Mariah Carey Goes 'Almost Home' On New 'Oz' Track

Put on your best pair of ruby slippers, close your eyes and click your heels together because Mariah Carey is taking fans along for her trip to Oz. On Tuesday (February 19), she officially released "Almost Home," the lead tune off the "Oz the Great and Powerful" soundtrack.

The up-tempo pop piece plants Carey right in the mythical land from the famed movie. It's weaved together by a bouncing beat and bright synths, as Carey's signature vocals soar over Stargate's sparkling production work.

On the inspirational chorus, Carey pays homage to Dorothy, the classic character from the original movie. She sings, "When you're almost there/ And you're almost home/ Just open up your eyes and go/ When you're almost there/ Almost home/ Know you're not alone/ You're almost home."

Carey produced and wrote the song with Stargate, as well as Simone Porter, Justin Gray and Lindsey Ray. A video will drop on March 8, the same day the film hits theaters. It was directed by David LaChapelle, who also filmed the "American Idol" judge's video for another movie tune, 2001's "Glitter" track "Loverboy."

The film, a re-imagining of "The Wizard of Oz," was directed by Sam Raimi with Danny Elfman on hand providing the film's score. It stars James Franco, Michelle Williams, Mila Kunis and Rachel Weisz.

"Almost Home" is the first new Carey single since 2012's "Triumphant," which was more hip-hop leaning thanks to appearances from Rick Ross and Meek Mill. Carey is expected to drop a brand-new album sometime this year, but no release date has been set.

"She was committed to making it before she got pregnant. Then she got pregnant and she took the time off," Bryan-Michael Cox explained to MTV News last August about the long in-the-works project. "Then after she came back, we started really vibing again and we picked up right where we left off. I just feel like between Jermaine [Dupri], myself and her, we came up with a few things that [are] really, really a solid body of work."