Mariah Carey "#1's (USA, Columbia Records, 492604 2)"

#1's is the first greatest hits album by American singer-songwriter Mariah Carey, released by Columbia Records on November 17, 1998. The album contained Carey's then thirteen number-one singles on the Billboard Hot 100, as well as four new songs. In Japan, the album also included her popular single, "All I Want for Christmas Is You", which was Carey's biggest selling single there. The album has sold 16 million copies globally.

The album was met with some criticism regarding the new songs and the decision to only include Carey's number-one hits in the United States. Despite this, the album became a worldwide commercial success. It debuted at number four on the Billboard 200, topped the charts in Japan, Singapore, Malaysia, Greece and Taiwan; and reached the top-ten throughout almost every major worldwide music market. #1's was certified six-times platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and double platinum by the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) denoting shipments of five and two million copies. The album reported sales in Japan at 3,250,000 copies in the first three months and remains the best-selling album of all-time in Japan by a non-Asian artist.

"Sweetheart", a duet with Jermaine Dupri, received little commercial success due to its limited release. "When You Believe", a duet with Whitney Houston, charted well around the world, peaking at number fifteen in the US, the top two in Norway, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland and the top five in Belgium, France, the Netherlands and the UK, and reaching number one in Hungary. "When You Believe" was featured in The Prince of Egypt soundtrack, and received the Academy Award for Best Original Song. The album's third single, "I Still Believe", performed best of the four new songs, peaking at number four in the US.

An updated version of #1's with Carey's then-eighteen number ones, #1 to Infinity, was released on May 15, 2015, coinciding with the beginning of her residency show of the same name in Las Vegas.

During mid-1998, after the release of her sixth studio album, Butterfly (1997), the previous September, Carey was in the midst of developing a film and soundtrack project titled All That Glitters. Midway through the project, All That Glitters fell into developmental hell, causing Carey to pause the entire production. During this period, Carey considered embarking on a tour to support Butterfly, which was continuing to sell strongly.

Throughout 1998, the songs Carey was compiling songs for the compilation album led to a publicized conflict with Columbia Records. Carey insisted that while the compilation is not a greatest hits collection, Sony titled the album #1's to reflect the fact that the album is a collection of her number-one hits rather than her "greatest" or "favorite" songs. Carey has frequently cited "Underneath the Stars" (1996) and "Breakdown" (1998) as examples of songs she was unsuccessful in releasing on the collection. Carey has expressed distaste towards the album's song selection, expressing her disappointment in the omission of her "favorite songs."

Everyone swung it like I didn't want to put something out because I wouldn't accept less than a No. 1 Pop Single. That's not even true. Like I didn't want to "break a streak." My streak was broken a long time ago. I don't even have a streak. I had five number ones, then I had records that didn't go to number one. Whatever. I wanted to put out "Breakdown" with Bone-Thugs-N-Harmony. That was a no-brainer. Release it. I'll always be upset "Breakdown" never got its shot.

—Carey, on her disappointment in the singles chosen, during an interview with Vibe.

In December 2001, Columbia released the album Greatest Hits, which featured Carey's number-one singles alongside songs she said "needed to be really heard", such as "Underneath the Stars" and "Forever". Carey discussed the album in an interview with MTV, stating, "There's a lot of songs that I'm happy are gonna see the light of day. I think people are going to like this Greatest Hits because there are songs on it that were not necessarily singles." Every single included in #1's was also included in Greatest Hits.

In Carey's 2020 memoir The Meaning of Mariah Carey, Carey states that she conceptualized #1's as part of a four-album agreement with Sony Music to terminate her contract with Columbia. Sony wanted to release an album that featured her US number-one singles, void of any new material. However, Carey felt that not including any new material would be unfair to fans, and eventually four new songs were included to accompany her thirteen number ones.

