Mariah Carey "Charmbracelet (USA, Monarc Island, 063 384-2)"

Charmbracelet is the ninth studio album by American singer Mariah Carey, released in North America on December 3, 2002, through MonarC Entertainment and Island Records. The album was Carey's first release since her breakdown following the release of her film Glitter (2001) and its accompanying soundtrack album. Critics described Charmbracelet as one of Carey's most personal records, following 1997's Butterfly. Throughout the project, she collaborated with several musicians, including Jermaine Dupri, Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, 7 Aurelius and Dre & Vidal.

According to Carey, love is the album's main theme, and the songs combine introspective and personal themes with celebration and fun. The album contains a mixture of R&B beats, and the songs incorporate elements of other genres, such as gospel and soul. Compared to Glitter, which featured a variety of sampled melodies from the 1980s, Charmbracelet has a softer hip hop and R&B sound to it. Cam'ron, Jay-Z and Freeway also appear on the album.

Charmbracelet received mixed-to-negative reviews, with some critics praising Carey's return to her core audience while others criticized the album's production. The album debuted at number three on the US Billboard 200 chart, and sold 241,000 copies in its first week. Internationally, the album reached the top-ten in Japan and Switzerland, peaked inside the top-forty in seven other countries, and has sold over three million copies worldwide. Three singles were released to promote the album. The lead single, "Through the Rain" reached number one in Spain and peaked inside the top-ten in Canada, Switzerland, Sweden, Italy and the United Kingdom. In the US, it topped the Hot Dance Club Play chart, but stalled at number 81 on the Billboard Hot 100. To promote the album, Carey embarked on the Charmbracelet World Tour (2003-2004) and performed on televised programs such as the 30th Annual American Music Awards, Today, The View, the Soul Train Music Awards and The Oprah Winfrey Show. Internationally, she traveled to several countries to promote the record, including a performance on the Brazilian program Fantástico, in addition to several acoustic performances and interviews on MTV Europe and MTV UK.

Before the release of Charmbracelet, Carey experienced a year of critical, commercial and personal struggles, following the poor reception of her debut film Glitter (2001) and its accompanying soundtrack, as well as her subsequent hospitalization. After divorcing her husband, Tommy Mottola, Carey released Butterfly (1997). With her next release, Rainbow (1999), Carey incorporated elements of R&B and hip hop into her music, particularly on the lead single "Heartbreaker". According to The Sacramento Bee, she attempted to sound more "ghetto". She stopped working with longtime pop producers such as Babyface and Walter Afanasieff, in order to pursue a new sound and audience, and worked with writers Sean Combs and Jermaine Dupri. Following the worldwide success of Rainbow, Carey left Columbia Records. Controversially, Mottola and executive Benny Medina in 1999 used several songs Carey had written and co-written for Jennifer Lopez. Carey's 2001 film debut Glitter was panned by movie critics, and earned less than eight million dollars at the box office.

"I had worked myself very very hard for many many years and I never took a break, and last year, I had just become very very exhausted and ended up just not really in a good place physically and emotionally. I learned a little more about how to work hard but also how to be healthy and take care of myself, and now, in general, in my life, I'm in a really good, happy place."

—Carey, The San Diego Union-Tribune.

Carey's $100 million recording contract was bought out by Virgin Records for $28 million. Carey checked into a hospital in Connecticut, following a controversial appearance on Total Request Live, in which she gave ice cream to fans, left troubling messages on her website and demonstrated what was considered by the media as "erratic behavior". Carey said she had an "emotional and physical breakdown." After a fortnight's hospitalization, Carey flew to Capri, Italy, where she stayed for five months and began writing and producing material for a new studio album about her recent troubles. She was signed by Island Records, and started her own imprint, MonarC Entertainment, for her intended "comeback" release, Charmbracelet.

Carey started writing songs for the album in early 2002, before she signed the record deal. She decided to rest, traveled to Capri and moved into a recording studio where she could focus on writing and recording without distractions. Most of the album was recorded in Capri, although she traveled to Atlanta, New York and Philadelphia to record some tracks. That year, Carey claimed Charmbracelet to be the "most personal album" she had ever made. She worked with longtime collaborators Jermaine Dupri, Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis and Randy Jackson and other songwriters and producers 7 Aurelius, Just Blaze, Damizza and Dre & Vidal. The opening track and the first track to be written for the album, "Through the Rain", was written by Carey and Lionel Cole, was inspired Carey's recent experiences, and was co-produced by Jam and Lewis. It was released as the lead single from the album.

Randy Jackson contributed to four tracks on the album, and said it was "the most real and honest record she's made. She didn't care what anyone thought of the lyrics. They were only important to her." Carey included a cover of Def Leppard's song "Bringin' On the Heartbreak". During the photo shoot for Charmbracelet at Capri, Carey happened to listen to Def Leppard's greatest hits album Vault (1995), which contains the song, and decided to cover it. In an interview with Billboard, Carey said that the song is "an example of her musical diversity". Jackson also worked on "My Saving Grace", which Carey said describes her thoughts about the writing, recording and mastering process. While working in Capri, Carey's father became ill with cancer and she returned to New York to spend some time with him; he died soon after. In his memory, Carey wrote and produced the song "Sunflowers for Alfred Roy". Carey said that the song represents "his side of the family and is kind of hard to talk about." The song proved to be "very emotional" for Carey, and she sang it only once in the studio. DJ Quik also produced songs for the album, but none of them were included.

