"I Don't Wanna Cry" is a song recorded by American singer

Mariah Carey Mariah Carey ( ; born March 27, 1969) is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, and actress. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Songbird Supreme" by ''Guinness World Records'', Carey is known for her five-octave voc ...

for her first album ''

'' (1990). Written by Carey and producer

Narada Michael Walden Narada Michael Walden ( ; Michael Walden; born April 23, 1952) is an American musician, singer, songwriter and record producer. He acquired the nickname Narada from Sri Chinmoy. He began his career as a drummer, working primarily in the jazz ...

, it was released by

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American reco ...

as the album's fourth single in March1991. A

Latin soul Latin soul (occasionally used synonymously with boogaloo) was a short-lived musical genre that had developed in the 1960s in New York City. It consisted of a blend of Cuban music such as mambo, along with elements of Latin jazz and soul music. Al ...

–influenced pop

ballad A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and song of Great Britain and Ireland from the Late Middle Ages until the 19th century. They were widely used across Eur ...

, the

torch song A torch song is a sentimental love song, typically one in which the singer laments an unrequited or lost love, either where one party is oblivious to the existence of the other, where one party has moved on, or where a romantic affair has affect ...

describes the end of romance. It features drums, guitars, digital synthesizers, and a classic

song structure Song structure is the arrangement of a song, and is a part of the songwriting process. It is typically sectional, which uses repeating forms in songs. Common piece-level musical forms for vocal music include bar form, 32-bar form, verse–chorus ...

with highly delineated section roles.

Modulation Signal modulation is the process of varying one or more properties of a periodic waveform in electronics and telecommunication for the purpose of transmitting information. The process encodes information in form of the modulation or message ...

s occur between these segments that emphasize the singer's emotions. Varying from

whispering Whispering is an unvoiced mode of phonation in which the vocal cords are abducted so that they do not vibrate; air passes between the arytenoid cartilages to create audible turbulence during speech. Supralaryngeal articulation remains the ...

to belting, Carey's

vocal range Vocal range is the range of pitches that a human voice can phonate. A common application is within the context of singing, where it is used as a defining characteristic for classifying singing voices into voice types. It is also a topic of stud ...

spans more than two

octave In music, an octave (: eighth) or perfect octave (sometimes called the diapason) is an interval between two notes, one having twice the frequency of vibration of the other. The octave relationship is a natural phenomenon that has been referr ...

s. Critics viewed "I Don't Wanna Cry" as a standout track from ''Mariah Carey'' and complimented the dynamic between Carey's vocals and Walden's production. The song received high airplay across American

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 1980s to the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul ...

urban contemporary Urban contemporary music, also known as urban music, urban pop, or just simply urban, is a music radio format. The term was coined by New York radio DJ Frankie Crocker in the early to mid-1970s as a synonym for Black music. Urban contemporary r ...

, and

contemporary hit radio Contemporary hit radio (CHR, also known as contemporary hits, hit list, current hits, hit music, top 40, or pop radio) is a radio format common in many countries that focuses on playing current and recurrent popular music as determined by the Top ...

stations. It became Carey's fourth consecutive number one on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 Singles chart, making her the second act to have their first four entries reach number one. 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 ...

certified it

Gold Gold is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol Au (from Latin ) and atomic number 79. In its pure form, it is a brightness, bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile metal. Chemically, gold is a transition metal ...

. Internationally, "I Don't Wanna Cry" reached the top ten on sales and airplay charts in Canada and the top twenty in New Zealand.

Larry Jordan Lawrence Jordan (born 1934) is an American independent filmmaker who is most widely known for his animated collage films. He was a founding member of the Canyon Cinema Cooperative and the Camera Obscura Film Society, and was also a music video di ...

directed the accompanying music video, which shows Carey and a male model brooding over their tainted relationship. His director's cut version includes scenes that Columbia thought projected a sexualized image of Carey. She performed "I Don't Wanna Cry" during the 1993

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 ...

