Daydream (Mariah Carey album)
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''Daydream'' is the fifth studio album by American singer-songwriter
Mariah Carey Mariah Carey (; born March 27, 1969) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and record producer. Referred to as the " Songbird Supreme", she is noted for her five-octave vocal range, melismatic singing style and signature use of the whi ...
, released on September 26, 1995, by
Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music, Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of Japanese Conglomerate (company), conglomerate Sony. It was founded on Janua ...
. The follow-up to her internationally successful studio album '' Music Box'' (1993), and the holiday album ''
Merry Christmas The Christmas season or the festive season (also known in some countries as the holiday season or the holidays) is an annually recurring period recognized in many Western and other countries that is generally considered to run from late November ...
'' (1994), ''Daydream'' differed from her previous releases by leaning increasingly toward hip hop and urban music. Throughout the project, Carey collaborated with
Walter Afanasieff Walter Afanasieff (born Vladimir Nikitich Afanasyev; February 10, 1958), formerly nicknamed Baby Love in the 1980s, is an American record producer and songwriter of Russian-Chinese descent. He was a collaborator with Mariah Carey on her first ...
, with whom she wrote and produced most of her previous albums. With ''Daydream'', Carey took more control over the musical direction as well as the album's composition. Carey considered the album to be the beginning of her musical and vocal transition, a change that would become more evident in her sixth studio album ''
Butterfly Butterflies are insects in the macrolepidopteran clade Rhopalocera from the Order (biology), order Lepidoptera, which also includes moths. Adult butterflies have large, often brightly coloured wings, and conspicuous, fluttering flight. The ...
'' (1997). During the album's production, Carey endured many creative differences with her label and then-husband
Tommy Mottola Thomas Daniel Mottola (born July 14, 1948) is an American music executive, producer and author. Mottola is currently the Chairman of Mottola Media Group and was previously the Chairman and CEO of Sony Music Entertainment, parent of the Columb ...
. On ''Daydream'', Carey collaborated with Jermaine Dupri, Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds, and R&B group
Boyz II Men Boyz II Men (pronounced ''boys to men''), also known as B2M, is an American vocal harmony group from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, best known for emotional ballads and a cappella harmonies. They are currently a trio composed of baritone Nathan M ...
. With Afanasieff's assistance and the addition of a few contemporary producers, she was able to make a subtle transition into the contemporary R&B market, after previously only pursuing
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,
adult contemporary Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul, R&B, quie ...
and traditional R&B music. ''Daydream'' received critical acclaim, with reviewers praising the album's production, its sonic quality, and Carey's musical progression. It became Carey's best reviewed album up to that point and garnered six nominations at the
38th Grammy Awards The 38th Annual Grammy Awards were held on February 28, 1996, at Shrine Auditorium, Los Angeles. The awards recognized accomplishments by musicians from the previous year. Alanis Morissette was the main recipient, being awarded four trophies, in ...
, including for
Album of the Year Album of the Year, often abbreviated to AOTY, may refer to: Awards * ARIA Award for Album of the Year, Australia * Brit Award for British Album of the Year, UK * Grammy Award for Album of the Year, US * Juno Award for Album of the Year, CA * Lati ...
. It was later included on the List of 200 Definitive Albums in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. ''Daydream'' became a global success, topping the charts in nine countries, and reaching the top five in almost every major music market. It was Carey's second album to be certified
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by the
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. As of 2019, ''Daydream'' has sold over 20 million copies worldwide and is one of the best-selling albums of all time. Six singles were released from the album. Its lead single "
Fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving Magic (supernatural), magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe and sometimes inspired by mythology and folklore. Its roots are in oral traditions, which then became fantasy ...
" became the first single by a female artist to debut at number one on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and went on to top the chart for eight weeks, and became the second best-selling single of 1995 in the country. The second single "
One Sweet Day "One Sweet Day" is a song recorded by American singer-songwriter Mariah Carey and vocal group Boyz II Men. The song was released on as the second single from Carey's fifth studio album, ''Daydream'' (1995) by Columbia Records. The artists co- ...
" topped the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 for sixteen weeks and became the longest-running number-one single in ''Billboard''s history, holding the record for 23 years. The album's next single " Always Be My Baby" reached number one as well. Jointly, the singles from ''Daydream'' spent a combined six months at the top of the Hot 100. To promote the album, Carey embarked on the short but successful,
Daydream World Tour The Daydream World Tour was the second concert tour by American singer-songwriter Mariah Carey in support of her fifth studio album ''Daydream'' (1995). The tour lasted seven shows, starting on March 7, 1996 in Tokyo, Japan, and ending on June 23 ...
, visiting Japan and Europe.


