My All

"My All" is a song by American singer-songwriter Mariah Carey from her sixth studio album, ''Butterfly'' (1997). It was released as the album's fifth single overall and second commercial single on April 21, 1998, by Columbia Records. The song was written and produced by Carey and Walter Afanasieff. "My All" is built around Latin guitar chord melodies, and makes subtle use of Latin percussion throughout the first chorus, before taking on a more conventional R&B-style beat. Carey was inspired to write the song and use Latin inspired melodies after a trip to Puerto Rico, where she was influenced by the culture. The song's lyrics tell of a lonely woman declaring she would give "her all" to have just one more night with her estranged lover. It is the first song Carey wrote for the ''Butterfly'' album.

The music video for the song was released in March 1998. It shows many scenes of Carey laying on a submerged vessel in a large body of water, while lamenting her lost lover. Towards the video's climax, Carey and her love interest climb atop a lighthouse and caress each other under the night's sky. "My All" was performed live on various occasions, including the 1998 World Music Awards and Blockbuster Entertainment Awards, ''Saturday Night Live'', ''The Rosie O'Donnell Show'' and various European television and music chart programs. The song was also part of Carey's 1998 Butterfly World Tour, and was performed during many future tours and concerts. House music producer David Morales remixed the song, which was performed live as a medley with the original.

"My All" received acclaim from music critics and charted strongly throughout various music markets. In the United States, the song became Carey's thirteenth chart topper on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, and was certified double-platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). Throughout Europe, the song performed moderately, peaking at number four in the United Kingdom and in the top ten in Belgium (Wallonia), France, Spain and Switzerland. In France, due to strong sales, the song was certified gold by the Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique (SNEP).

Background

Carey began writing and composing themes for ''Butterfly'' by the end of 1996. She considered this period in time to be a "redefining moment for herself," as she began making the music she truly loved, R&B and hip hop. Additionally, Carey began incorporating other musical genres into her songwriting, assisting her in developing new ideas and melodies. Carey expressed how the mixed emotions she felt at that point in her life helped develop the song, as she would "pour herself and emotions into anything she was writing at the time." In an interview with Fred Bronson, Carey expressed how a visit to Puerto Rico and the current emotions in her life inspired her to write "My All":

I had gone to Puerto Rico and was influenced by Latin music at that moment. When I came back, the melody was in my head. It was at a melancholy point in my life and the song reflects the yearning that was going on inside of me. It was like being in a situation but you want to break free and you can't, so your confined yet you're releasing those emotion through the lyrics and the actual act of singing. Thats why think a lot of people felt very strongly about that song, because the emotion is clear when you listen to it.

Carey began to infuse her personality into her work, something that showed throughout various tracks. During her stay, she was influenced by the Latin culture, and began harmonizing and singing the music she heard there. When she arrived back to New York, she already had the melody developed, and soon began working on the song in San Francisco with Afanasieff.

In her 2020 memoir, ''The Meaning of Mariah Carey'', Carey revealed how "My All" was also inspired by a secret romantic rendezvous she and baseball player Derek Jeter had during her time in Puerto Rico.

Recording

Carey and Afanasieff had worked together since her debut album in 1990. Together, they had written some of Carey's biggest hits at the time, including "Hero" and "One Sweet Day." "My All" would be the last time the two would collaborate, as he is absent from the writing credits in her follow-up album, ''Rainbow'' (1999). During the recording of the song, Carey and then-husband Tommy Mottola were in the midst of their divorce. Afanasieff, who had developed relationships with the two of them, was caught in the middle. He spoke of the difficulties he had recording "My All" with Carey, as their relationship had already strained during the divorce. Afanasieff had been employed by Mottola and Columbia Records, and had worked extensively with Carey in the studio. In an interview with Fred Bronson, Afanasieff spoke in depth of the personal problems he experienced with Carey in 1997:

I needed to maintain a very strong relationship with Tommy ottola During that period, the beginning of their end, I had to stay away more than normal from her because she was going through a rough time. She felt that shutting her relationship with Tommy was also a cleansing of who she was. She felt that part of what she was dropping was the shmaltzy pop singer ballad kind of stuff he was adamant about. I had to make my exit and say 'Mariah, you need to redefine yourself, that's fine. I'm here doing what I do and if and when you want to come back and do it again, I'm here.

"My All" was written in Carey's home-studio in upstate New York, and was recorded in Afanasieff's recording studio in San Francisco. After she presented him with the melody she had developed in Puerto Rico, he began playing chords on the piano, while Carey sang the tune and directed him. After they produced the chorus, Carey wrote the lyrics, while he added a drum groove to the basic melody. According to Afanasieff, "My All" had tapped into both their Latin backgrounds. While she hadn't spent much time with her Venezuelan paternal grandfather, Carey said the music was "definitely subconsciously in me." On the other hand, Afanasieff was born in Brazil, and had heard Russian and Brazilian music his whole life. In an interview with Fred Bronson, Afanasieff described the steps they took to record the song:

I remember being in the back part of the studio, and we were sitting there late at night and writing. I was strolling through some sounds and came upon a particular sound from a steel acoustic guitar. I played these really beautiful chord changes that eventually led to 'My All.' She started singing and I started playing, and we came up with the basis for the song. I put a little drum groove down and it was one of the easier songs to write with her.

Composition

"My All" is a slow-tempo ballad, that blends contemporary R&B beats and Latin guitar and chord melodies, making subtle use of Latin percussion in the first chorus. The song is described as having a "lush sound" and featured synthetic guitar arpeggios that were produced in the studio. "My All" was compared to Toni Braxton's music style, described as "slink, slow-jam R&B sounds." The song is set in the signature common time, and is written in the key of G minor. It features a basic chord progression of Gm-Cm-D7-Gm. Carey's vocal range in the song spans from the low note of B₂ to the high note of F₅, with the piano and guitar pieces range from G3 to G5. The track was very different than anything Carey had ever recorded, incorporating strong "Latin cultured background." The instrumentation and vocal arrangement used in the song was compared to Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds' productions, due to its "soft R&B coos and guitar melodies."

Critical reception

"My All" received acclaim from music critics. Stephen Thomas Erlewine from Allmusic chose the song as one of the three "track choices" from the album. Daryl Easlea for BBC
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