, the 1996

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 7 March 1996, in Tokyo (Japan) and ending on 23 June ...

, and the 2015 concert residency #1 to Infinity. Carey's former husband and head of Columbia at the time of the song's production,

Tommy Mottola Thomas Daniel Mottola (born July 14, 1948) is an American businessman, record executive, television producer, theater producer, film producer, investor, and serial entrepreneur. Mottola is the chairman of Mottola Media Group, co-founder of Nter ...

, considers her lack of creative control during the process a factor in the demise of their relationship.

Background

Then-backup singer

accompanied Brenda K. Starr to a record industry party in late 1988.

, president of CBS Records Group, obtained Carey's

demo tape A demo (shortened from "demonstration") is a song or group of songs typically recorded for limited circulation or for reference use, rather than for general public release. A demo is a way for a musician to approximate their ideas in a fixed for ...

at the gala and was immediately impressed by her voice. He signed Carey within a month to establish her as

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American reco ...

's answer to

Whitney Houston Whitney Elizabeth Houston (August 9, 1963 – February 11, 2012) was an American singer, actress, film producer, model, and philanthropist. Commonly referred to as "Honorific nicknames in popular music, the Voice", she is List of awards and no ...

Arista Records Arista Records ( ) is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the American division of the Japanese conglomerate Sony. The label was previously a division of Bertelsmann Music G ...

. Mottola persuaded Arista promoter Don Ienner—who had been part of the marketing strategy that made Houston a household name—to join Columbia. Although Carey requested to work on her debut album ''

'' (1990) with longtime co-writer Ben Margulies rather than well-known producers, Mottola felt it required further influences. To broaden the album's music, Ienner suggested they hire Houston producer

. This aligned with their view of Carey as "a franchise" with marketability to multiple demographics as Walden's work appealed to both

pop Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop! (British group), a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Album ...

and R&B audiences.

Recording

Mottola phoned Walden personally to request that he write a successful song with Carey in New York. She was apprehensive and feared that her music would become "too schmaltzy" like his work with Houston. After meeting each other, the pair held a writing session at the city's Hit Factory studio where Walden heard Carey's voice for the first time. While working on some uptempo songs, he believed she needed one that was slower and melodramatic. Influenced by recordings such as

Chuck Jackson Charles Benjamin Jackson (July 22, 1937 – February 16, 2023) was an American R&B singer who was one of the first artists to record material by Burt Bacharach and Hal David successfully. He performed with moderate success starting in 1961. Hi ...

's " I Don't Want to Cry", Walden began singing a concept to Carey. They composed the

melody A melody (), also tune, voice, or line, is a linear succession of musical tones that the listener perceives as a single entity. In its most literal sense, a melody is a combination of Pitch (music), pitch and rhythm, while more figurativel ...

and wrote the

chorus Chorus may refer to: Music * Chorus (song), the part of a song that is repeated several times, usually after each verse * Chorus effect, the perception of similar sounds from multiple sources as a single, richer sound * Chorus form, song in whic ...

to "I Don't Wanna Cry", after which Carey completed the remaining lyrics. "I Don't Wanna Cry" was recorded at Tarpan Studios and The Plant Studios in California. Carey sought to redo licks multiple times during the process, and Walden agreed. After she recorded more vocals, Walden refused to incorporate them because he felt the song was complete. Mottola encouraged Carey to follow his advice but acknowledged her discontent. She never collaborated with Walden after ''Mariah Carey'', stating, "The label was very excited for me to work with him because of his collaborations with hugely successful vocalists... it was very important for me to keep my identity as a songwriter." Carey married Mottola in 1993 and they later divorced due to his controlling nature. Retrospectively, he considers Carey's experiences with Walden how "her whole issue of feeling controlled" came into being.

