"It's Like That" is a song by American singer and songwriter Mariah Carey from her 10th studio album, The Emancipation of Mimi (2005). Written by Carey, Jermaine Dupri, Manuel Seal, and Johntá Austin, and produced by Carey, Dupri, and Seal, the song borrows the hook "It's Like That Y'all" from the Run–D.M.C. tracks "Hollis Crew" and "Here We Go (Live)". Several other tracks were contenders for the album's lead single. However, plans were changed when Island Def Jam Music head L.A. Reid suggested to Carey she record a few more strong songs to ensure the album's success, thus "It's Like That" was written and chosen as the album's lead single, being released on January 25, 2005.
"It's Like That" is a R&B song with hip hop instrumentation that features ad-libs by Fatman Scoop and the song's producer Jermaine Dupri, while its lyrics (and Carey's vocals) focus on celebration and freedom, with Carey's alter-ego "Mimi" being emancipated. The song received generally favorable reviews from music critics, most of whom noted its catchiness and carefree message. It was also nominated for a 2006 Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance. Commercially, the song charted well worldwide, becoming a top twenty hit in several countries, including the United States, while peaking inside the top-ten in over five other countries.
The song's accompanying music video, directed by Brett Ratner, was filmed as a two-part story with "We Belong Together". In the "It's Like That" video, Carey is shown at a masked party held at the home of her wealthy fiancé (played by Eric Roberts), who watches the party from upstairs but does not attend, when an ex-lover of hers (played by Wentworth Miller) appears. In the "We Belong Together" video, Carey and Robert's characters are getting ready to be married when Miller's character appears again, and Carey runs away with him. The song was heavily promoted by Carey in a number of places, including The Ellen DeGeneres Show, Good Morning America, BET, VH1 and more, while being performed on several of her concert tours.
Background
In 2001, Carey released her debut film Glitter, which was met with an overwhelmingly negative response critically and commercially, followed by personal and professional struggles. Its accompanying soundtrack of the same name fared slightly better, spawning a top-five single in the United States and selling over three million units globally. After posting a personally expressive letter on her official site, Carey checked into a hospital in Connecticut because of an "emotional and physical breakdown". Following the events, Virgin Records bought out Carey's unprecedented $100 million USD recording contract. The company paid her $50 million to part ways. Carey flew to Capri, Italy, after her two-week hospitalization. During her five-month stay, she began to write a new studio album, using experiences she had gone through in recent months as inspirational themes.
After being signed by Island Records and starting her own imprint, MonarC Entertainment, Carey released her intended "comeback" album Charmbracelet (2002). However, the album failed to revive her career, receiving mixed reviews and failing to spawning a hit in the US, but sold considerably well. After enduring three years of "carping" from critics, Carey planned her return to music. On November 18, 2004, she revealed on her website that she would return to music and announced that the album would be called The Emancipation of Mimi, stating, "For the first time in my life, I feel free and unashamed to be who I really am," she wrote. "I am celebrating that I've grown into a person and artist who no longer feels imprisoned by my insecurities ... I can now honestly say, 'This is me, the real me, take it or leave it'."
Release
Originally, "Stay the Night" was planned to be The Emancipation of Mimis lead single, with an online music forum based in the United Kingdom, announcing that it would be in stores on October 11, 2004, in the region. A few weeks later, it was removed from the release schedule, later re-appearing with a different date, November 15, 2004. Later, it was revealed that "Say Somethin'", featuring Pharrell Williams and Snoop Dogg, was supposed to be the album's first single, as reported by Jennifer Vineyard of MTV News, who also revealed that the song was originally supposed to go to radio by the end of November, but it was pushed back to January and would be accompanied by a video, according to Carey's label representative. However, both singles were not released as the first single.