Background and release

Aside from being Carey's second best-selling record worldwide, ''Daydream'' served as her most personal and directly influenced album at the time. During the album's recording, Carey grew as an artist, as well as a writer. For the first time in her career, Carey was able to make music that she truly related to, R&B and hip hop. While Columbia allowed Carey more leniency with the music she recorded, they became hesitant when she featured Ol' Dirty Bastard in the remix for "Fantasy". They feared the sudden change was completely left field for her music, and worried it would jeopardize the album's success. In an interview with ''
Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular cul ...
'', Carey openly spoke of her issues with Columbia: "Everybody was like 'What, are you crazy?' They're nervous about breaking the formula. It works to have me sing a ballad on stage in a long dress with my hair up." While Carey's new musical direction caused tension between her and Columbia, it began to severely strain her relationship with her husband at the time, Tommy Mottola. Mottola had always been involved in Carey's career, because he was the head of
Sony Music Sony Music Entertainment (SME), also known as simply Sony Music, is an American multinational music company. Being owned by the parent conglomerate Sony Group Corporation, it is part of the Sony Music Group, which is owned by Sony Entertainment ...
, the parent company of her label. Since the time of Carey's debut, Mottola had controlled nearly every aspect of her career, keeping her sound carefully regulated and insisting that she continue recording middle-of-the-road
pop music Pop music is a genre of popular music that originated in its modern form during the mid-1950s in the United States and the United Kingdom. The terms ''popular music'' and ''pop music'' are often used interchangeably, although the former describe ...
, despite her interest in hip hop. Carey confessed that she never tried to change the situation because " heused to be insecure and cautious, and so hewould listen to what the people said." However, the control Mottola exerted over her career soon "spilled into her personal life" once they were married, increasing the amount of conflict between the two. Soon, it was obvious that their marriage was in shambles; as stated in a '' Vanity Fair'' article, "the couple began to argue at the drop of a hat." Carey was very involved in the project, more so than she had ever been on an album. "I went into this phase of recording, recording, recording and doing it really fast," she told ''
Time Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, to ...
''. "This time, I had more time, and I focused more on what I wanted to do." As Carey's career and work continued to reflect her views on how it should sound, her marriage to Mottola continued to "deteriorate". During the recording of ''Daydream'', Carey also worked on the alternative rock album '' Someone's Ugly Daughter'' by the band Chick, contributing writing, production, vocals and art direction. As Columbia refused to release the album with her lead vocals, Carey's friend Clarissa Dane was brought in to become the face of Chick, and her vocals were layered on top of Carey's, masking her voice. According to Carey, "I was playing with the style of the breezy-grunge, punk-light white female singers who were popular at the time ... I totally looked forward to doing my alter-ego band sessions after ''Daydream'' each night." Her contributions were secret until the release of her 2020 memoir ''
The Meaning of Mariah Carey ''The Meaning of Mariah Carey'' is a memoir by Mariah Carey, released on September 29, 2020. It was written with Michaela Angela Davis, and was published by Andy Cohen Books, an imprint of Henry Holt, as well as in an audiobook format read by C ...
.'' ''Daydream'' was released in Taiwan on September 26, 1995, Europe on September 28, Japan on September 30, and the United States on October 3.


