Nearly two decades after the release of The Emancipation of Mimi, Mariah Carey still holds the album close to her heart. But there’s one thing about it that never sat well with her: the “comeback” label.

In a recent interview with PEOPLE, the singer—known for her whistle register and chart-topping hits—revealed her annoyance with how some framed the 2005 album. “At the time, it annoyed me when they called it a comeback album,” Carey admitted. “But now I’m just like, ‘Oh yeah, my comeback album.’” She added with a touch of humor: “It’s like, how many comebacks do I have to have?”

Though she initially bristled at the term, Carey now acknowledges its partial accuracy. “If people know the album, then they usually are fans of the album,” she said. “But not everybody knows that album. So people can discover various songs and kind of get to know the feeling of that album.” For Carey, The Emancipation of Mimi remains “very special.”

Reflecting on the creation of the album, Carey pointed to the iconic single “We Belong Together,” which became one of her signature hits. Written late in the album’s production, the song was crafted with longtime collaborator Jermaine Dupri, who also co-produced “It’s Like That” and “Shake It Off.”

For Carey, the track’s creation was as much about storytelling as it was about music. Its music video, which continued the love-triangle narrative from the “It’s Like That” video, marked her first foray into connecting two visual stories. Adding a nostalgic touch, Carey chose to wear her Vera Wang wedding dress from her 1993 marriage to Tommy Mottola for the “We Belong Together” video.

“Since I was going to do a scene with a wedding dress, rather than spend tons of money on a new dress, we just used the one I had lying around!” she said, turning a personal artifact into a cultural moment.

Released on April 12, 2005, The Emancipation of Mimi became a commercial and critical triumph, selling six million copies in the U.S. alone and 10 million worldwide. It earned Carey 10 Grammy nominations and solidified her legacy as one of pop and R&B’s most enduring voices.

While Carey may have initially balked at the “comeback” talk, the album’s success undeniably revitalized her career and showed the world that Mimi never truly left—she simply took the time to remind everyone of her brilliance.