The first of Carey's number ones to be featured on the album was "Vision of Love". It was Carey's first single and was the song that propelled her into the music scene. The song received acclaim, and was credited with influencing and popularizing the use of melisma throughout the 1990s. Three other songs were included from her self-titled debut album, of them were "Love Takes Time", "Someday" and "I Don't Wanna Cry". The fifth single featured on the album was "Emotions", the lead single from the album of the same name. Because of the album's strict array of chart topping singles, none of the other singles on Emotions made the track listing. Another song that was featured on #1's was Carey's version of The Jackson 5 classic, "I'll Be There", which was the lead single from her live album, MTV Unplugged. The singles from Carey's 1993 release Music Box, made an appearance on the album as well. "Dreamlover", the seventh number one from the album, was the lead single from Music Box. The song topped the Billboard Hot 100 for eight weeks and was described as a "slight piece of pop fluff", representing a more commercial side to Carey than the "more ambitious", "Vision of Love". The song was the start of a vocal maturity for Carey, and was considered a notable song in her career. The second single from Music Box, "Hero", also made the album's final cut. According to author Chris Nickson, Hero was one of Carey's "most inspirational ballads". The album's third single, "Without You" failed to make the US album version, since it didn't reach the summit spot there; however, due to the song's popularity in Europe, it was included in the album's international edition.

"All I Want for Christmas Is You", the lead single from Carey's holiday album Merry Christmas also made the international track listing. The song became one of the best-selling singles by a non–Asian female, and the best-selling Japanese single of 1994, selling 1.1 million copies. Additionally, "All I Want for Christmas Is You" was called "one of the essential musical hallmarks of the holiday season", and is the only holiday song and ringtone to reach multi-platinum status in the US. Occupying three of the thirteen number ones on the album were the singles from Carey's 1995 release, Daydream. The album's lead single "Fantasy", was featured on #1's. However, it was the song's official remix, which featured rap verses from Ol' Dirty Bastard, which made the album cut. This was a personal decision made by Carey, as it was of her preference. The second song from Daydream to be featured on the album was "One Sweet Day", Carey's duet with Boyz II Men. The song topped the Hot 100 for a then-unprecedented sixteen weeks, and held the record for longest running number-one song in Hot 100 history until 2019. The third and final song from the album, "Always Be My Baby", spent two weeks atop the charts in the US, therefore earning a place on the album as well.

Carey's most recent studio effort at the time, Butterfly, also yielded two number-one songs. The album's lead single, "Honey", was a career-transitional song for Carey, which introduced her as a hip hop soul artist, as well as featured extended rap verses throughout the song. While very different than anything Carey had ever recorded, the track was described as "street Hip-Hop music, with a booming bass." The second song from Butterfly, "My All", spent one week atop the charts. Carey described the song as "[having] a lush sound and intense styling." Solely written by Carey and Walter Afanasieff, "My All" featured guitar arpeggios, which were synthetically created with the clever use of sampling and playing keyboard notes. As a result, the song was well-received, being called a "slinky, slow jam R&B sound, that fit Mariah like a glove."

Since Carey intended #1's to serve as a sign of gratitude to her fans, the album contained four new songs not previously included on her albums. The first was a cover of Rainy Davis' "Sweetheart" (1987) performed as a duet with co-producer and rapper Jermaine Dupri. Dupri had worked with Carey in the past, contributing to her album Daydream, and co-produced several hip-hop remixes of her songs. Carey said of the inspiration for its recording, "I was thinking of the old songs I used to listen to when I was in school. It's a really cute record. Young girls'll like it the way I liked it when I was growing up." Another new song featured on #1's was "When You Believe", which Carey said was included because she felt it was "a miracle" that she and Houston collaborated on a record. During the development of All That Glitters, Carey had been introduced to DreamWorks producer Jeffrey Katzenberg, who asked her if she would record the song "When You Believe" for the soundtrack to the animated film The Prince of Egypt.[19] Carey and Houston were shown the film separately, and both became very enthusiastic about participating in the project. In an interview with MTV, Carey made the following statement regarding "When You Believe" and working with Whitney Houston:

"It's sort of a message song. It's what 'Prince of Egypt' is about, Moses. If we were ever going to come together on any kind of record, this is definitely the right one, and really the coolest thing to me is that after all of the drama and everybody making it like we had a rivalry, she was just really cool and we had a really good time in the studio. We had fun. And so, if nothing else, it was a good experience... and diva-ism, whatever."

