Mariah Carey signed the biggest record deal in history in 2001: $80 million for four albums. Ten months later the label paid her $28 million to leave. In the video below, 17 years later, she talks about the album that ended it. "…having to feel like, oh, I can't do stuff from Glitter because nobody knows it." Virgin, part of EMI, signed her in April 2001 with a $21 million advance. That July she was hospitalized after what her rep called an emotional and physical breakdown. The Glitter soundtrack came out on September 11, 2001. It sold about 500,000 copies in the US. The movie made about $5 million. In January 2002 EMI paid her $28 million to end the contract. She kept the $21 million. $49 million for one album. Months later she signed with Island Def Jam for a reported $20 million. In 2005 she released The Emancipation of Mimi. Billboard named "We Belong Together" the song of the decade. The case for EMI: one flop, a breakdown, and three more albums to pay for. Cutting the loss was the business call. The case for Mariah: they paid $49 million to walk away from the voice behind the biggest song of the 2000s. Did EMI make the smart call, or the most expensive mistake in music history?