Mariah Carey

On March 1, 2012, Carey took the stage at New York City's Gotham Hall for a show, where only 50 tickets were made available to the public, as part of the Plot Your Escape concert series. This was Carey's first time performing since pregnancy and the 40-minute set included many of Carey's hits such as "Always Be My Baby", "Hero", "Obsessed", "We Belong Together", and a cover of Michael Jackson's "I'll Be There". She also performed a three song set at a special fundraiser for United States President Barack Obama held in New York's Plaza Hotel. The three songs she performed were "Hero", "We Belong Together", and a new song titled "Bring It On Home", which Carey wrote specifically for the event to show her support behind Obama's re-election campaign. In June 2012, Carey posted a photo that wrote, "MC Summer 2012", after the photo was posted, many fans speculated that new music will be released soon. "Triumphant (Get 'Em)", featuring American rappers Rick Ross and Meek Mill, was released in early August 2012 as a standalone single. It was co-written and co-produced by Carey, Jermaine Dupri, and Bryan-Michael Cox. In February 2013, Walt Disney Studios revealed that Carey recorded a song called "Almost Home", co-written and co-produced by Carey herself along with Simone Porter, Justin Gray, Lindsey Ray, Tor Erik Hermansen, and Mikkel Eriksen (a.k.a. Stargate) for the soundtrack of the film Oz the Great and Powerful. The video was directed by photographer David LaChapelle.
Carey joined the judging panel of American Idol for season twelve. Her salary was reported to be US$18 million. In November 2013, Carey revealed she hated working on American Idol and said, "It was like going to work every day in hell with Satan" with references to her on-set squabbles with fellow judge Nicki Minaj. Carey appeared in Lee Daniels' 2013 film The Butler, about a White House butler who served eight American Presidents over the course of three decades. On August 2, 2013, it was announced that Carey will guest voice-star as a redneck character on the adult animated series American Dad!, the episode slated to air on November 24, 2013, as part of the show's 10th season.
News started coming around about the singer's fourteenth studio album. In an interview she spoke about it: "I'm collaborating with a lot of my favorite people but the main thing is that I'm not trying to follow any particular trend, I want it to be well received. I want to stay true to myself and the music that I love and make the fans happy". Some of the people that Carey worked with on the album include: DJ Clue? , Randy Jackson, Q-Tip, R. Kelly, David Morales, Loris Holland, Stevie J, James Fauntleroy II, Ray Angry, Walter Afanasieff, Jermaine Dupri, Bryan-Michael Cox, James "Big Jim" Wright, Hit-Boy, The-Dream, Da Brat, and Rodney Jerkins. Carey gave Billboard an exclusive interview in their March 9, 2013 issue, stating: "It's about making sure I have tons of good music, because at the end of the day that's the most important thing....There are a lot more raw ballads than people might expect...there are also uptempo and signature-type songs that represent my different facets as an artist.....Wherever we go with this project, I've tried to keep the soul and heart in it"; In late March 2013, Carey stated that she "has more than enough songs" but "she's in the process of finishing things and mixing and all that". The lead single, "Beautiful" featuring singer Miguel, was released on May 6, 2013, and peaked at number 15 on the Hot 100 chart. The music video was premiered on American Idol on May 9, 2013. Carey taped a performance of "Beautiful" along with a medley of her greatest hits on May 15, 2013; the taping aired on the American Idol finale the following day. She also performed on Good Morning America's Summer Concert Series on May 24, 2013. Walmart revealed the album's title as The Art of Letting Go, which was later confirmed by Carey's longtime friend and producer Jermaine Dupri. On October 14, 2013; Carey announced that the album's title track has been chosen as the second single, it premiered via Facebook on November 11, 2013. During a Q&A session following the song's release, Carey gave an update about the album, stating: "Now I've been inspired to add two more songs, so we're almost there. I can't even express this properly but I feel like this is gonna be my favorite album". On December 31, 2013, Carey announced that the album will be released in Spring 2014; she also stated that a new single will be premiered on February 14, 2014.