The song was co-written by Stephen Schwartz and Babyface, who also produced the song. Carey had previously collaborated with Babyface on her albums, Music Box (1993) and Daydream (1995). Babyface expressed how he went through more than one version of the song and described its production as a beautiful movie ballad, something different than he, Carey or Houston ever recorded. In an interview with Vibe, Carey said that she "liked [the song] the way it was." She had characterised it as "a very big ballad but in an inspirational way" and denied speculation that there had been past rivalry or animosity between her and Houston prior to its recording: "I never even really talked to her until this. We never had any issues between us. The media and everybody made it an issue."

Mariah and I got along very great. We had never talked and never sang together before. We just had a chance for camaraderie, singer-to-singer, artist-to-artist, that kind of thing. We just laughed and talked and laughed and talked and sang in between that ... It's good to know that two ladies of soul can still be friends."

—Houston, on her friendship and working with Mariah Carey.

One of the songs Carey recorded specifically for #1's was a cover of Brenda K. Starr's "I Still Believe" (1988) co-produced by Stevie J and Mike Mason. During the late 1980s, Starr helped Carey secure a record contract while she worked as Starr's backup singer. In the album's liner notes, Carey wrote that the purpose of the song was solely paying tribute to her. According to Carey, the song "reminds me of the fact that not long ago I was a teenage girl with nothing to my name but a demo tape, my voice, and my ability to write songs. Brenda K. Starr treated me like a 'star' and gave me a shot." Another song Carey and Stevie J co-produced was a cover of Diana Ross' "Theme from Mahogany (Do You Know Where You're Going To)" (1975). Only included on international editions of the album, it was the third non-original song on the album, and experienced a limited release throughout few countries in Europe. During a press release for #1's, it was reported that an exclusive live version of "Hero" would be included, however, the idea fell through and was never released.

In December 1999, Columbia released the video/DVD #1's, which contained music videos and recordings of live performances for the number-one singles featured on #1's, as well as "Heartbreaker", the lead single from Carey's following album Rainbow (1999), which had already reached number one at the time.

Track listing

1. "Sweetheart" (Rainy Davis cover) (featuring JD)  4:25
2. "When You Believe" (with Whitney Houston, from The Prince of Egypt, 1998)  4:36
3. "Whenever You Call" (with Brian McKnight, from Butterfly, 1997) 4:23
4. "My All" (from Butterfly) 3:52
5. "Honey" (from Butterfly) 5:00
6. "Always Be My Baby" (from Daydream, 1995) 4:20
7. "One Sweet Day" (with Boyz II Men) (from Daydream)    4:42
8. "Fantasy" (Bad Boy Mix featuring Ol' Dirty Bastard) (from Daydream) 4:54
9. "Hero" (from Music Box, 1993) 4:20
10. "Dreamlover" (from Music Box) 3:54
11. "I'll Be There" (Jackson 5 cover) (featuring Trey Lorenz) (from MTV Unplugged, 1992) 4:25
12. "Emotions" (from Emotions, 1991) 4:10
13. "I Don't Wanna Cry" (from Mariah Carey, 1990) 4:49
14. "Someday" (from Mariah Carey) 4:08
15. "Love Takes Time" (from Mariah Carey) 3:49
16. "Vision of Love" (from Mariah Carey) 3:31
17. "I Still Believe" (Brenda K. Starr cover) 3:56

#1's – International edition

1. "Someday" (from Mariah Carey) 4:07
2. "Love Takes Time" (from Mariah Carey) 3:49
3. "Vision of Love" (from Mariah Carey) 3:31
4. "I Still Believe" (Brenda K. Starr cover) 3:56
5. "Without You" (Badfinger cover) (from Music Box) 3:35
6. "Do You Know Where You're Going To (Theme from Mahogany)" (Diana Ross cover) 3:47

Recording information:

Mariah Carey – arranger

Walter Afanasieff – arranger

Dave Hall – arranger

Babyface – arranger

Narada Michael Walden – arranger, additional production, rhythm arrangement

Ric Wake – additional arrangement

Rich Tancredi – additional arrangement

Patrick Dillett – engineer, recording, mixing

Bob Cadway – engineer, recording, mixing

Rhett Lawrence – recording, mixing, arranger

Dana Jon Chappelle – engineer, mixing, additional engineering

Missy Elliott – arranger

Albert Johnson – vocal engineering, bass, drums

David Morales – synthesizers, drum percussion, bass

Bobby Robinson – engineer, track mixer

Bob Rosa – engineer, mix engineer

David Gleeson – engineer

Dana Jon Chappelle – engineer, vocal engineering

Acar Key – engineer

Frank Filipetti – engineer

Mark Krieg – second engineer

Kirk Yano – additional tracking engineer

Mick Guzauski – mixing

Bob Ludwig – mastering, Gateway Master Studios

Mariah Carey "Daydream (USA, Columbia Records, 481367 2)"

Daydream is the fifth studio album by American singer-songwriter Mariah Carey, released on September 26, 1995, by Columbia Records. The follow-up to her internationally successful studio album Music Box (1993), and the holiday album Merry Christmas (1994), Daydream differed from her previous releases by leaning increasingly towards urban music. Throughout the project, Carey collaborated with Walter Afanasieff, with whom she wrote and produced most of her previous albums. With Daydream, Carey took more control over the musical direction as well as the album's composition. Carey considered the album to be the beginning of her musical and vocal transition, a change that would become more evident in her sixth studio album Butterfly (1997). During the album's production, Carey endured many creative differences with her label and then-husband Tommy Mottola. On Daydream, Carey collaborated with Jermaine Dupri, Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds, and R&B group Boyz II Men. With Afanasieff's assistance and the addition of a few contemporary producers, she was able to make a subtle transition into the contemporary R&B market, after previously only pursuing pop, adult contemporary and traditional R&B music.

Daydream received critical acclaim, with reviewers praising the album's production, its sonic quality, and Carey's musical progression. It became Carey's best reviewed album up to that point and garnered six nominations at the 38th Grammy Awards, including for Album of the Year. It was later included on the List of 200 Definitive Albums in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Daydream became a global success, topping the charts in nine countries, and reaching the top five in almost every major music market. It was Carey's second album to be certified Diamond by the RIAA. Daydream has sold over 20 million copies worldwide and is one of the best-selling albums of all time.

Five singles were released from the album. Its lead single "Fantasy" became the first single by a female artist to debut at number one on the US Billboard Hot 100 and went on to top the chart for eight weeks, and became the second best-selling single of 1995 in the country. The second single "One Sweet Day" topped the Billboard Hot 100 for sixteen weeks and became the longest-running number-one single in Billboard's history, holding the record for 23 years. The album's next single "Always Be My Baby" reached number one as well. Jointly, the singles from Daydream spent a combined six months at the top of the Hot 100. To promote the album, Carey embarked on the short but successful, Daydream World Tour, visiting Japan and Europe.

Daydream is Carey's second best-selling album worldwide and served as her most personal and directly influenced album at the time. During the album's recording, Carey grew as an artist, as well as a writer. For the first time in her career, Carey was able to make music that she truly related to, R&B and hip hop. While Columbia allowed Carey more leniency with the music she recorded, they became hesitant when she featured Ol' Dirty Bastard in the remix for "Fantasy". They feared the sudden change was completely left field for her music, and worried it would jeopardize the album's success. In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Carey openly spoke of her issues with Columbia: "Everybody was like 'What, are you crazy?' They're nervous about breaking the formula. It works to have me sing a ballad on stage in a long dress with my hair up."

While Carey's new musical direction caused tension between her and Columbia, it began to severely strain her relationship with her husband at the time, Tommy Mottola. Mottola had always been involved in Carey's career, because he was the head of Sony Music, the parent company of her label. Since the time of Carey's debut, Mottola had controlled nearly every aspect of her career, keeping her sound carefully regulated and insisting that she continue recording middle-of-the-road pop music, despite her interest in hip hop.

What I tried to do is to put it, sort of, a texture on a lot of songs, like as a background part I did certain things, and you know I just meant to get a little more creative with it.