Conception and composition

One of the first songs that was recorded for the album was "Fantasy". While Carey began developing new ideas for ''Daydream'', she heard the song "
Genius of Love "Genius of Love" is a 1981 hit song by Tom Tom Club from their 1981 eponymous debut album. It reached number one on the ''Billboard'' Disco Top 80 chart. Background "Genius of Love" is Tom Tom Club's second single. Although the album had not ...
" by Tom Tom Club on the radio. She had always been a fan of the song, and presented Dave Hall with the idea of sampling the song's hook. Hall incorporated a groove that he felt complimented Carey's voice, while she composed some of the other beats and wrote the lyrics. Carey recorded a
remix A remix (or reorchestration) is a piece of media which has been altered or contorted from its original state by adding, removing, or changing pieces of the item. A song, piece of artwork, book, video, poem, or photograph can all be remixes. The o ...
to the song as well, featuring hip-hop verses from O.D.B of the
Wu-Tang Clan Wu-Tang Clan is an American hip hop group formed in Staten Island, New York City, in 1992. Its original members include RZA, GZA, Ol' Dirty Bastard, Method Man, Raekwon, Ghostface Killah, Inspectah Deck, U-God, and Masta Killa. Close affili ...
, as well as production from
Puffy Puffy can refer to: * Puffy, stage name of Sean Combs (born 1969), American rapper and entrepreneur * Puffy, nickname of Mike Bordin (born 1962), American drummer for the rock band Faith No More * Puffy, nickname of Jeff Dubay (born 1968), Minneso ...
. She spoke highly of the remix, complimenting Puffy and O.D.B, "He's so known in the street, and he's one of the best people out there...we kind of did what we both do and having O.D.B took it to another level. He was my ultimate choice, so I was really happy with the way it turned out." "One Sweet Day" was a song that Carey wrote with the R&B group Boyz II Men. After Carey's friend and past collaborator David Cole died, she began writing and developing a song that would pay homage to him and all the friends and family her fans had lost along life's journey. Carey had the chorus and concept
composed Composition or Compositions may refer to: Arts and literature *Composition (dance), practice and teaching of choreography *Composition (language), in literature and rhetoric, producing a work in spoken tradition and written discourse, to include v ...
, and after meeting with Boyz II Men, they realized they too had a similar idea in development. Together, using Carey's chorus and idea, as well as the melody they had produced, they wrote and composed the song. It was produced by Afanasieff, who built on the song's
melody A melody (from Greek language, Greek μελῳδία, ''melōidía'', "singing, chanting"), also tune, voice or line, is a Linearity#Music, linear succession of musical tones that the listener perceives as a single entity. In its most liter ...
and added various grooves and beats. While the album's development was underway, Carey expressed interest in working with Jermaine Dupri, whom she had been a fan of since his 1992 song, "
Jump Jumping is a form of locomotion or movement in which an organism or non-living (e.g., robotic) mechanical system propels itself through the air along a ballistic trajectory. Jump or Jumping also may refer to: Places * Jump, Kentucky or Jump St ...
". Soon after, Carey, Dupri, and Manuel Seal began composing a song for the album, with Carey and Dupri becoming close friends and frequent collaborators on later albums. As Seal played the piano, Carey began humming and playing with certain notes in the B-section, until she came up with the chorus for "Always Be My Baby". After the rest of the song was written and composed, Carey recorded the song alongside longtime background singers
Kelly Price Kelly Cherelle Price (born April 4, 1973) is an American R&B and gospel singer. She started her singing career in 1992. Price originally garnered attention by singing backing vocals for Mariah Carey on multiple songs, including her ''Billboa ...
, Shanrae Price, and Melonie Daniels. Together, they built "a wall of background voices" in which she would cover with her final belting notes. The song featured a downbeat
rhythm Rhythm (from Greek , ''rhythmos'', "any regular recurring motion, symmetry") generally means a " movement marked by the regulated succession of strong and weak elements, or of opposite or different conditions". This general meaning of regular recu ...
, while its composition was described as "sassy and soft R&B" which displayed a "sexy and slow jam". "Underneath the Stars" was the first song recorded for ''Daydream''. The song featured a "'70s soul vibe" as well as synthetic record scratches, in order to the give the song an authentic '70s sound. Carey felt the additions were simple steps taken to further display a contemporary R&B groove. Additionally, she felt the song paid homage to the style of Minnie Riperton, who was one of Carey's biggest vocal influences growing up. The song had a soft sound, and had " of texture" and
bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in the bass range: ** Bass (instrument), including: ** Acoustic bass gui ...
, showing a more creative side to Carey. For the album, Carey covered the 1982 Journey song " Open Arms". The song was of Carey's personal choice, as well as her own idea. Together with Afanasieff, they toned down the song's arrangement, making it a bit glossy, especially in comparison to the "raw and powerful 'One Sweet Day.'" Additionally, with the help of her background singers, Carey added a touch of
gospel Gospel originally meant the Christian message ("the gospel"), but in the 2nd century it came to be used also for the books in which the message was set out. In this sense a gospel can be defined as a loose-knit, episodic narrative of the words an ...
to the song. One of the more gospel-influenced songs on the album was "I Am Free". The song was created by Carey, Afanasieff and
Loris Holland Loris Holland is a Guyanese born composer, record producer, keyboardist and songwriter, residing in America. He is also known as Time Shadow. Biography Holland grew up in the British Guyana, in a family which forbade any music other than hymns ...
, with whom she had worked previously on ''Merry Christmas''. Carey began humming the melody with the lyrics she had already written, while Holland played the
organ Organ may refer to: Biology * Organ (biology), a part of an organism Musical instruments * Organ (music), a family of keyboard musical instruments characterized by sustained tone ** Electronic organ, an electronic keyboard instrument ** Hammond ...
and Afanasieff worked on the song's programming., giving the song a genuine and unforced gospel feel. The chorus was sophisticated and natural, with each following line "cascading onto one another", something that would have proved difficult for a "less skilled vocalist". Carey started leaning away from the "standard
Celine Dion Céline Marie Claudette Dion ( ; born 30 March 1968) is a Canadian singer. Noted for her powerful and technically skilled vocals, Dion is the best-selling Canadian recording artist, and the best-selling French-language artist of all time. Her ...
ballad" and more towards R&B jams. However, she was not going to completely abandon the type of songs that made her famous. For this reason, Carey wrote "When I Saw You" with Afanasieff, a song that would truly embody some of her earlier work, as well as show off her powerful vocals. Returning to her R&B territory, Carey recorded "Long Ago", the second song she wrote alongside Dupri and Seal which contains a strong hip hop background. Her vocals in the song were described as "sliding over the insistent
bassline Bassline (also known as a bass line or bass part) is the term used in many styles of music, such as blues, jazz, funk, Dub music, dub and electronic music, electronic, traditional music, traditional, or classical music for the low-pitched Part ( ...
like silk." "Melt Away" was a song Carey produced on her own, and co-wrote with Babyface. The song's writing and production were "superb". with each verse gliding into its chorus. According to Chris Nickson, "Melt Away" was as "strong as any slow jam released in the nineties, and one that would find a lot of flavor late at night with dancers." Another song that brought back reminders of older decades was "Forever". The throwback was featured through the
chord Chord may refer to: * Chord (music), an aggregate of musical pitches sounded simultaneously ** Guitar chord a chord played on a guitar, which has a particular tuning * Chord (geometry), a line segment joining two points on a curve * Chord ( ...
changes and in the way the
guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...
arpeggio A broken chord is a chord broken into a sequence of notes. A broken chord may repeat some of the notes from the chord and span one or more octaves. An arpeggio () is a type of broken chord, in which the notes that compose a chord are played ...
s "stayed at the forefront of the music." The song displayed subtle vocals from Carey, as well as an undeniable richness. "Daydream Interlude (Sweet Fantasy Dub Mix)" was one of the liveliest tracks on the album. The song was a club remix of "Fantasy", which was tuned and remixed by famed
house music House is a music genre characterized by a repetitive Four on the floor (music), four-on-the-floor beat and a typical tempo of 120 beats per minute. It was created by Disc jockey, DJs and music producers from Chicago metropolitan area, Chicago' ...
producer
David Morales David Morales (; born August 21, 1962) is an American disc jockey (DJ) and record producer. In addition to his production and DJ work, Morales is also a remixer. David Morales has remixed and produced over 500 releases for artists including Ma ...
. The song was directed to be a dance-club song, further broadening Carey's "musical horizon". The song incorporated Carey's vocals, and added them to a thumping house beat, something he would do for many of her future singles. "Looking In" was the final song on the album. Written in 15 minutes, it was Carey's most personal song at the time, one in which she let herself appear "naked" and "stripped down; it was written by her and Afanasieff.


