Mariah Carey "Rainbow (USA, Columbia Records, 495065 2)"

Rainbow is the seventh studio album by American R&B singer Mariah Carey, released on November 2, 1999 in the United States, by Columbia Records. The album followed her previous album, Butterfly (1997), in which she adopted a new image and fully transitioned into the urban contemporary market. Rainbow contains a mix of hip hop-influenced R&B tracks, as well as a variety of ballads. Carey produced the album mainly with Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis, who replaced Walter Afanasieff, the main balladeer Carey worked with throughout the 1990s. As a result of her divorce from Sony Music CEO Tommy Mottola, Carey had more control over the musical style of this album, so she collaborated with several hip-hop artists such as Jay-Z, Snoop Dogg, Master P and Mystikal as well as female rappers Da Brat and Missy Elliott. Other collaborations include Joe, Usher and boyband 98 Degrees.

On Carey's previous album, Butterfly, she began incorporating several other genres, including R&B and hip hop, into her musical repertoire. In order to further push her musical horizons, Carey featured Jay-Z on the album's lead single, the first time in her career that another artist was featured on one of her lead singles. Carey wrote ballads that were closer to R&B than pop for this album, and worked with Snoop Dogg and Usher on songs such as "Crybaby" and "How Much", respectively, both of which featured strong R&B beats and grooves. Several of the ballads that Carey wrote during this period, including "Thank God I Found You" (written with Terry Lewis) and "After Tonight" (written with Diane Warren), mirrored sentiments she experienced in her personal life.

The album spawned five singles, two of which became number-one hits on the US Billboard Hot 100, making Rainbow her seventh-consecutive studio album to produce one or more number-one hits. The album's lead single, "Heartbreaker", became Carey's fourteenth number-one hit on the Billboard Hot 100 and topped the record charts in Canada and New Zealand. "Thank God I Found You", featuring Joe and 98 Degrees, also topped the Billboard Hot 100, but achieved moderate international chart success. The next two singles, "Can't Take That Away (Mariah's Theme) and "Crybaby" featuring Snoop Dogg, were released as a double A-side. The songs were at the center of a public feud in between Carey and Sony Music due to the label's alleged weak promotion of the singles. Carey's cover of Phil Collins' "Against All Odds (Take a Look at Me Now)" with Westlife peaked at number one in Ireland, Scotland and the UK Singles Chart.

Rainbow was well received by music critics, who generally praised Carey's embrace of R&B and hip hop in her music. The album debuted at number two on the US Billboard 200, with first week sales of 323,000. It was her first non-holiday studio album since 1991's Emotions to not reach number one. However, within a month, Rainbow was certified triple-Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), denoting shipments of three million copies within the United States. Internationally, the album peaked at number one in France and Greece, and charted within the top-five positions in Australia, Austria, Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, Japan and Switzerland. Globally, Rainbow has sold an estimated eight million copies.

Since her debut in 1990, Carey's career was heavily calculated and controlled by her husband and Sony Music CEO, Tommy Mottola. For years, Carey's albums had consisted of slow and meaningful ballads, devoid of any guest appearances or hip hop-influenced melodies. In January 1995, as she recorded Daydream, Carey began taking more control over her musical style and genre influences. She enlisted the production skills and rap styles of Ol' Dirty Bastard, who was featured on the remix of her song "Fantasy." While Mottola was hesitant at first, Carey's persistence paid off when the song became an international chart topper, with critics calling the collaboration one of the pioneering songs of pop and R&B musical collaborations.

During the recording and production of Carey's Butterfly in 1997, she and Mottola separated, giving Carey an extended amount of control over the unfinished album. Following their separation, Carey began working with younger hip hop and R&B producers and songwriters, aside from her usual work with balladeers Walter Afanasieff and Kenneth Edmonds. While the album incorporated several different genres and components that were not present in Carey's previous releases, Butterfly also included a balance of her classic ballads and newer R&B-infused jams. While Sony accepted Carey's new collaborations with writers and producers such as P. Diddy and Bone Thugs-n-Harmony, they continued to focus their promotion on the ballads. After "Honey," the debut single from Butterfly, was released in August 1997, Sony halted the release of the succeeding R&B-influenced jams, and released the ballad "My All" as the second worldwide single. Rainbow followed in its predecessors' footsteps, featuring even more hip hop and R&B.