—Carey, in an interview with MTV, on her styling on Daydream

Carey confessed that she never tried to change the situation because "[she] used to be insecure and cautious, and so [she] would listen to what the people said." However, the control Mottola exerted over her career soon "spilled into her personal life" once they were married, increasing the amount of conflict between the two. Soon, it was obvious that their marriage was in shambles; as stated in a Vanity Fair article, "the couple began to argue at the drop of a hat." Carey was very involved in the project, more so than she had ever been on an album. "I went into this phase of recording, recording, recording and doing it really fast," she told Time. "This time, I had more time, and I focused more on what I wanted to do." As Carey's career and work continued to reflect her views on how it should sound, her marriage to Mottola continued to "deteriorate".

During the recording of Daydream, Carey also worked on the alternative rock album Someone's Ugly Daughter by the band Chick, contributing writing, production, vocals and art direction. As Columbia refused to release the album with her lead vocals, Carey's friend Clarissa Dane was brought in to become the face of Chick, and her vocals were layered on top of Carey's, masking her voice. According to Carey, "I was playing with the style of the breezy-grunge, punk-light white female singers who were popular at the time ... I totally looked forward to doing my alter-ego band sessions after Daydream each night." Her contributions were secret until the release of her 2020 memoir The Meaning of Mariah Carey.

Daydream was released in Taiwan on September 26, 1995, Europe on September 28, Japan on September 30, Hong Kong on October 2, and the United States on October 3.

In order to promote the album, Carey embarked on her second head-lining tour. Originally she was against touring due to the long travel times and hassle, but obliged due to fan request. The tour reached Japan and select European countries, not visiting the United States. This was possibly due to the mixed reception Carey's 1993 North American Music Box Tour received three years prior. The shows were all spaced apart, giving Carey time to rest her vocals, "It's very strenuous to sing all my songs back to back, but I'm actually really looking forward to it." Before embarking on her world tour in 1996, Carey performed a sold-out show at Madison Square Garden in 1995. The performance was filmed, and released as a DVD titled Fantasy: Mariah Carey at Madison Square Garden. It became Carey's fourth video release.

For the show, Carey sang fourteen original songs, including many of her biggest hits up until that point, as well as many songs from Daydream. They included "Fantasy", "One Sweet Day", "Open Arms", "Always Be My Baby", "Forever" and "Underneath the Stars" as well as hits from her previous studio efforts. Carey's following shows in France, Germany, The Netherlands and the United Kingdom were all sold-out as well, receiving warm critical response. During the span of the tour's seven short dates, Carey had already begun working on concepts for her new album Butterfly.

In addition to touring the world, Carey performed on a variety of television programs and award shows. After "Fantasy" was released in September throughout Europe, Carey performed the song on the popular British chart show Top of the Pops, which aired live via satellite on Asian television. Carey performed "Fantasy" in France and at the 23rd Annual American Music Awards on January 29, 1996. "One Sweet Day" was performed at the 38th Annual Grammy Awards, Princess Diana's memorial service in September 1997, and at Carey's Black Entertainment Television Christmas special in 2001. During her European promotional tour for the album, Carey performed "Open Arms" on various television programs, including Wetten, dass..? in Germany, Top of the Pops and Des O'Connor in the United Kingdom and on Swedish television.

Daydream proved to be one of the best-selling and most acclaimed albums of 1995. When the Grammy Award nominees were announced, and Daydream was nominated for six different awards, critics began raving how it would be "cleaning up" that year. The 38th Annual Grammy Awards were held on February 28, 1996, at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles. Carey, being a multiple award nominee, was one of the headlining performers at the ceremony. Together with Boyz II Men, she performed a live rendition of "One Sweet Day", to a very positive response. However, as the award winners were announced one by one, Carey watched as her name was not called up even once. Daydream had lost all of its six nominations, shocking most critics who branded it the "album of the year". With every passing loss, the television cameras continued to zoom on Carey's face, who was finding it more difficult to retain her smile. By the end of the night, Carey had not won a single award. The disappointment on her face was "painfully obvious", according to media outlets. Carey did not perform again until the 2006 ceremony, when she was nominated for eight awards (winning three) for The Emancipation of Mimi.