Composition and lyrics

"I Don't Wanna Cry" is a

in the form of a

-influenced pop

. Like many recordings, it references the act of crying. The lyrics are simple and concern the demise of a romance: "Though I've given you my heart and soul / I must find a way of letting go / 'Cause baby, I don't wanna cry." According to David T. Farr of the '' Sturgis Journal'', they introduce an element of vulnerability to Carey's image. Scholar Dorothy Marcic views them as an example of the progression of women's societal role as they showcase a sense of inner strength rather than victimhood like songs from previous decades. With an introduction, verse, pre-chorus, chorus, post-chorus,

bridge A bridge is a structure built to Span (engineering), span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or railway) without blocking the path underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, whi ...

, and outro, "I Don't Wanna Cry" features a prototypical

. It is organized in

compound AABA form The 32-bar form, also known as the AABA song form, American popular song form and the ballad form, is a song structure commonly found in Tin Pan Alley songs and other American popular music, especially in the first half of the 20th century. Th ...

. Set in

common time A time signature (also known as meter signature, metre signature, and measure signature) is an indication in music notation that specifies how many note values of a particular type fit into each measure ( bar). The time signature indicates the ...

, the music is played "tenderly" at a

tempo In musical terminology, tempo (Italian for 'time'; plural 'tempos', or from the Italian plural), measured in beats per minute, is the speed or pace of a given musical composition, composition, and is often also an indication of the composition ...

of 66 beats per minute according to

sheet music Sheet music is a handwritten or printed form of musical notation that uses musical symbols to indicate the pitches, rhythms, or chords of a song or instrumental musical piece. Like its analogs – printed Book, books or Pamphlet, pamphlets ...

published by

Hal Leonard Hal Leonard LLC (formerly Hal Leonard Corporation) is an American music publishing and distribution company founded in Winona, Minnesota, by Harold "Hal" Edstrom, his brother, Everett "Leonard" Edstrom, and fellow musician Roger Busdicker. Curre ...

. It is written in the key of until the first chorus when

modulation Signal modulation is the process of varying one or more properties of a periodic waveform in electronics and telecommunication for the purpose of transmitting information. The process encodes information in form of the modulation or message ...

to the

relative key In music, 'relative keys' are the major and minor scales that have the same key signatures ( enharmonically equivalent), meaning that they share all of the same notes but are arranged in a different order of whole steps and half steps. A pair ...

of occurs. The key reverts to for the next verse. Upon the

climax Climax may refer to: Language arts * Climax (narrative), the point of highest tension in a narrative work * Climax (rhetoric), a figure of speech that lists items in order of importance Biology * Climax community, a biological community th ...

at the final chorus, a

key change In music, modulation is the change from one tonality ( tonic, or tonal center) to another. This may or may not be accompanied by a change in key signature (a key change). Modulations articulate or create the structure or form of many pieces, as ...

to takes place. The song concludes in the relative key of . This alternation constructs prosody; lyrics about breaking up ("Only emptiness inside us") are in minor key while those about moving on ("I must find a way of letting go") are in major key. Carey engages in riffing during the song's introduction. She uses a low

register Register or registration may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * Register (music), the relative "height" or range of a note, melody, part, instrument, etc. * ''Register'', a 2017 album by Travis Miller * Registration (organ), ...

during verses and an upper register for the chorus. Her

spans two

s and six

semitone A semitone, also called a minor second, half step, or a half tone, is the smallest musical interval commonly used in Western tonal music, and it is considered the most dissonant when sounded harmonically. It is defined as the interval between ...

s from the low

note Note, notes, or NOTE may refer to: Music and entertainment * Musical note, a pitched sound (or a symbol for a sound) in music * ''Notes'' (album), a 1987 album by Paul Bley and Paul Motian * ''Notes'', a common (yet unofficial) shortened versi ...

of to the high note of . Carey's

timbre In music, timbre (), also known as tone color or tone quality (from psychoacoustics), is the perceived sound of a musical note, sound or tone. Timbre distinguishes sounds according to their source, such as choir voices and musical instrument ...

varies between whispering, cooing, belting with

bravura In classical music a bravura is a style of both music and its performance intended to show off the skill of a performer. John Alexander Fuller-Maitland, ''A dictionary of music and musicians (A.D. 1450-1889)'p. 271-272/ref> Commonly, it is a vir ...