Track listing

1. "Through the Rain"   4:48
2. "Boy (I Need You)" (featuring Cam'ron) 5:14
3. "The One" 4:08
4. "Yours" 5:06
5. "You Got Me" (featuring Jay-Z and Freeway) 4:22
6. "I Only Wanted" 3:38
7. "Clown" 3:17
8. "My Saving Grace"    4:09
9. "You Had Your Chance"   4:22
10. "Lullaby"  4:56
11. "Irresistible (West Side Connection)" (featuring Westside Connection) 5:04
12. "Subtle Invitation" 4:27
13. "Bringin' On the Heartbreak" 4:34
14. "Sunflowers for Alfred Roy" 2:59
15. "Through the Rain" (remix) (featuring Joe and Kelly Price)   3:32

Mariah Carey "Glitter (USA, Virgin Records America Inc., 7243 8 10797 2 0)"

Glitter is the soundtrack to the 2001 film of the same title and the eighth studio album by American singer-songwriter Mariah Carey. It was released in the United States on September 11, 2001 by Virgin Records. Mixing dance-pop, funk, hip hop and R&B, the album was a departure from Carey's previous releases, focusing heavily on an '80s post-disco sound to accompany the film, which was set in 1983. The singer collaborated with Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis and DJ Clue, who also co-produced the album. The album features several musical acts such as Eric Benét, Ludacris, Da Brat, Busta Rhymes, Fabolous, and Ja Rule.

Upon release, both the album and its accompanying film were panned by critics. Retrospective reviews, however, have been largely positive, with many saying the album was unfairly maligned. Despite this, Glitter was universally viewed as a commercial and critical failure, leading to Virgin Records dropping Carey from the label and buying her out of their $80 million contract. While the album debuted at number seven on the US Billboard 200, it marked Carey's lowest first-week sales at the time. Internationally, it topped the charts in Japan and Greece.

Several singles were released, including "Loverboy", which served as the lead single from the album and quickly became Carey's lowest-charting lead single globally and peaked at number two on the US Billboard Hot 100. Subsequent singles failed to make much of an impact on prominent global charts. Nearly two decades after its release, Glitter began to attract wide praise from mainstream critics and has developed a cult following. On May 22, 2020, Carey announced the album's release on streaming services.

Following the release of Carey's album Butterfly in 1997, she began working on a film and soundtrack project titled at that time as All That Glitters. However, Columbia Records and Carey were also working on a greatest hits album to be released in time for Thanksgiving season in November 1998. Carey put All That Glitters on hold and her greatest hits album #1's was released in November 1998. Carey put the project on hold again to record her album Rainbow (1999). After the album ran its course, Carey wanted to finish the film and soundtrack project. But by this time, Carey and her now ex-husband Tommy Mottola, head of her record company Columbia, did not have a good working or personal relationship. Mottola wanted Carey off the label and Carey wanted to leave; however, she still owed Columbia one more album to fulfill her contract. Virgin Records stepped in and offered to pay Columbia $20 million to let Carey out of her contract early so that they could sign her for a $100 million deal.

Carey signed with Virgin and aimed to complete the film and soundtrack project. As part of her contract on her $100 million five-album record deal with Virgin Records, Carey was given full creative control. She opted to record an album partly mixed with 1980s influenced disco and other similar genres, in order to go with the film's setting. As the release date grew nearer, the film and album title were changed from All That Glitters to Glitter. In early 2001, Carey's relationship with Latin singer Luis Miguel ended, while she was busy filming Glitter and recording the soundtrack. Due to the pressure of losing her relationship, being on a new record label, filming a movie, and recording an album, Carey began to have a nervous breakdown. She began posting a series of disturbing messages on her official website, and displayed erratic behavior while on several promotional outings.

Musically, Glitter was notably different from Carey's previous work as she drew influence from the 1980s. Due to the parent film taking place in 1983, the soundtrack harbored on recreating an older sound, while incorporating the usual pop-R&B ballads for which Carey was known. While some critics favored the album's retro style, and inclusion of several sampled melodies, many felt that Glitter lacked originality, and its excess of guest artists overpowered Carey's artistry. In an interview with MTV News, Carey described the album's content and influences noting,

There are songs that are definitely going to take people back and make them go, 'Oh, man, this song from the '80s — I loved it growing up'. Or people who never heard the songs before might be like, 'This is cool.' When you see the movie, you're gonna see the uptempo songs and the songs that are remakes in there as they would have sounded in the '80s, but the album is the way that I would make the record now, and the ballads can stand on their own as songs from a Mariah Carey album.