During the spring of 1999, Carey began working on the final album of her record contract with Sony, her ex-husband's label. Carey's lover at the time, Luis Miguel, was in the midst of a European tour. In order to spend more time with him, she opted to record the album on the secluded island of Capri, Italy, figuring the seclusion would also help her complete the album sooner. During this time, Carey's strained relationship with Sony affected her work with writing partner Afanasieff, who had worked extensively with Carey throughout the first half of her career. Aside from their growing creative differences, Mottola had given Afanasieff more opportunities to work with other artists. She felt Mottola was trying to separate her from Afanasieff, in hopes of keeping their relationship permanently strained. Due to the pressure and the awkward relationship Carey had now developed with Sony, she completed the album in a period of three months in the summer of 1999, quicker than any of her other albums. In an interview with Blitz TV, Carey spoke of her decision to record the album in Capri:

I love New York. But if I'm there, I want to go out, friends come to the studio, the phone rings constantly. But in Capri, I am in a remote place, and there is no one I can run into. I felt that in Capri I would be able to effectively finish the album on a shorter schedule. And I did. I made it in three months, I was like 'Get me off this label!' I couldn't take it. The situation there [Sony] was becoming increasingly difficult.

Like her previous releases, Carey co-wrote and co-produced the album's material, working with several hip hop and R&B producers such as Jay-Z, Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, Usher, Snoop Dogg, Missy Elliott, Jermaine Dupri, and Bryan-Michael Cox. For the album's debut single release, Carey collaborated with Jay-Z and DJ Clue. During the spring of 1999, Carey began working with Clue on several hooks and melodies for the lead single. After a few hours, they decided to include a hip hop star on the track, which eventually led to Jay-Z. Carey's longtime friend and back-up vocalist Trey Lorenz, who was featured on her remake of the Jackson 5 song "I'll Be There," added "some soft male [back-up] vocals." Carey worked with Lewis and Jam on the ballad "Thank God I Found You." She had already been in the studio with the duo several times when she contacted them to meet her at the studio, where she told them that she had come up with the title, hook, and melody. Usually, when Carey was writing the songs for Rainbow, James "Big Jim" Wright would play the organ or piano and assist Carey to find the "right melody." However, since Wright was not present, Lewis played the organ while Carey directed him with her lower registers, providing the chord progression. They composed the song and recorded Carey's vocals. Knowing she wanted to introduce a male vocalist on the track, Lewis brought R&B singer Joe and pop group 98 Degrees into the studio. After a few hours, the group and Joe had recorded all their vocals and the song was complete. In an interview with Bronson, Lewis discussed the night Carey wrote "Thank God I Found You:"

It all happened that night. She told us the title of the song, the concept and sang us the melody. We usually have Big Jim Wright sit in on those kind of sessions to work out the chords. he wasn't there so I had to work on the chord myself. So I was playing and there was a part where I said 'Man, what chord am I supposed to do here?' and Mariah has such a good ear that she sang me the chord.

While the album was immersed further into mainstream R&B territory, Carey included some of her classic ballads and tender love songs on the album, working with writers and producers such as David Foster and Diane Warren. The idea to work with Warren was suggested by Foster, who thought that the two would be able to "hammer out one hell of a ballad" together. The two wrote and produced the song titled "After Tonight." Carey felt the song was a perfect metaphor for her relationship with Miguel, describing their romance in Capri. While the song was deemed a success by both parties, they described their working relationship with mixed feelings. According to Foster, who was involved in the writing session, Carey and Warren would not always agree on the lyrics and melodious structure of the song. He described it as a "give and take relationship"; Warren would offer lyrics and Carey would not like them; she wanted something more intricate and detailed. Carey would produce a hook or lyrics that Warren did not feel were a perfect fit. In the end, Foster felt that they worked "well together." After recording the song, Carey invited Miguel to record the song with her as a duet. However, after recording his verses several times, Foster and Carey realized that the song would not turn out the way they planned. Foster said the song's key was "too high for him"; the voices did not harmonize well. Carey did not have time to re-record her vocals in a lower key to accommodate Miguel's verses. Miguel, furious over the failed collaboration, later sent a cut-up tape of the demo to Foster. Carey and Warren also wrote "Can't Take That Away (Mariah's Theme)," one of the other ballads featured on Rainbow.