Promotion

In order to promote the album, Carey embarked on her second head-lining tour. Originally she was against touring due to the long travel times and hassle, but obliged due to fan request. The tour reached Japan and select European countries, not visiting the United States. This was possibly due to the mixed reception Carey's 1993 North American
Music Box Tour The Music Box Tour was the debut concert tour in 1993 by American singer-songwriter Mariah Carey, in support of her Diamond-certified third studio album, ''Music Box'' (1993). It is Carey's first headlining tour, visiting six cities in the United ...
received three years prior. The shows were all spaced apart, giving Carey time to rest her vocals, "It's very strenuous to sing all my songs back to back, but I'm actually really looking forward to it." Before embarking on her world tour in 1996, Carey performed a sold-out show at
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in 1995. The performance was filmed, and released as a DVD titled '' Fantasy: Mariah Carey at Madison Square Garden''. It became Carey's fourth video release. For the show, Carey sang fourteen original songs, including many of her biggest hits up until that point, as well as many songs from ''Daydream''. They included "Fantasy", "One Sweet Day", "Open Arms", "Always Be My Baby", "Forever" and "Underneath the Stars" as well as hits from her previous studio efforts. Carey's following shows in France, Germany, The Netherlands and the United Kingdom were all sold-out as well, receiving warm critical response. During the span of the tour's seven short dates, Carey had already begun working on concepts for her new album ''Butterfly''. In addition to touring the world, Carey performed on a variety of television programs and award shows. After "Fantasy" was released in September throughout Europe, Carey performed the song on the popular British chart show
Top of the Pops ''Top of the Pops'' (''TOTP'') is a British Record chart, music chart television programme, made by the BBC and originally broadcast weekly between 1January 1964 and 30 July 2006. The programme was the world's longest-running weekly music show ...
, which aired live via satellite on
Asian television Asian may refer to: * Items from or related to the continent of Asia: ** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia ** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia ** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...
. Carey performed "Fantasy" in France and at the 23rd Annual American Music Awards on January 29, 1996. "One Sweet Day" was performed at the 38th Annual Grammy Awards,
Princess Diana Diana, Princess of Wales (born Diana Frances Spencer; 1 July 1961 – 31 August 1997) was a member of the British royal family. She was the first wife of King Charles III (then Prince of Wales) and mother of Princes William and Harry. Her ac ...
's memorial service in September 1997, and at Carey's
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Christmas special in 2001. During her European promotional tour for the album, Carey performed "Open Arms" on various television programs, including Wetten, dass..? in Germany, Top of the Pops and Des O'Connor in the United Kingdom and on Swedish television.


