Portal:R&B and Soul Music/Selected article/2

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"Don't Forget About Us" is a pop/R&B song co-written by Mariah Carey, Jermaine Dupri, Johnta Austin and Bryan-Michael Cox, and recorded by Carey for the re-release of her tenth studio album The Emancipation of Mimi (2005). It was co-produced by Carey, Dupri and Austin and released as the album's fifth single (fourth in North America) in late 2005 (see 2005 in music). The song reached number one in Brazil, Finland and the U.S., and the top forty elsewhere. It was nominated for two awards at the 49th Annual Grammy Awards.

The song is a midtempo jam that harkens back to 1990s-styled R&B, and its protagonist regrets a failed relationship that never had a proper conclusion. Unlike "We Belong Together", another song from The Emancipation of Mimi, she is not very despondent, and has accepted that her ex-lover is now seeing someone else. However, she does not want him to forget what they had when they were together: "Nothing can compare to your first true love, so I hope this will remind you, when it's for real it's forever, so don't forget about us". She also reminds her ex-lover that no matter who his new girl is, "I bet she can't do like me, she'll never be MC".

Carey has been accused of repeating formulas for her singles if they are successful. For instance, in the past, she was called out for making songs such as "Heartbreaker" (1999) and "Loverboy" (2001) too similar to other up-tempos like "Dreamlover" (1993) and "Fantasy" (1995). Several music critics have drawn parallels between "Don't Forget About Us" and "We Belong Together", the second and most successful single from The Emancipation of Mimi. Chuck Taylor of Billboard magazine called the song "little more than a continuation of the previous hit ... On its own, "Forget" is a soulful, satisfying track, but it suggests that Carey has hit a creative wall".[1] Bill Lamb of About.com, in a more positive summary of the song, wrote "It doesn't mess with the brilliant formula of "We Belong Together" ... [but] those wanting variety from Mariah Carey need to look elsewhere".[2]

"Don't Forget About Us" was nominated at the 2006 BET Awards in the BET.com "Viewers' Choice" category. It was nominated for the 2007 Grammy Awards for "Best Female R&B Vocal Performance" and "Best R&B Song".