Songfacts®:

• In this song, Mariah sings about a relationship that didn't work out. Unlike "We Belong Together," which was a huge hit from the album, she sounds confident instead of heartbroken. She makes sure her ex remembers the true love they had and reminds him that his new girl will never be her. >>

  Suggestion credit:
  Donovan Berry - El Dorado, AR
• This was Mariah Carey's 17th American #1 song, putting Carey into a tie for second place with Elvis Presley among artists with the most #1 hits in the Rock Era in the US, behind the Beatles' 20.
• Carey tries to be vague about the meanings of her songs because she wants her fans to connect with the lyrics on their own terms. She told MTV News in 2005: "I try not to get too specific so that people can apply the lyrics to their own lives. When I was growing up and listening to the radio and I would hear a song that reminded me of a certain person or a situation or whatever, I would want to be able to completely connect it to that moment. And then if I heard someone explaining it and making it into something totally different, it ruined it for me. So I kind of like to keep it open for people's imaginations. It evokes something different depending on who listens to it and at what time. 'Don't Forget About Us' could give you a good, happy memory, or you could be miserable, crying, listening to it over and over. All in all, I think it's good to have music you can live vicariously through, and that's what a lot of people have told me this record has been for them."
• The music video, helmed by "Honey" director Paul Hunter, was shot in Los Angeles and follows Carey tearfully recalling her romance with a former flame (model Christian Monzon). The highlight for Carey was re-enacting a famous scene from her idol Marilyn Monroe's last movie, Something's Got To Give, which never got finished due to the star's untimely death in 1962. "It's an homage to her, because I've never seen anyone re-create it," Carey told MTV News. "So many people have emulated so many of Marilyn's classic moments, but it's just that I'm a big fan of hers, and I thought it was really pretty at night with the pool. No one could ever be as fabulous as Marilyn was, but it's in honor and homage to her."
• The main remix, dubbed the Mr. Dupri mix, features guest rappers Juelz Santana, Krayzie Bone and Layzie Bone. In 2007, DJ Clue produced the Desert Storm remix, featuring Fabolous and Styles P, and included it on his Fidel Cashflow 2006 album.
• To capitalize on the success of The Emancipation Of Mimi, which was being hailed as Carey's comeback album, Island Def Jam CEO L.A. Reid decided to re-release the album but thought it could use another mid-tempo ballad. Carey and Dupri were already working on this tune, which Reid encouraged them to finish for the new Ultra Platinum Edition of the album.