Singles

Six singles were released from ''Daydream''. "Fantasy" was released as the album's lead single on August 23, 1995. The song debuted at number one on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, making Carey the first female artist, and the second performer ever to accomplish the feat. The song spent eight consecutive weeks atop the chart, as well as topping the charts in Australia, Canada and New Zealand. In Europe, "Fantasy" performed well, peaking within the top five in Belgium, Finland, France, and the United Kingdom. "Fantasy" was the second best-selling single of 1995 in the US, with sales of 1.5 million in 95' alone. "
One Sweet Day "One Sweet Day" is a song recorded by American singer-songwriter Mariah Carey and vocal group Boyz II Men. The song was released on as the second single from Carey's fifth studio album, ''Daydream'' (1995) by Columbia Records. The artists co- ...
" was chosen as the follow-up single, achieving similar success. The song once again debuted at the top of the US charts, and became the longest running number one single in US history holding that record for 23 years, spending sixteen consecutive weeks atop the ''Billboard'' charts. The song became a success in other regions around the world as well, topping the charts in Canada and New Zealand and peaked within the top five in Australia, France, Ireland, and The Netherlands. Serving as the album's third single in select European countries, "Open Arms" was released on December 5, 1995. The song achieved success in the UK, Ireland and New Zealand, where it peaked at number four, seven and eight. However, "Open Arms" charted weakly in other European countries, such as Belgium, France, and Germany, where it charted outside the top-thirty. " Always Be My Baby" was released as the fourth single. The song debuted at number two on the Hot 100, failing to become Carey's third number one debut (a feat she would accomplish with "
Honey Honey is a sweet and viscous substance made by several bees, the best-known of which are honey bees. Honey is made and stored to nourish bee colonies. Bees produce honey by gathering and then refining the sugary secretions of plants (primar ...
" in 1997). The song eventually reached and stayed atop the charts for two weeks, and then kept steady at number two for nine weeks. "Always Be My Baby" performed moderately in other major markets. The song peaked within the top five in Canada, New Zealand and the UK, but charted outside the top-ten elsewhere. "Forever" was chosen as the fifth single from ''Daydream''. The song was ineligible to chart in the Hot 100, but managed to crack the top-ten on the Hot 100 airplay chart. "Forever" charted well in Canada, where it peaked at number thirteen. " Underneath the Stars" was chosen as the sixth and final single from the album. Described by Carey as one of her favorite songs, "Underneath the Stars" received a limited number of pressings in the US, where it charted weakly on the ''Billboard''
Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart ranks the most popular R&B and hip hop songs in the United States and is published weekly by '' Billboard''. Rankings are based on a measure of radio airplay, sales data, and streaming activity. The chart had 100 ...
.


