New York ? Old habits die hard, and so it is that Mariah Carey finds herself at a downtown recording studio well past midnight, rehearsing with her band for shows promoting the release of her new album, “The Emancipation of Mimi.”

Carey’s well-known workaholism hasn’t changed. But what has, she says, is her approach to her work: It’s no longer all-consuming, the most important thing in her life — and it no longer defines who she is.

“I’m kind of at the point where as long as I can make music, I’m not absorbed by it,” says Carey, kicking off her stiletto heels and stretching out on a black leather couch before her late-night session begins.

Reclaiming Mariah the person is the whole basis of the album as Carey seeks to redefine her image, which has yet to fully recover from the kind of fall from grace that seems to inevitably bewitch most pop superstars.

In 2001, she was at her peak, signing a reported $80 million deal with Virgin Records after a chart-busting run at Sony, which was then headed by her former husband and mentor, Tommy Mottola.

Later that year, however, she was hospitalized twice for physical and emotional breakdowns close to the release of her movie debut, the much-derided “Glitter.” That led to her being painted as an unstable diva, and Virgin bought out her contract for nearly $30 million.

Another poor-selling album, 2002’s “Charmbracelet” (on a new label, Island Def Jam), added to her commercial malaise. Many questioned whether she could return to the breathtaking success that defined most of her 15-year career.

Carey, 35, calls the hoopla over her troubles overblown and remains frustrated that it’s still a topic of discussion.

“I feel like that’s over and anybody that deals with that is kind of like living in four-years-ago land,” she says.

Singer Mariah Carey, at Right Track Recording Studio in New York, has a new album titled The

Carey’s candid when discussing the troubled times. But she clearly doesn’t like revisiting it, and she regrets her label’s insistence that she do so on “Charmbracelet” with the album’s first single, “Through the Rain.”

“Everybody wanted me to be like, ‘Let’s have that moment; let’s sit and cry with Oprah; let’s just have tearful moments of like, ‘I’ve overcome this.’ (But) I think I was still overcoming it,” she says, noting her father had died of cancer a month before that album’s release.

Perhaps more damaging to her psyche was her five-year marriage to Mottola, eighteen years her senior. He signed her when she was just a teen to Columbia Records and shaped her blockbuster career in its early years. They divorced in 1998; she describes it as an “abusive relationship.”

After she wriggled out of the marriage, she reveled in her freedom, which explains her move toward hip-hop and revealing outfits.

“I think everybody was shocked,” she says. “I don’t think anything I’ve ever done has ever been in poor taste, or too sexual … (but) I did push the envelope for me, a little bit out of rebelliousness. Like, I could do whatever I want.”

While she’s still looking quite sexy she’s no longer dressing to out-Britney Britney Spears.

“Yes, there has like an image change. A slight image change, because it’s still me,” she says.

So far, the buzz on the record has been positive. “If this record gets her back on track, I think people are going to be raving about her musically again,” says Rick Krim, executive vice president of music talent at VH1, where her video has been strongly received.

Carey, though, professes not to care — she’s more interested in the true emancipation of Mimi — that’s her nickname — from the pressures of fame.

“I feel like the journey that I’ve gone on was a blessing, because it brought me back closer to the person that I was…” she says. “I was a scared kid who just loved music and wanted to sing and had the desire to sing.”

“So, no, I don’t feel like I have to prove anything on this record. I’m just thankful for the record. I’m in a really good place right now in my life, and I’m grateful to God for everything that I have.”