The album beings with a remix of "Loverboy" featuring a sample from Cameo's "Candy", which interpolates its instrumental and its melody into the song's chorus. Sarah Rodman from the Boston Herald compared it to Carey's previous lead singles, and described its production as "another in an increasingly long line of glitzy, candy-coated, creatively stunted Carey songs". The song's lyrics and vocals were described as "super-sexed" by Sal Cinquemani from Slant Magazine when put into comparison with Carey's previous work. The remix featured rap verses from Ludacris, Da Brat, Twenty II and Shawnna. This was followed with "Lead the Way", originally conceptualized for Carey's 1997 Butterfly album. The song was written and produced by Carey and Walter Afanasieff. The ballad marked the last song composed by the pair, as they halted work with one another shortly after its completion due to their growing creative differences. Recorded in 2000 when Carey began producing Glitter, the song begins with a classic and simple piano introduction with Carey starting the song off with soft and breathy vocals. This eventually leads into a vocal climax, in which she belts an 18-second note, the longest from any of her recordings. Carey has since called the song one of her "best vocal performances", as well as one of her "favorite songs."

"If We" featured rapper Ja Rule and Nate Dogg and garnered comparisons to Ashanti and Christina Milian. "Didn't Mean to Turn You On" is a cover of the 1984 Cherelle song of the same title. Carey produced the song alongside Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis and added keyboard notes and synthesizers to enhance the songs club appeal. In the song, Carey sings "I was only trying to be nice / Only trying to be nice / Sooooooo, I didn't mean to turn you on", indicating a woman who is weakly apologetic over fooling a man over intimacy. "Don't Stop (Funkin' 4 Jamaica)" was composed by Carey and DJ Clue, and interpolates "Funkin' for Jamaica (N.Y.)" by Tom Browne. Featuring guest verses from Mystikal, with the former declaring "Ain't nothin' you could do with the man / Except for shake your ass and clap your hands", while Carey responds "Don't stop baby, its ecstasy / Turn me up a little."

"All My Life" was penned by Rick James and was called the "album standout". This is followed by "Reflections (Care Enough)" which was written by Carey and Philippe Pierre. Lyrically, the song's protagonist "laments the end of a relationship", while also confronting her mother regarding her early abandonment. Additionally, during the song's bridge, Carey "eerily" refers to the option of abortion over abandoning a child. Cinquemani felt the song was reminiscent of Carey's earlier ballads during her career, and described the song as a "simple beauty". In a review for the album in The Free Lance–Star, a writer called the song an "emotional and heart-wrenching ballad".

Carey's cover of the 1982 Indeep song "Last Night a D.J. Saved My Life" was club-themed. The song featured rappers Fabolous and Busta Rhymes, and was composed and produced by Carey and DJ Clue. The song received generally mixed reviews with Michael Paoletta from Billboard called it a "painful low" on Glitter, and commented how Carey seemed detached and over-powered on the song, due to the inclusion of several male guests. "Want You" featured American singer Eric Benét while lyrically implying and suggesting the "exploration of bedroom fantasies." "Never Too Far" was written and produced by Carey and Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis and was described as an "adult-contemporary, slow-jam love song". It features "a bed of synthesized strings, gentle drums and Spanish-style guitar" as its primary instrumentation, and incorporates violin and keyboard notes prior to the first verse.

This was followed by "Twister", another ballad which was called "quietly heartbreaking", in reference to its lyrics which talk about the suicide of Carey's friend and hairstylist, Tonjua Twist. According to Carey, Twist took her own life in the spring of 2000, and was known for her joy of life and her ability to put people at ease. She was "child like and effervescent", but behind her mask of happiness was "a well" of lifelong and deep-rooted pain. In "Twister", Carey described the hidden inner-struggle of her friend, and tried to find "closure"; her "way of saying goodbye". Chris Chuck from Daily News described its lyrics as "an airy requiem for a friend lost to suicide" and felt it was "the only memorable song on the album." With lyrics reading "Feelin' kinda fragile and I've got a lot to handle / But I guess this is my way of saying goodbye", David Browne from Entertainment Weekly felt that Carey was possibly referring to her own suicide rather than her friends, especially in light of the events that were taking place during the album's release. The album ends with the original version of "Loverboy" featuring Cameo.

Track listing

1. "Loverboy" (remix) (featuring Da Brat, Ludacris, Twenty II and Shawnna) 4:30
2. "Lead the Way" 3:53
3. "If We" (featuring Ja Rule and Nate Dogg) 4:20
4. "Didn't Mean to Turn You On" 4:54
5. "Don't Stop (Funkin' 4 Jamaica)" (featuring Mystikal) 3:37
6. "All My Life" 5:09
7. "Reflections (Care Enough)" 3:20
8. "Last Night a DJ Saved My Life" (featuring Busta Rhymes, Fabolous and DJ Clue) 6:43
9. "Want You" (featuring Eric Benét) 4:43
10. "Never Too Far" 4:21
11. "Twister" 2:26
12. "Loverboy" (featuring Cameo) 3:49

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