Critical reception

''Daydream'' received acclaim from music critics.
Stephen Holden Stephen Holden (born July 18, 1941) is an American writer, poet, and music and film critic. Biography Holden earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from Yale University in 1963. He worked as a photo editor, staff writer, and eventually be ...
of ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' wrote that Carey's songwriting had improved dramatically, "becoming more relaxed, sexier, and less reliant on thudding clichés". "One Sweet Day", "Melt Away", "Always Be My Baby", and "Underneath the Stars" were singled out as highlights, while "Fantasy" featured what Holden described as "some of the most gorgeously spun choral music to be found on a contemporary album". ''
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'' journalist Cheo H. Coker said ''Daydream'' boasted material that would silence Carey's critics—especially "Fantasy" and "Underneath the Stars"—and offered "something for everybody while somehow remaining true to her essence". ''
People A person (plural, : people) is a being that has certain capacities or attributes such as reason, morality, consciousness or self-consciousness, and being a part of a culturally established form of social relations such as kinship, ownership of pr ...
'' magazine deemed it Carey's best album, benefiting from "funkier and mellower" songs and the singer's improved control over her voice, "evincing greater muscularity and agility". According to ''
Encyclopedia of Popular Music ''The Encyclopedia of Popular Music'' is an encyclopedia created in 1989 by Colin Larkin. It is the "modern man's" equivalent of the '' Grove Dictionary of Music'', which Larkin describes in less than flattering terms.''The Times'', ''The Kno ...
'' writer
Colin Larkin Colin Larkin (born 1949) is a British writer and entrepreneur. He founded, and was the editor-in-chief of, the ''Encyclopedia of Popular Music'', described by ''The Times'' as "the standard against which all others must be judged". Along wit ...
, "some critics questioned whether ''Daydream'' was a controlled exercise in vacuous formula writing, with little emotion or heart." Reviewing the album for ''
Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular cul ...
'',
Ken Tucker Kenneth Tucker is an American arts, music and television critic, magazine editor, and non-fiction book writer. Early life and education Tucker was born in Manhattan, New York City, New York, and raised in Stamford, Connecticut. He earned a ...
preferred the "less dignified tunes"—particularly "Daydream Interlude (Fantasy Sweet Dub Mix)"—over the "monuments to assiduous good taste" in "When I Saw You" and "I Am Free", which he panned as overwrought ballads. Tucker nonetheless called it Carey's best album since her 1990 self-titled debut. In a retrospective review for
AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...
,
Stephen Thomas Erlewine Stephen Thomas Erlewine (; born June 18, 1973) is an American music critic and senior editor for the online music database AllMusic. He is the author of many artist biographies and record reviews for AllMusic, as well as a freelance writer, occ ...
called ''Daydream'' Carey's "best record to date, featuring a consistently strong selection of songs and a remarkably impassioned performance by Carey." In Erlewine's opinion, the album appealed to both urban R&B and
adult contemporary Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul, R&B, quie ...
audiences while showing that "Carey continues to perfect her craft, and that she has earned her status as an R&B/pop diva." In ''
The Rolling Stone Album Guide ''The Rolling Stone Album Guide'', previously known as ''The Rolling Stone Record Guide'', is a book that contains professional music reviews written and edited by staff members from ''Rolling Stone'' magazine. Its first edition was published in 1 ...
'' (2004), Arion Berger said the album "adheres to the classic radio-friendly diva format, alternating between frisky dance tunes and overscaled ballads". He highlighted the songs contributed by Afanasieff while lamenting Carey's cover of "Open Arms".


Accolades


Commercial performance

In the United States, ''Daydream'' debuted at number one on the ''Billboard'' 200 with 224,000 copies sold. The album moved 760,000 copies during the Christmas week of 1995, the largest sales week by a solo female artist until
Britney Spears Britney Jean Spears (born December 2, 1981) is an American singer. Often referred to as the " Princess of Pop", she is credited with influencing the revival of teen pop during the late 1990s and early 2000s. After appearing in stage productio ...
's '' Oops!... I Did It Again'' in 2000. ''Daydream'' sold at least 90,000 copies a week in the seven months following its release. It was the second best-selling album of 1996, and the eighteenth best-selling album on the 1990s decade in the US. ''Daydream'' became Carey's best-selling album in the United States, being certified 11× platinum by the
Recording Industry Association of America The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...
(RIAA), denoting shipments of over 11 million copies. In Canada, ''Daydream'' peaked at number two on the charts, and was certified seven-times
Platinum Platinum is a chemical element with the symbol Pt and atomic number 78. It is a dense, malleable, ductile, highly unreactive, precious, silverish-white transition metal. Its name originates from Spanish , a diminutive of "silver". Platinu ...
by the Canadian Recording Industry Association (CRIA). The album experienced success in Europe, where it reached number one in Germany, The Netherlands, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. In France, ''Daydream'' peaked at number two and was certified double-Platinum by the
Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique The National Syndicate of Phonographic Publishing (french: Syndicat national de l'édition phonographique; SNEP) is the inter-professional organisation that protects the interests of the French record industry. Originally known under the acronym ...
(SNEP). ''Daydream'' was certified triple-Platinum by the
International Federation of the Phonographic Industry The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) is the organisation that represents the interests of the recording industry worldwide. It is a non-profit members' organisation registered in Switzerland and founded in Italy in 19 ...
(IFPI), denoting shipments of three million copies throughout Europe in 1996. In Australia, ''Daydream'' was certified five-times Platinum by the
Australian Recording Industry Association The Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) is a trade association representing the Australian recording industry which was established in the 1970s by six major record companies, EMI, Festival, CBS, RCA, WEA and Universal replacing th ...
(ARIA), denoting shipments of 350,000 copies. The album finished ninth on the ARIA End of Year Charts in both 1995 and 1996. In Japan, the album debuted at number one on the
Oricon , established in 1999, is the holding company at the head of a Japanese corporate group that supplies statistics and information on music and the music industry in Japan and Western music. It started as, which was founded by Sōkō Koike in Nov ...
charts. According to the Oricon, ''Daydream'' made the top five of the
best-selling albums in Japan Japan is the Global music industry market share data, second-largest music market in the world and the following lists cover the top-selling albums in the country of Japan, based on information provided by the Recording Industry Association of Jap ...
by a non-Asian artist, with 2.2 million copies sold. ''Daydream'' remains one of the best-selling albums by women in history, with sales of over 20 million copies worldwide (as of 2019).


