[4] Writers Shirley Halperin and Andrew Hampp of Billboard attributed Carey's decision to seek a new label and management to the low sales of Me.

Joey Arbagey, a collaborator of Carey's during the making of the six-times platinum The Emancipation of Mimi, is now executive vp A&R at Epic.

[6] Although Halperin and Hampp note that "Carey's legacy is undisputed, her recent stumbles have not gone unnoticed," with regard to her divorce from Nick Cannon, the low sales of Me.

I Am Mariah… The Elusive Chanteuse and its failure to garner a top-ten single on the Billboard Hot 100 and hiring and firing three managers: Dupri, Randy Jackson and Kevin Giles (the last of whom Carey has kept as a consultant).

[5] In January 2015, Carey announced that she would re-release #1's (1998) with an updated selection of songs that had reached number one after #1's: "Heartbreaker" (1999), "Thank God I Found You" (2000), "We Belong Together" (2005), "Don't Forget About Us" (2005) and "Touch My Body" (2008).

[9] "Thank God I Found You" was omitted from the Japanese track listing, and replaced with "All I Want for Christmas Is You", which remains her best-selling single in the country.

For the album artwork, Carey launched a social media campaign on April 12, 2015, whereby fans had to share a link to her website in order to reveal the cover which was concealed by a curtain.

[17] On January 15, 2015, Carey appeared on The Ellen DeGeneres Show to announce that she signed a contract to take up residency at The Colosseum at the Caesars Palace hotel in Las Vegas in May and July 2015; it is called #1 to Infinity.

And again, I have to hope that the fans will enjoy this cause I'm gonna be performing, which was kind of inspired by my album #1's, and this is now the updated version with eighteen of them.

[26] It is a mid-tempo R&B song[27][28] written by Carey, Eric Hudson, Priscilla Renea, Taylor Parks and Ilsey Juber.

[33] Jamieson Cox, from Time, wrote that "if you needed a reminder of just how thoroughly Mariah Carey dominated the 90s, or a refresher on the staggering force of the numbers she’s put up throughout her career, #1 To Infinity will do just fine", but also pointing out that most of the songs were released from 1990 to 1995, just 20% of Carey's entire recording career, as well as criticizing the lack of material released between 2005 and 2015.

She took very simple songs—both in terms of arrangements and theme—rooted in pop, gospel, and R&B and turned them into feats of strength, granting them dynamism and drama with a voice that juggled power, clarity, and agility with ease".

[34] Andy Kellman of AllMusic gave a positive review of the album, and praised the new track "Infinity" as an "elaborate and mystifying set-up for a display of Carey's whistle range".