As with Butterfly two years earlier, Rainbow became the center of conflict between Carey and her label. After her divorce from Mottola, Carey's working relationship with the label deteriorated. She intended for "Can't Take That Away (Mariah's Theme)" to be the third single from Rainbow, as it held very personal lyrical content. However, Sony made it clear that they intended the third single should be a more upbeat and urban track. The difference in opinion led to a very public feud, as Carey began posting messages on her webpage in early and mid-2000, telling fans inside information on the dispute, as well as instructing them to request "Can't Take That Away (Mariah's Theme)" on radio stations. One of the messages Carey left on her page read:

Basically, a lot of you know the political situation in my professional career is not positive. It's been really, really hard. I don't even know if this message is going to get to you because I don't know if they want you to hear this. I'm getting a lot of negative feedback from certain corporate people. But I am not willing to give up.

Carey's actions were given mixed reception, with critics and executives commending her bold actions regarding a song she felt needed to be heard, while others criticized her for publicizing the dispute further. Soon after, Sony stripped Carey's webpage of messages and began negotiations. Fearing to lose their label's highest seller and the best-selling artist of the decade, Sony chose to release the song. Carey, initially content with the agreement, soon found out that the song had only been given a very limited and low-promotion release, which meant the song failed to chart on the official US chart, and made international charting extremely difficult and unlikely.

Track listing

1. "Heartbreaker" (featuring Jay-Z) 4:46
2. "Can't Take That Away (Mariah's Theme)" 4:33
3. "Bliss" 5:44
4. "How Much" (featuring Usher) 3:31
5. "After Tonight" 4:16
6. "X-Girlfriend"   3:58
7. "Heartbreaker (Remix)" (featuring Da Brat, Missy Elliott and DJ Clue) 4:32
8. "Vulnerability (Interlude)"   1:12
9. "Against All Odds (Take a Look at Me Now)" (Phil Collins cover) 3:25
10. "Crybaby" (featuring Snoop Dogg) 5:20
11. "Did I Do That?" 4:16
12. "Petals" 4:23
13. "Rainbow (Interlude)" 1:32
14. "Thank God I Found You" (featuring Joe and 98°) 4:17

Recording information:

Mariah Carey – arranger, producer

David Foster – arranger, producer

Diane Warren – arranger

Jermaine Dupri – arranger, producer

Narada Michael Walden – producer

Terry Lewis – arranger, producer

James Harris – producer

Bryan-Michael Cox – producer

Melissa Elliott – producer

Calvin Broadus – producer

Shawn Carter – producer

DJ Clue – arranger, producer

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 "Butterfly (Austria, Columbia Records, 488537 2)"

Butterfly is the sixth studio album by American singer-songwriter Mariah Carey, released on September 10, 1997, by Columbia Records. The album contains both hip-hop and urban adult contemporary sounds, as well as some softer and more contemporary melodies. Throughout the project, Carey worked with Walter Afanasieff, with whom she had written and produced most of the material from her previous albums. She also worked with many famed hip-hop producers and rappers, such as Sean "Puffy" Combs, Q-Tip, Missy Elliott and the Trackmasters. With the latter acts producing most of the album, Butterfly deviated from the adult contemporary sound of Carey's previous albums.

With Butterfly, Carey continued the transition that began with previous album, Daydream (1995), which pushed her further into the R&B and hip hop market and away from the pop background of her previous work. Carey was able to reflect her creative maturity and evolution in the album's writing and recording. Carey writes in the booklet of her twelfth studio album, Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel (2009), that she considers Butterfly her magnum opus and a turning point in both her life and career.

Five singles were released from the album; two worldwide commercial singles and three limited-release singles. "Honey", the album's lead single, topped the charts in Canada and the United States, and reached the top five in New Zealand, Spain and the United Kingdom. The album's fifth and final single, "My All", became a top-ten hit throughout Europe and topped the charts in the United States. To promote the album, Carey embarked on the Butterfly World Tour, which visited Australia, Japan and Taiwan, with one show in the United States. Butterfly was nominated for three Grammy Awards at the 40th Annual Grammy Awards.

Butterfly received acclaim from music critics, many of whom embraced Carey's musical transition. Reviewers complimented the album for its mature sound and production, as well as Carey's musical direction. Though released during Carey's heavily publicized conflict with Sony Music, the album became an international commercial success, topping the albums charts in many countries, including Australia, Canada, Greece, Japan, the Netherlands, as well as the United States. It was certified five-times Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) in the United States and received the Million Award in Japan. Globally, Butterfly has sold over ten million copies.