Accolades

The music industry took note of Carey's success. She won two awards at the 1996 American Music Awards for her solo efforts: Favorite Pop/Rock Female Artist and Favorite Soul/R&B Female Artist. Throughout 1995 and 1996, Carey was awarded various prestigious awards at the
World Music Awards The World Music Awards is an international award show founded in 1989 under the patronage of Albert II, Prince of Monaco and co-founder/executive producer John Martinotti. The event is based in Monte Carlo. Awards are presented to the world's ...
, including World's Best Selling Female R&B Artist, World's Best Selling Overall Female Recording Artist, World's Best Selling Pop Artist and World's Best Selling Overall Recording Artist. Additionally, "Fantasy" was named Song of the Year at the BMI Awards and Favorite Song at the Blockbuster Entertainment Awards, where Carey also won the award for Top Pop Female. In 1996, Carey won many awards at the Billboard Music Awards, including Hot 100 Singles Artist of the Year, Hot 100 Airplay ("Always Be My Baby"), Hot Adult Contemporary Artist of the Year and Special Award for 16 weeks at #1 for "One Sweet Day". '' Pitchfork'' writer, Jamieson Cox, called the album, specifically "Underneath the Stars", a "tribute to '70s R&B legends like Minnie Riperton, complete with vinyl crackle". He went on to praise Carey's use of "flows ..with the ease of someone with a genuine appreciation for hip-hop". Carey began a "seamless blend of pop and hip-hop" within this album, but eventually went on to be the core of ''
Butterfly Butterflies are insects in the macrolepidopteran clade Rhopalocera from the Order (biology), order Lepidoptera, which also includes moths. Adult butterflies have large, often brightly coloured wings, and conspicuous, fluttering flight. The ...
'', and it served as the foundation for her late-career reinvigoration nearly a decade later. Cox added that ''Daydream'' "wasn't just transitional in a musical sense ..it was the beginning of the end for Mariah's innocence". In July 2017, the album ranked at number 97 on the list for the 150 greatest female albums of all time by the
National Public Radio National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other n ...
.


Grammy Awards controversy

''Daydream'' proved to be one of the best-selling and most acclaimed albums of 1995. When the
Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...
nominees were announced, and ''Daydream'' was nominated for six different awards, critics began raving how it would be "cleaning up" that year. The
38th Annual Grammy Awards The 38th Annual Grammy Awards were held on February 28, 1996, at Shrine Auditorium, Los Angeles. The awards recognized accomplishments by musicians from the previous year. Alanis Morissette was the main recipient, being awarded four trophies, inc ...
were held on February 28, 1996, at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles. Carey, being a multiple award nominee, was one of the headlining performers at the ceremony. Together with
Boyz II Men Boyz II Men (pronounced ''boys to men''), also known as B2M, is an American vocal harmony group from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, best known for emotional ballads and a cappella harmonies. They are currently a trio composed of baritone Nathan M ...
, she performed a live rendition of "One Sweet Day", to a very positive response. However, as the award winners were announced one by one, Carey watched as her name was not called up even once. ''Daydream'' had lost all of its six nominations, shocking most critics who branded it the "album of the year". With every passing loss, the television cameras continued to zoom on Carey's face, who was finding it more difficult to retain her smile. By the end of the night, Carey had not won a single award. The disappointment on her face was "painfully obvious", according to media outlets. Carey did not perform again until the 2006 ceremony, when she was nominated for eight awards (winning three) for '' The Emancipation of Mimi''.


Track listing

Notes * signifies a co-producer Sample credits * "Fantasy" and "Daydream Interlude (Fantasy Sweet Dub Mix)" contains a sample and interpolation of Tom Tom Club's "
Genius of Love "Genius of Love" is a 1981 hit song by Tom Tom Club from their 1981 eponymous debut album. It reached number one on the ''Billboard'' Disco Top 80 chart. Background "Genius of Love" is Tom Tom Club's second single. Although the album had not ...
" (1981) * "Long Ago" contains a sample of Zapp's "
More Bounce to the Ounce "More Bounce to the Ounce" is the debut single by American funk band Zapp. It is the opening track on their eponymous debut album and serves as the album's first single. The song was written, arranged, composed and produced by Roger Troutman; ...
" (1980)