Track listing

1. "Fantasy" 4:04
2. "Underneath the Stars"  3:33
3. "One Sweet Day" (with Boyz II Men) 4:42
4. "Open Arms" (Journey cover) 3:30
5. "Always Be My Baby" 4:18
6. "I Am Free" 3:09
7. "When I Saw You" 4:24
8. "Long Ago" 3:33
9. "Melt Away" 3:42
10. "Forever" 4:00
11. "Daydream Interlude" (Fantasy Sweet Dub Mix) 3:04
12. "Looking In" 3:35

Recording information:

Mariah Carey – vocals, producer, writer, arranger, crowd noise

Mike Scott – engineer

Manuel Seal – producer, lead and backup vocals

Dan Shea – synthesizer, bass, keyboards, programming, moog synthesizer, drum programming, synthesizer bass

Andy Smith – engineer

David Sussman – engineer, mixing

Phil Tan – engineer

Steve Thornton – percussion

Dana Jon Chappelle – engineer

Terry Burrus – piano

Satoshi Tomiie – bass, keyboards, programming, synthesizer bass

Brian Vibberts – engineer

Gary Cirimelli – programming, digital programming

Randy Walker – programming

Acar Key – engineer

Frank Filipetti – engineer

Mark Krieg – 2nd engineer

Kirk Yano – additional tracking engineer

Mick Guzauski – mixing

Mariah Carey "Music Box (USA, Columbia Records, 47270 2)"

Music Box is the third studio album by American singer-songwriter Mariah Carey. It was released by Columbia Records on August 31, 1993. The album comprises ballads primarily written by Carey and Walter Afanasieff, with whom she had previously worked on Emotions (1991), and a few urban dance tracks. During the course of the album's development, Carey wanted to broaden her audience, choosing a more pop/R&B oriented sound. During this time frame, she experimented with different musical instruments, leading the album's sound away from her more contemporary previous two efforts.

In order to successfully take the album in a new direction, Carey and Afanasieff sought out new and innovative producers, as well as some from Carey's previous releases. Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds first began working with Carey on Music Box, where he helped produce "Never Forget You", as well as being part of the songwriting process. Additional writers and producers were Robert Clivillés and David Cole (a pair also known as C+C Music Factory) and Daryl Simmons. While the album featured a range of music producers, the bulk of the songwriting was done by Carey and her writing partner, Afanasieff. In future projects, they would continue writing material for Carey's albums, until her 1999 release Rainbow, where he is absent from the writing credits.

Five singles were released from the album. The first three, "Dreamlover", "Hero" and a cover recording of Badfinger's "Without You", became worldwide chart-topping singles, the latter becoming Carey's highest charting international single of her career. "Without You" became Carey's first number-one single in most European markets and reached the top three in the United States. To promote Music Box, Carey embarked on the short but successful Music Box Tour which traveled to select cities in North America. Carey was nominated for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance for "Dreamlover" at the 1994 Grammy Awards and received the same nomination for "Hero" at the 1995 Grammy Awards.

After its release, Music Box received generally mixed reviews from music critics. The album faced criticism regarding Carey's more mellow and laid-back tone in comparison to her previous work. Commercially, the album reached number one in 15 countries, including Australia, France, Germany, the United Kingdom and the United States. The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) certified it Diamond, for shipments of ten million copies across the United States. Music Box remains Carey's highest seller with 28 million copies sold worldwide and is one of the best-selling albums of all time.

In 1988, Carey was discovered by Tommy Mottola, CEO of Columbia Records, and was promptly signed to the label. Carey's self-titled debut studio album, released in 1990, focused on re-recording and mastering several songs she had already written in high school alongside classmate, Ben Margulies. Aside from the seven songs taken from Carey's demo tape, four other tracks were written and produced by the former and an array of famed record producers. The album was complimented by critics, who called it a mature debut, full of various genre influences ranging from pop, R&B and soul. The album became a commercial success, selling fifteen million units globally. While making a strong impact on pop music, Carey became interested in altering her sound, and deviating from pop music for her second studio effort, Emotions (1991). Following the success of her debut, Columbia allowed her to take more control over her musical departure, enabling her to change her genre infusions, melodies and production.

