On The Road Again: Mariah Carey "Emotions (USA, Columbia Records, 46851 2)"

jueves, 1 de mayo de 2025

Mariah Carey "Emotions (USA, Columbia Records, 46851 2)"

Emotions is the second studio album by American singer-songwriter Mariah Carey. It was released on September 17, 1991, by Columbia Records. The album deviated from the formula of Carey's 1990 self-titled debut album, as she had more creative control over the material she produced and recorded. Additionally, Emotions features influences from a range of different genres, as well as 1950s, 1960s and 1970s balladry infusion. On the record, Carey worked with a variety of producers and writers, including Walter Afanasieff, the only holdover from her previous effort. Additionally, Carey wrote and produced the album's material with Robert Clivillés and David Cole from C+C Music Factory and Carole King, with whom she wrote one song.

Upon its release, Emotions polarized the music critics, with some praising the album's production and Carey's vocals, while other found the lyricism standard, and a few criticized Carey for overusing the whistle register. In retrospect, the album has been positively reviewed, with some contemporary music critics citing it amongst Carey's best works. Commercially, the album was a moderate success, failing to top the charts globally including the United States, where it debuted at number four on the Billboard 200, surprising many critics following the success of Carey's debut, which spent eleven weeks atop the chart. In other territories, the album reached the top 10 in eight countries, including Australia, Canada, and the United Kingdom. While selling far less than Mariah Carey, Emotions was eventually certified 4× Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), denoting shipments of four million copies throughout the country, with estimated sales standing at 3,595,000 copies. The album was particularly successful in Japan shipping over one million copies there, and has sold over eight million copies worldwide.

Three singles were released to promote the album. The title track, the album's lead single, became Carey's fifth chart topper on the Billboard Hot 100, making her the only artist in history to have their first five singles reach the chart's summit. Additionally, it became Carey's third chart topper in Canada, and reached the top-ten in Greece and New Zealand. "Can't Let Go" was released as the second single from Emotions on October 23, 1991. Due to Columbia's removal of the single from stores in an attempt to boost the album's sales, "Can't Let Go" failed to become her sixth chart topper in the US, peaking at number two. European and worldwide success was very limited, reaching the top 20 in only Canada and the UK. Similarly, "Make It Happen" peaked at number five in the US, and achieved relatively weak international charting, prompting Columbia to halt promotion of the album.

A then background vocalist for Brenda K. Starr, Mariah Carey was discovered by Columbia Records CEO Tommy Mottola after he listened to her demo tape, which was brought to him during a music executive's party which was attended by Starr and Carey, who had already left by the time he heard the tape. He promptly signed her into the label, enlisting top music producers Ric Wake, Narada Michael Walden and Rhett Lawrence for her first album; those songs were re-recorded and newly mastered, with new material also being developed. Marketed as the main female artist of Columbia's roster, Mariah Carey released her self-titled debut album in June 1990 to positive reviews and commercial success: it earned her five nominations at the 33rd Annual Grammy Awards, winning Best Female Pop Vocal Performance for "Vision of Love" and Best New Artist, topped the Billboard 200 chart for 11 consecutive weeks and was the best-selling album of 1991 in the United States, where it was certified nine-times platinum by Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), with estimated global sales of 15 million copies. Its US singles, as Carey's first four singles — "Vision of Love", "Love Takes Time", "Someday" and "I Don't Wanna Cry" —, all reached number-one on the Billboard Hot 100, a feat reached solely by Carey and The Jackson 5.

By 1991, Carey was established as a prominent new figure in the music industry for her vocal and songwriting habilites. With the success of her debut album, critics wondered whether or not she would tour to promote the album in the major worldwide music markets. However, the singer expressed in several interviews that due to the strenuous nature and the sheer difficulty of her songs, she feared a tour with back-to-back shows would not be possible, aside from the long travel times and constant travel. With the extra time, Carey began writing and producing material for Emotions around the same time that her debut's third single, "Someday", was released in December 1990. During this time period in music, it was traditional for an artist to release a studio album every two years in their prime, allowing the singles to fully promote the album through airwaves, as well as television appearances. Additionally, after a tour that would usually follow, as the next album would be released and would gain new fans, they would search the artist's catalog, and purchase the previous album in hopes of learning of their older work. Sony, however, chose to market Carey in a different fashion, leaning towards the traditional form in the 1960s, where acts would release an LP every year. They felt that her reputation of being a "studio worm" and a songwriter from a young age would be captivating enough to deliver a new album more often than most.

As with Mariah Carey the previous year, Carey did not embark on a tour to promote the album, due to the long travel times and strenuous schedules on her voice. However, while not touring the world, Carey promoted Emotions through an array of television and award show appearances, stateside and across Europe. Carey performed "Emotions" live for the first time at the 1991 MTV Video Music Awards, backed by several male and female back up vocalists. Following the award show appearance, she sang "Emotions" on both The Arsenio Hall Show and Soul Train. In the United Kingdom, Carey performed the song on British music program and talk shows Top of the Pops, Wogan and Des O'Connor Tonight. Additional European stops included Sondagstoppet in Sweden during mid-September 1991. All of the above-mentioned performances included "Can't Let Go" as a secondary performance in the night. "Can't Let Go" was sung on additional programs such as Saturday Night Live, a pre-filmed studio clip on The Today Show. While the album's final single "Make It Happen" was released only months after Emotions release, the song was not performed during the album's original chart run, however, its first live performance of the song was an acoustic version on the television show MTV Unplugged in 1992, which was later released on her EP of the same name (1992). On February 26, 1992, Carey performed "If It's Over" at the 34th annual Grammy Award, with a full orchestra and several back up singers. "If It's Over" was also performed on Saturday Night Live and The Oprah Winfrey Show.

Track listing