Carey began working on Butterfly in November 1996. During the album's development in mid-1997 Carey separated from her husband, music executive Tommy Mottola, who had guided her career since 1990. Carey's increasing control over her own career had led to speculation in the press over the future of the couple, and they later divorced. Throughout the development of the album, in a departure from her previous style, Carey worked with various rappers and hip hop producers, including Sean "Puffy" Combs, Q-Tip, Missy Elliott and Jean Claude Oliver and Samuel Barnes from Trackmasters. Critics saw Carey's new production team as a form of revenge on Mottola and Sony Music. Carey denied taking a radically new direction, and insisted that the musical style of her new album was of her own choosing. Nevertheless, Carey resented the control that Sony, whose president was Mottola, exercised over her music, preventing her from making music about which she was passionate. In contrast, Sony was concerned Carey, their best-selling act, could jeopardize her future success through her actions.

In the past, people were scared to let me explore different types of music that I loved and enjoyed. They [the studio heads] saw me as having this instrument, and they wanted to get the most use out of it. There were a lot of people around me who were afraid of change. I was a valuable commodity, and they didn't want to lose that. I was encouraged to act drab, because drab sells records.

—Carey, on her conflict with Sony Music

The pressure of the separation and constant press attention began to take its toll on Carey. Growing creative differences with producer Walter Afanasieff ended their working relationship, after collaborating on most of Carey's previous output. The breaking point came after a heated argument during a long recording session, over the album's musical direction. Carey also faced media criticism over her choice of producers and several newspapers linked Carey romantically to several rappers, suggesting these relationships influenced her decisions. However, Carey denied the allegations, stating she had only slept with her husband.

Butterfly was first released on September 10, 1997, in Japan and Taiwan. It was unconventionally released on Thursday, September 11, in the United Kingdom, and September 12 in the rest of Europe. Columbia released it on September 16 in the United States. It was issued as an LP, cassette, compact disc, and/or MiniDisc depending on the country. In the United States, Columbia also issued a cassette/CD package set, the first such configuration by a record label.

Butterfly was described as an R&B, pop and hip hop music album with hip hop soul elements. With a variety of writers and producers and its new musical direction for Carey, the album was always likely to be a commercial success. Carey and Combs wrote the lead single, "Honey." Combs believed this to be a good song but was uncertain how successful it would be as a release owing to its heavy hip hop influence. The remix for "Honey" featured rapping lead vocals from Da Brat, The LOX and Mase, and some verses were rapped by Combs himself. The track was very different from Carey's previous recordings, and was described by author Chris Nickson as "street Hip-Hop music, with a booming bass." The song's melody was driven by Q-Tip's drum programming and Stevie J's keyboard notes. Combs's production gave the song a "light and airy" effect, further distancing it from Carey's contemporary sound. "Honey" featured musical samples from Treacherous Three's "The Body Rock", and "Hey DJ" by The World's Famous Supreme Team. The track used both hip hop and R&B with traces of pop music and was described as a "[song with a] catchy chorus, combining hip hop and pop into something that simply wasn't going to be denied by anyone, and offering a powerful start to a record."

The album's second single, "Butterfly", was one of the ballads Carey wrote with Afanasieff. Carey described the song as the "favorite ballad she had ever written", one that was more personal than her previous work as the emotions conveyed through the song allude at just how meaningful the lyrics are to her. Carey solely wrote the lyrics while Afanasieff, who composed the music with Dan Shea, handled the song's instrumentals, and added a few personal R&B touches. Another ballad Carey wrote with Afanasieff was "My All", written as a contrast to the album's general hip hop flavor. Carey described the song as having "a lush sound and intense styling". It featured guitar arpeggios, which were synthetically created using sampling and keyboard notes. "The Roof", Butterfly's European single, incorporated fragments from Mobb Deep's "Shook Ones (Part II)", and was produced by Carey, Poke & Tone and Cory Rooney.

I had the hook already, as well as a melody and lyric for the chorus. Then she and I collaborated on a new melody for the verses, and we did the first verse, and the second half of the second verse together.

