Mariah Carey Gives Glitter a Deluxe 25th Anniversary Comeback With Vinyl & Vault Tracks

Justice for Glitter Just Got a Very Shiny 25th Anniversary Victory Lap

Zephyring 25 years! Mariah Carey is officially taking one of the most misunderstood chapters of her career and covering it in exactly the amount of sparkle it deserves. Glitter is returning for its 25th anniversary with new vinyl editions, an expanded digital release and previously unreleased material pulled from Mariah’s vault.

The anniversary editions arrive October 30, 2026. The soundtrack is returning to vinyl for the first time since its original 2001 pressing, with a Midnight Purple 2LP edition and a limited Glittering Pink 2LP version. And yes, Miss Carey made sure the pink one actually glitters. As she put it while announcing the release: “Had to sprinkle some glitter on the pink vinyls!”

The pink deluxe pressing adds three bonus tracks to the original album: “Out Here On My Own,” “Never Too Far/Hero (Medley)” and the much-discussed “Loverboy (Firecracker – Original Version).” The medley makes its vinyl debut with this edition.

But the real Lambily bait may be the expanded digital deluxe edition. That version adds 15 tracks, including rare and previously unreleased recordings plus material pulled from Carey’s personal vault. Mariah teased that a few buried recordings had been found and said she was looking forward to finally sharing them in October.

The celebration is already underway. Carey has released a newly reimagined version of “Didn’t Mean To Turn You On” featuring British-Canadian singer-songwriter Rochelle Jordan. The new version was produced by KLSH, giving one of Glitter’s retro-leaning cuts a fresh 2026 pulse while keeping the anniversary tied to the music rather than just the nostalgia.

And that distinction matters, because Glitter spent years carrying baggage that had very little to do with whether the soundtrack itself had songs. The album was released on September 11, 2001, while the film arrived in U.S. theaters ten days later on September 21. The movie was hammered by critics and struggled at the box office, grossing about $5.27 million worldwide against a reported $22 million budget.

Mariah has never pretended that period was easy. Looking back on the anniversary, she said she never imagined she would one day be “unironically celebrating Glitter’s 25th anniversary.” She also recalled making the album with love and care, only to watch the entire project become a punch line.

The Lambily Already Delivered Justice for Glitter Once

Then came #JusticeForGlitter. In 2018, fans pushed the soundtrack all the way to No. 1 on the U.S. iTunes albums chart, turning what had long been treated as an industry cautionary tale into one of pop fandom’s great reclamation campaigns. The album also returned to Billboard’s soundtrack and catalog charts.

That revival changed the conversation. Suddenly people were talking about Glitter as an album again — its early-’80s disco and funk fixation, the ballads, the collaborations and that wonderfully excessive moment when Mariah was bouncing between “Loverboy,” “Lead the Way,” “Never Too Far,” “Last Night a DJ Saved My Life” and a guest list that included Da Brat, Ludacris, Busta Rhymes, Fabolous, Ja Rule and Eric Benét.

Imagery accompanying Mariah Carey’s Glitter era and 25th anniversary celebration.

Twenty-five years later, Mariah no longer has to argue the case alone. The fans already did the appellate work. Now Glitter gets the deluxe treatment, the colored vinyl, the vault tracks and the anniversary rollout that would have sounded absolutely impossible back in 2001.

Justice was served in 2018. Apparently in 2026, justice comes pressed on glittering pink vinyl.

Watch the INYIM Media TikTok Embedded With the Glitter Anniversary Story

The companion clip below was published through INYIM Media’s @itsnotyouitsmemedia TikTok account.

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INYIM TikTok

Watch the tribute clip.

Watch on TikTok Play Here

Source: Mariah Carey; Def Jam Records/UMe; ABC Audio.