Mariah Carey

Following the cancellation of Angels Advocate, it was announced that Carey would return to the studio to start work on her thirteenth studio album. It was later revealed that it would be her second Christmas album, the follow-up to Merry Christmas (1994), which became the best-selling holiday album of all time. Longtime collaborators for the project included Jermaine Dupri, Johntá Austin, Bryan-Michael Cox and Randy Jackson, as well as new collaborators such as Marc Shaiman. Dupri stated that a single would be released alongside the album before the year's end. During a press conference in Seoul, South Korea in August 2010, Island Def Jam executive Matt Voss announced that the album would be out on November 2, 2010, and would include six new songs as well as a remix of her classic hit "All I Want for Christmas Is You". The album, titled Merry Christmas II You, was released alongside an accompanying DVD, and was sent to retailers on November 2, 2010. Merry Christmas II You debuted at number four on the Billboard 200 with sales of 56,000 copies, surpassing the opening week sales of Carey's previous holiday album of 45,000 copies 16 years prior. It also became Carey's 16th top ten album in the United States. The album debuted at number one on the R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart, making it only the second Christmas album to top this chart.
In May 2010, Carey dropped out of her planned appearance in For Colored Girls, the film adaptation of the play For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When the Rainbow Is Enuf, citing medical reasons. After much media speculation, Carey confirmed on October 28, 2010, that she and Cannon were expecting their first child. In February 2011, Carey announced that she had officially began writing new material for her upcoming fourteenth studio album. Carey recorded a duet with Tony Bennett for his Duets II album, titled "When Do The Bells Ring For Me". In April 2011, Carey gave birth to fraternal twins via C-section. The twins were named Monroe, after Marilyn Monroe, and Moroccan Scott, after the location in which Cannon proposed to Carey in her Moroccan-style room; Scott is Cannon's middle name and his grandmother's maiden name. In an interview, Carey stated that her pregnancy was very difficult; she suffered from high blood pressure, pre-eclampsia, and gestational diabetes. Before giving birth to the twins, she also said: "I was afraid I wasn't going to be able to walk properly again, It was a huge strain. I would sit and then someone would have to help me up. I couldn't go even to the loo by myself. It was just like, 'What are we doing? Are we going to the hospital?' No, I'm gonna stick it out, I'm gonna keep taking this medicine to keep these babies in... I made it to 35 weeks and then the doctor said it wasn't safe anymore".
Following the birth of their children, Cannon revealed during an interview with Billboard that Carey had already begun working on a new record and that she's been inspired by her first two albums. Cannon said "She's been working away, and we have a studio in the crib, and the pregnancy has totally inspired her on so many different levels. You're definitely gonna see some new phenomenal music from Mariah" and assured Carey would plan on releasing a brand new single by the end of 2011. When asked if an album will be released by the end of 2011 as well, Cannon said that he was not sure. However, a late 2011 release for a single never materialized.
In October 2011, Carey announced that she re-recorded her song "All I Want for Christmas Is You" with Justin Bieber as a duet for his Christmas album, Under the Mistletoe. On November 5, 2011, Carey and Bieber filmed a music video for the duet at the Macy's in New York City. On October 21, 2011, a pre-taped interview with Barbara Walters aired on ABC's 20/20, during the interview Carey and Cannon allowed the cameras to photograph/film twins Moroccan and Monroe for the first time. In November 2011, Carey was included in the remix to the mixtape single "Warning" by Uncle Murda; the remix also features 50 Cent and Young Jeezy. That same month, Carey announced that she and John Legend collaborated on a duet, "When Christmas Comes", which was originally part of Carey's 2010 holiday album Merry Christmas II You.