With Carey as executive producer, having more control than she had on any other album, she took the album in a new direction, alongside Afanasieff. For Carey's third studio effort, she enrolled the help of a range of songwriters, as well as record producers. Aside from Afanasieff, Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds, a man who would collaborate with Carey often in the near future, also took part in the project. Babyface also co-wrote a track with Carey titled "Never Forget You", a song that was released as a B-side to "Without You" exclusively in the United States. The album, which consisted mostly of slower ballads (with the exception of "Dreamlover", "Now That I Know", and "I've Been Thinking about You"), contained collaborations with some carry-on producers and writers from Emotions. Of these were Clivillés & Cole (of C+C Music Factory), who co-wrote the track "Now That I Know", a danceable pop-R&B ballad, which used similar formulas and synthesizers from tracks on Emotions. Another writer–producer that worked on the album was David Hall, who with Carey wrote the US single "Dreamlover".

During the album's recording, Carey worked with several different musicians and producers, aside from Walter Afanasieff, the only hold over from her debut. On the album's first track "Dreamlover", Carey worked with Dave Hall throughout the song's entire production. In order to help with some of the song's arrangements, Mottola enrolled the help of Walter Afanasieff, who took on the completed track and transformed it into a more commercial hit.

Emotions contained influences from mostly 1950s, 1960s and 1970s balladry and gospel, as well as her continued work of R&B and soul. The album, while praised by some as more mature and raw, failed to reach the critical or commercial heights of her debut effort. Notably, it sold significantly less well and failed to introduce Carey into a different market. Following these developments, Columbia sought to market Carey in a similar fashion to her debut, aiming for a more commercial and radio-friendly album. Their plans were to tone down Carey's vocals, and soften the album's production, leaving a more contemporary pop/R&B record. Agreeing to this approach, Carey and Afanasieff began writing and recording material for her third studio effort, Music Box.

One of the noticeable differences between Music Box and Carey's previous albums is the sound. The album was described by Afanasieff as a softer and more pop-oriented record, "filling the songs with air" and allowing far more space in the overall sound. Another noticeable change is in the album's production. When Mariah Carey was released, critics took notice of its "overly produced" and "studio perfect" quality, whereas Emotions, in comparison, maintains a "raw, live sound." Music Box, however, falls in between the two, a decision made by Carey during the album's production. She would layer each track with live backing vocals, so not to sound too overly produced, but still kept the inclusion of musical synthesizers.

According to Marc Shapiro, Music Box reflects signs of Carey's vocal maturity, as well as representing an album she was truly proud of. The album's first single "Dreamlover" was described as a "slight piece of pop fluff," representing a more commercial side to Carey than the "more ambitious" "Vision of Love". Critics believed the song's chart performance was due to its summer release, as people were still looking for a "not-too-heavy" and more diverse sound. The song's composition was described as "mid tempo and mildly dance-able," with Carey's voice being called "perpetually happy," like a "little-girl voice."

Track listing

1. "Dreamlover" 3:54
2. "Hero" 4:19
3. "Anytime You Need a Friend"   4:26
4. "Music Box" 4:57
5. "Now That I Know"   4:19
6. "Never Forget You" 3:46
7. "Without You" 3:36
8. "Just to Hold You Once Again"   3:59
9. "I've Been Thinking About You" 4:48
10. "All I've Ever Wanted" 3:51

Total length: 42:01

Bonus track:

1. "Everything Fades Away"  5:25

Total length: 47:26

Recording information:

Mariah Carey – arranger

Dave Hall – arranger

Walter Afanasieff – arranger

Robert Clivilles – arranger

David Cole – arranger

Babyface – arranger

Bob Rosa – engineer, mix engineer

David Gleeson – engineer

Dana Jon Chappelle – engineer, vocal engineering

Acar Key – engineer

Frank Filipetti – engineer

Jim Zumpano – engineer

Jim Caruana – 2nd engineer

Jen Monnar – 2nd engineer

Kent Matcke – 2nd engineer

Mark Krieg – 2nd engineer

Kirk Yano – additional tracking engineer

Mick Guzauski – mixing

Bob Ludwig – mastering, Gateway Master Studios

Phil Collins "...Hits"

