Abstract, kwn, Teezo Touchdown, Tommy Richman, Vince Staples and many more celebrated Apple Music’s 10th anniversary at the company’s newly opened studio space on Monday night.