It's been four years since Mariah Carey released an album and a lot has changed in her life since, especially the birth of "dem babies," Monroe and Moroccan.

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During a new interview with MTV, Carey explained that her new experiences prompted the album's delay because she wanted to ensure their inclusion in the record.

"The album itself was always most important because I wanted to make sure that it was a journey that was representative of who I am and what I've been through over the past three years," Carey said.

"It was just something where I just felt like, 'I'm not ready. I don't want to just throw this because I have 14 or 15 or however many songs and I can say, here's your album.'"

The superstar added that the record is candid. "I really need to sit here and think about the journey the album takes you through," she said. "Because it is truly a journey, and there's a lot of different emotions that are very, very real."

The 43-year-old worked with longtime collaborator Jermaine Dupri, Rodney Jerkins and producer Hit-Boy, whom she called "a favorite." Carey already released a few songs from the album, including #Beautiful featuring Miguel, The Art of Letting Go and last week premiered You're Mine.

The untitled album is set for release on May 6.

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