Hits (stylized as ...Hits), released in 1998 and again in 2008, following the success of "In the Air Tonight" on the Cadbury ad campaign, is the first greatest hits album by English drummer and singer-songwriter Phil Collins. The collection included fourteen Top 40 hits, including seven American number 1 songs, spanning from the albums Face Value (1981) through Dance into the Light (1996). One new Collins recording, a cover of Cyndi Lauper's "True Colors", also appeared on the collection and was a popular song on adult contemporary stations. Hits was also the first Phil Collins album to include four songs originally recorded for motion pictures (all of them U.S. number 1 hits) as well as his popular duet with Philip Bailey, "Easy Lover" (a UK number 1 hit).

In 1998, the album reached number 1 in the United Kingdom and number 18 in the United States. On 4 August 2008, it became the number 1 album on the New Zealand RIANZ album chart. In July 2012, the album re-entered the U.S. charts, reaching number 6 on the Billboard 200 when the album price was deeply discounted very briefly by Amazon.com. It has sold 3,429,000 in the US as of July 2012.

The compilation's cover features stylized versions of the cover art for Collins' first six albums, the collection's primary sources of songs.

There are other greatest hits compilations of Phil Collins songs. A collection of Collins's more romantic songs were released on a two-disc compilation titled Love Songs: A Compilation... Old and New. 1999's Turn It On Again: The Hits, 2005's Platinum Collection and 2014's R-Kive were greatest hits collections by Collins' original group, Genesis. Most recently, Collins released the 2016 compilation The Singles as part of his "Take a Look at Me Now" album remaster series.

Track listing

...Hits – Standard edition

1. "Another Day in Paradise" Phil Collins ...But Seriously (1989) 5:22
2. "True Colors" Billy Steinberg, Tom Kelly previously unreleased 4:34
3. "Easy Lover" (with Philip Bailey) Phil Collins/Philip Bailey/Nathan East Chinese Wall (1984) 5:02
4. "You Can't Hurry Love" Holland-Dozier-Holland Hello, I Must Be Going! (1982) 2:52
5. "Two Hearts" Phil Collins, Lamont Dozier Buster (1988) 3:24
6. "I Wish It Would Rain Down" Phil Collins ...But Seriously (1989) 5:28
7. "Against All Odds (Take a Look at Me Now)" Phil Collins Against All Odds (1984) 3:25
8. "Something Happened on the Way to Heaven" Phil Collins, Daryl Stuermer ...But Seriously (1989) 4:51
9. "Separate Lives" (with Marilyn Martin) Stephen Bishop White Nights (1985) 4:06
10. "Both Sides of the Story" Phil Collins Both Sides (1993) 6:37
11. "One More Night" Phil Collins No Jacket Required (1985) 4:46
12. "Sussudio" Phil Collins No Jacket Required (1985) 4:21
13. "Dance into the Light" Phil Collins Dance into the Light (1996) 4:22
14. "A Groovy Kind of Love" Toni Wine, Carole Bayer Sager Buster (1988) 3:29
15. "In the Air Tonight" Phil Collins Face Value (1981) 5:30
16. "Take Me Home" Phil Collins No Jacket Required (1985) 5:52

Total length: 01:14:01

Track 1 features David Crosby on backing vocals.

Track 2 features Babyface on backing vocals, keyboard and drum programming, and Sheila E on percussion.

Track 3 features Philip Bailey on vocals.

Tracks 4, 11-13, 15 feature Daryl Stuermer on guitar.

Track 6 features Eric Clapton on guitar.

Tracks 8, 13 feature Nathan East on bass.

Track 9 features Marilyn Martin on vocals.

Track 16 features Peter Gabriel, Sting, and Helen Terry on backing vocals.

The original pressing of the album lists "Another Day in Paradise" with an incorrect running time of 6:22 and "One More Night" with a running time of 5:12. This is not the case for the Virgin pressing.