—Carey, on working with Elliott on "Babydoll"

"Fourth of July", one of the album's slower ballads, was also written solely by Carey and Afanasieff but was not released as a single. The song was perceived to have jazz influences and was compared to some of Carey's older work such as "Vanishing" and "The Wind". The next two tracks on the record, "Breakdown" and "Babydoll", were described as "the album's backbone, its real declaration of independence" by Nickson. "Breakdown" was written by Carey and Puffy and included rap verses from Wish and Krayzie Bone from Bone Thugs-n-Harmony. Author Chris Nickson wrote that "'Breakdown' showed Mariah treading forcefully into territory that was new for her and making it her own." For "Babydoll", Carey teamed up with Elliott. The track was recorded in Atlanta, where Elliott resided, and included background vocals from Carey's long-time friend, Trey Lorenz. "Babydoll" is an R&B ballad with trip hop and drum and bass influences, and was described as "a vocally driven piece", with strong jazz harmony provided by Cory Rooney. Other songs that incorporated R&B influence into ballads were "Whenever You Call" and "Close My Eyes", which were personally important to Carey due to their lyrical content. While both were similar ballads to Carey's previous work, Nickson said:

While up to the standard of anything Mariah had ever done before, [they] suffered in comparison. But even here you could hear the new Mariah in the spareness of the arrangements and the way it was her voice, rather than any instrument, that controlled the song. She'd grown to the point where having less behind her really proved to be more, for the song and for her. It was notable, too, that like the other ballads on the record, these two leaned very much towards R&B.

Carey wrote the song "Fly Away (Butterfly Reprise)" with famed house music producer David Morales. When imagining the concept for "Butterfly", Carey intended the song to be a house music record, but after writing it, made it into a ballad. Carey expressed a desire to feature her concept both on the house record, in addition to the ballad that would become "Butterfly". Morales took Carey's lyrics, concept and melody and added a house beat to it. For the album, Carey recorded a version of Prince's "The Beautiful Ones", featuring Dru Hill, with Dru Hill lead singer Sisqó sharing much of the lead with her. The song was one of the last recorded tracks and was the only non-original song on Butterfly.[21] The final song on the album was "Outside", a ballad that was written by Carey, Afanasieff and Rooney, about Carey's experience being biracial. Richard Harrington from The Washington Post described the album's subtle inclusion of both pop and R&B genres:

There are two Mariah Careys on Butterfly. One is the pop-oriented, ballad-leaning traditionalist who works very effectively with her longtime professional partner, composer-producer Walter Afanasieff. The other is a self-styled hip-hop fanatic who worked with Ol' Dirty Bastard on her last album and teams up here with several of that genre's movers and shakers, most notably Sean "Puffy" Combs, the godfather of hip-hop soul and the hottest producer in pop music today.

To promote Butterfly, Carey made many live appearances. On September 12, 1997, Carey was interviewed about her split from Mottola and sang a live rendition of "Butterfly" and "Hero" on The Oprah Winfrey Show. Carey also featured as a musical guest on November 15, 1997, on Saturday Night Live, performing "Butterfly" again, as well as the Spanish-inspired "My All". She made two appearances on The Rosie O'Donnell Show; she performed "My All" and on her return visit, sang "Close My Eyes" live for the first time. Carey also gave performances at awards shows, singing "My All" at the 1998 Blockbuster Entertainment Awards and "Honey" at the 1998 World Music Awards. In Europe, Carey made several promotional television appearances. In the United Kingdom, Carey performed "My All" and "Honey" on the Des O'Connor Show and Top of the Pops. In Germany, she sang "Butterfly" on Wetten, dass..? and performed on Japanese television.

Originally, Carey had not planned to tour, after receiving mixed reviews in the US for her Music Box Tour. However, after the album's release, many fans requested Carey to tour, especially in Asia and Australia. Therefore, Carey embarked on the Butterfly World Tour; her third head-lining tour and most extensive to date. The tour included eleven shows, four in Japan's largest stadium, Tokyo Dome, one in Taiwan, five in Australia and one in the United States. As part of her performance at the 50,000-capacity Aloha Stadium in Hawaii, Carey filmed a concert video, Around the World. The video was a compilation DVD which included parts of Carey's shows in Japan, Australia and Hawaii. The tour was a critical and commercial success. Both fans and critics praised the quality of the show and Carey's vocals.

