With six number ones to her credit, Mariah Carey went back to the studio to record her fourth album, Music Box. She enlisted Dave Hall who previously worked with Mary J. Blige to make a happy song with her. The two presented a rough record of the song (which used a loop from "Blind Alley") to the head of Sony Music Entertainment, Tommy Mottola who then asked Walter Afanasieff to make the song sound more commercial. And six weeks after its release "Dreamlover" hit the top spot and stayed there for eight consecutive weeks making it her biggest hit so far.... I don't want another pretender to disillusion me one more time - whispering words of forever, playing with my mind...
Epic Records was eyeing Carey to record a song for the Dustin Hoffman/Geena Davis film called "Hero". But as the singer would not want to do anything film-wise, the record executives settled for the next best thing, have her work with Afanasieff and write the theme to the movie. The two made an old-fashioned pop ballad thinking it was going to be for Gloria Estefan. But after Mottola heard the song, he insisted that Carey should never give it away and that she should be the one to sing it. She rewrote some of the lines to make it a bit more personal, and recorded two versions of the song - a simple performance and a more difficult one with Carey singing out more. They chose the former for "Hero" works better minus the fancy vocal acrobatics. It was a wise decision as it remains to be one of Carey's signature songs.... It's a long road when you face the world alone. No one reaches out a hand for you to hold...
"Fantasy" is considered the single, most important record in Carey's career for a number of reasons. It was the second song to debut at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 following Michael Jackson's "You Are Not Alone", and the first by a female. The music video was also her directorial debut. And most importantly the release of the Bad Boy Remix (Carey asked Sean "Puffy" Combs to helm a remix that emphasized the bass line and "Genius Of Love" sample), featuring Ol' Dirty Bastard gave the superstar street credibility. This pop singer + rapper collaboration would later on inspire a trend for future artists to do the same on their singles/remixes (Ashanti, Jennifer Lopez, Beyonce etc.).... I'm in heaven with my boyfriend, my laughing boyfriend...
November 26, 1995 saw the appearance of "One Sweet Day" on top of the charts making Carey the first artist to have more than one number-one debut. The song stayed there for a record-breaking sixteen weeks (surpassing the 14-week run of Boyz II Men's "End Of The Road" and Whitney Houston's "I Will Always Love You") making it the biggest hit for both Boyz II Men and Carey - a good consolation for being ignored in the Grammy Awards that year. Year ending 1996, despite the undeniable success, it only ranked 2nd behind Los Del Rio's "Macarena" due to its 1995 chart run. Aw.... Sorry I never told you all i wanted to say...
"Always Be My Baby" is the most enduring feel-good, break-up song of all time. This would be the first of many hit collaborations with the Atlanta-based producer Jermaine Dupri. The warm, cozy feel of the pop song was carried over to the music video (which was directed by Carey) which was filmed on location at her sponsored charity, Camp Mariah. "Always Be My Baby" remains to be a classic up to this day and it has this quality of sounding fresh and new whenever it is played.... And we'll linger on. Time can't erase a feeling this strong. No way you're never gonna shake me. Oh darling, 'cause you'll always be my baby...
The world was shocked when she debuted "Honey". Not only was it a complete transition from her pop roots towards hip-hop but the music video also presented a more sexual Carey that everyone has not yet seen before. This proved beneficial as "Honey" became her third single to debut at the peak, and it also broke the three-way tie with Whitney Houston and Madonna as the solo female artist with the most number one singles. Metamorphosis was never fabulous until "Honey".... I can't be elusive with you honey 'cause it's blatant that I'm feeling you. And it's too hard for me to leave abruptly 'cause you're the only thing I wanna do...
TO BE CONTINUED.
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