Personnel

Adapted from the ''Daydream'' liner notes. *
Mariah Carey Mariah Carey (; born March 27, 1969) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and record producer. Referred to as the " Songbird Supreme", she is noted for her five-octave vocal range, melismatic singing style and signature use of the whi ...
– vocals, producer, writer, arranger, crowd noise *
Walter Afanasieff Walter Afanasieff (born Vladimir Nikitich Afanasyev; February 10, 1958), formerly nicknamed Baby Love in the 1980s, is an American record producer and songwriter of Russian-Chinese descent. He was a collaborator with Mariah Carey on her first ...
– producer, arranger, programming, synthesizer, bass, keyboard instruments, drum programming * Babyface – keyboards, background vocals * Michael McCary – writing, vocals *
Nathan Morris Nathan Bartholomew Morris (born June 18, 1971) is an American baritenor, singer, businessman, and the founding member of American band Boyz II Men. He was the host of the show Hit Properties on the DIY Network where he bought and renovated a mu ...
– writing, vocals *
Wanya Morris Wanyá Jermaine Morris ( ) (born July 29, 1973) is an American singer, best known as a member of the R&B group Boyz II Men. Television and film appearances Morris was announced as one of the celebrities who would compete on season 22 of ''D ...
– writing, vocals * Shawn Stockman – writing, vocals * Manuel Seal – piano, writing * Tristan Avakian – guitar * Melonie Daniels – crowd noise * Jermaine Dupri – producer, arranger, lead and backup vocals *
Mick Guzauski Nathan "Mick" Guzauski is an American multi-platinum mixing engineer and sound engineer. His work spans a wide range of styles, including jazz, R&B, Latin, rock, pop, easy listening, funk and hip hop. He won a 2002 Latin Grammy for Thalía's ...
– mixing * Dave Hall – producer, arranger, programming * Jay Healy – engineer, mixing * Loris Holland – organ, hammond organ * Dann Huff – guitar * Kurt Lundvall – engineer *
David Morales David Morales (; born August 21, 1962) is an American disc jockey (DJ) and record producer. In addition to his production and DJ work, Morales is also a remixer. David Morales has remixed and produced over 500 releases for artists including Ma ...
– bass, arranger, keyboards, programming, producer *
Kelly Price Kelly Cherelle Price (born April 4, 1973) is an American R&B and gospel singer. She started her singing career in 1992. Price originally garnered attention by singing backing vocals for Mariah Carey on multiple songs, including her ''Billboa ...
– crowd noise * Shanrae Price – crowd noise Production * Mike Scott – engineer * Manuel Seal – producer, lead and backup vocals * Dan Shea – synthesizer, bass, keyboards, programming, moog synthesizer, drum programming, synthesizer bass * Andy Smith – engineer * David Sussman – engineer, mixing *
Phil Tan Phil Tan is a Malaysian-American music and audio engineer. Early life and education Tan was born in Malaysia. He attended Full Sail University in Florida in the U.S., where he attained a degree in Recording Arts in 1990. Afterwards he moved to Atla ...
– engineer * Steve Thornton – percussion * Dana Jon Chappelle – engineer * Terry Burrus – piano * Satoshi Tomiie – bass, keyboards, programming, synthesizer bass *
Brian Vibberts Brian Vibberts is an American audio engineer, a native of Portland, Connecticut, who has been active since 1991. He is a 7-time Grammy Award winner (6x Grammy, 1 Latin Grammy) and has participated in the making of numerous albums that have resul ...
– engineer * Gary Cirimelli – programming, digital programming * Randy Walker – programming * Acar Key – engineer * Frank Filipetti – engineer * Mark Krieg – 2nd engineer * Kirk Yano – additional tracking engineer * Mick Guzauski – mixing


Charts


Weekly charts


Year-end charts


Decade-end charts


All-time charts


Certifications and sales


See also

*
List of best-selling albums This is a list of the world's best-selling albums of recorded music. To appear on the list, the figure must have been published by a reliable source and the album must have sold at least 20 million copies. This list can contain any types of al ...
*
List of best-selling albums by women The following albums, recorded by female solo artists and all-female groups, have sold at least 10 million copies. This list can contain any types of album, including studio albums, extended plays, greatest hits, compilations, soundtracks, and ...
* List of best-selling albums in the United States *
List of best-selling albums in Japan Japan is the second-largest music market in the world and the following lists cover the top-selling albums in the country of Japan, based on information provided by the Recording Industry Association of Japan and Oricon Inc. Best-selling physica ...


Notes


References

* * {{Good article Mariah Carey albums 1995 albums Columbia Records albums Albums produced by Walter Afanasieff Albums produced by Jermaine Dupri