Five singles were released from Butterfly; some featured as airplay-only singles, while others were released only in certain territories. "Honey" was released as the album's first single to mainstream and rhythmic radio on July 29, 1997. The song became Carey's twelfth number-one single on the Billboard Hot 100 and topped the chart in Canada, while reaching the top five in New Zealand, Spain and the United Kingdom. It was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), for shipments of one million units in the United States, and received a gold certification in Australia. "Honey" was well-received, with critics complimenting its catchy sound and clever fusion of pop and R&B sounds. The title track served as the album's second single, but it was released as an "airplay-only" single due to Carey's conflict with Sony. Though not being released commercially by her label, "Butterfly" reached number sixteen on the Hot 100 Airplay, as well as the top twenty in New Zealand.

"Breakdown" was the third single released from Butterfly. The song received a limited release throughout certain countries, such as the United States, where it peaked at number four on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs. Aside from the US, "Breakdown" achieved a steady peak of number four on the New Zealand singles chart, in addition to entering the top forty in Australia. While not one of Carey's best-known hits, "Breakdown" remains one of her most praised songs, receiving acclaim for assisting Carey's transition into the R&B market. In his review for the album, Rich Juzwiak from Slant magazine wrote the following:

The song of Carey's career, where the lyrical strokes are as broad and obvious as they are naked. Mariah the chanter flawlessly adapts to their singsong style, largely boxing her multi-octave range into a sly, hypnotic melody so that when she really wails at the end, you really feel it. Carey lunges toward musical maturity by embracing, not shunning hip-hop. This is the height of her elegance and maybe hip-hop-soul's, too.

While "Breakdown" served as the album's third single in the United States, New Zealand and Australia, "The Roof" was released in Europe. It performed weakly on the charts, peaking at number 96 in the United Kingdom, and faring only slightly better in the Netherlands, where it peaked at number 63. While not commercially released in the US, the song's music video received heavy rotation on MTV and VH1, due to the record's popularity.

"My All" was chosen as the album's fifth and final single, and its second commercially released single. The song was the most commercially successful song on Butterfly, becoming Carey's thirteenth chart topper in the US, and reaching the top ten throughout Europe. In France, "My All" peaked at number six, and was certified silver by the Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique (SNEP). In the United States, the song finished at number seventeen, on the Billboard Year-End chart, remaining Carey's highest-charting single of 1998.

Track listing

1. "Honey" 5:02
2. "Butterfly" 4:36
3. "My All" 3:53
4. "The Roof" 5:15
5. "Fourth of July" 4:23
6. "Breakdown" (featuring Krayzie Bone and Wish Bone) 4:45
7. "Babydoll" 5:07
8. "Close My Eyes" 4:22
9. "Whenever You Call" 4:22
10. "Fly Away" (Butterfly Reprise)   3:49
11. "The Beautiful Ones" (Prince cover) (featuring Dru Hill) 7:00
12. "Outside" 4:46

Butterfly – European/Japanese edition (bonus tracks)[68]

1. "Honey" (So So Def Radio Mix) (featuring Da Brat and JD) 3:59
2. "Honey" (Def Club Mix) 6:17

Recording information:

Mariah Carey – arranger (2, 3, 5, 8, 9, 11, 12)

Walter Afanasieff – arranger (2, 3, 5, 8, 9, 12)

Cory Rooney – arranger (11)

Dru Hill – arranger (11)

Ron Grant – additional arranging (12)

David Morales – additional production, arranger, and mixing (10)

Satoshi Tomiie – additional production, arranger, and mixing (10)

Dana Jon Chappelle – engineer (1–12)

Mike Scott – engineer (2–5, 7, 8, 12), assistant engineer (9), mixing (7, 12)

Glen Marchese – engineer (1, 11)

Rich Travali – engineer (1)

David Gleeson – engineer (2)

Bill Esses – engineer (4)

Franklin Grant – engineer (4)

Doug Wilson – engineer (7)

David "EQ3" Sussman – engineer (10)

Ian Dalsemer – assistant engineer (1–8, 11, 12)

Ken Ross – assistant engineer (1, 4, 7)

Oliver "Wiz" Bone – assistant engineer (2, 4)

Steve Jones – assistant engineer (7)

Ann Mincieli – assistant engineer (10)

Greg Thompson – assistant engineer (11)

Tony Maserati – mixing (1, 4, 6)

Mick Guzauski – mixing (2, 3, 5, 7–9, 11, 12)

Herb Powers Jr. – mastering (1, 4, 6, 7, 10, 11)

Bob Ludwig – mastering (2, 3, 5, 8, 9, 12)