Mariah Carey and Antonio “L.A.” Reid belong together.
The pop diva is reuniting with her former label boss at Sony Music via Epic Records, reports Billboard.
Reid helped bring Carey to Island Def Jam in 2003 and oversaw her 2005 comeback album The Emancipation of Mimi before he departed the label in 2011.
However, her Epic deal is a far cry from her record-setting $80 million contract with Virgin Records. “Sony’s was the only deal on the table, and it came in far lower than she expected,” a source tells Billboard. Carey “was asking for a $3 million advance; she didn’t get it.”
The singer’s most recent album, 2014’s Me. I Am Mariah…The Elusive Chanteuse, has posted her lowest sales to date with 117,000 sold.
Carey will join the Epic roster which includes Future, Ciara, Meghan Trainor, Bobby Shmurda, and Fifth Harmony.
As part of her comeback, Mariah will also launch her “#1’s” residency at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas in May and is planning a re-release of her 1998 album #1’s later this year.