, and " raspy grit". Aside from producing, Walden plays the drums heard in "I Don't Wanna Cry". The song features an

electric guitar An electric guitar is a guitar that requires external electric Guitar amplifier, sound amplification in order to be heard at typical performance volumes, unlike a standard acoustic guitar. It uses one or more pickup (music technology), pickups ...

and an

acoustic guitar An acoustic guitar is a musical instrument in the string family. When a string is plucked, its vibration is transmitted from the bridge, resonating throughout the top of the guitar. It is also transmitted to the side and back of the instrument, ...

played by Chris Camozzi. They evoke the sound of a Spanish guitar, which was a vogue production choice at the time. The guitars are soft-sounding and play the

while programmed keyboards are heard in the background.

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. He was a frequent collaborator of Mariah Carey on her first six studio albums. Af ...

worked with the keys and

synth bass Keyboard bass (shortened to keybass and sometimes referred as a synth bass) is the use of a smaller, low-pitched keyboard with fewer notes than a regular keyboard or pedal keyboard to substitute for the deep notes of a bass guitar or double bass ...

electronically;

Ren Klyce Ren Klyce is a Japanese-American sound designer and sound mixer. Career He has been nominated for nine Academy Awards; six for Best Sound and three for Best Sound Editing. He is best known for his frequent collaborations with director David F ...

used the

Fairlight CMI The Fairlight CMI (short for Computer Musical Instrument) is a digital synthesizer, music sampler, and digital audio workstation introduced in 1979 by Fairlight. — with links to some Fairlight history and photos It was based on a commerc ...

digital synthesizer for rhythm programming. As with most ''Mariah Carey'' tracks,

Bob Ludwig Robert Carl Ludwig (born December 11, 1944), is a retired American mastering engineer. He mastered recordings on all the major recording formats for all the major record labels, and on projects by more than 1,300 artists, including Led Zeppeli ...

conducted mastering at

Masterdisk Masterdisk is an American multimedia company in New York, located at 8 John Walsh Boulevard in Peekskill. They provide production services such as audio mastering, vinyl cutting and enhanced CD and DVD production. Their clients include such n ...

in NewYork. The album edition of "I Don't Wanna Cry" is four minutes and forty-seven seconds long and an edited version lasts four minutes and twenty-five seconds.

Release

"I Don't Wanna Cry" is the third track on ''Mariah Carey'', which Columbia released on June 12, 1990. It forms the record's

mass market The term "mass market" refers to a market for goods produced on a large scale for a significant number of end consumers. The mass market differs from the niche market in that the former focuses on consumers with a wide variety of backgrounds with ...

appeal along with other ballads such as "

Vision of Love "Vision of Love" is the debut single by American singer-songwriter Mariah Carey, recorded for her eponymous debut studio album (1990). It was written by Carey and Ben Margulies. After being featured on Carey's demo tape for Columbia Records, t ...

" and "

Love Takes Time "Love Takes Time" is a song recorded by American singer Mariah Carey for her eponymous debut studio album (1990). Written by Carey and Ben Margulies, while produced by Walter Afanasieff, the song was released as the second single from the al ...

". By early 1991, the first three singles had reached number one on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 Singles chart and the album was in the midst of an 11-week run at number one on the ''Billboard'' 200 following Carey's

Best New Artist The Grammy Award for Best New Artist has been awarded since the 2nd Annual Grammy Awards in 1960 (except in 1967) "for a new artist who releases, during the Eligibility Year, the first recording which establishes the public identity of that ar ...

win at the

33rd Annual Grammy Awards The 33rd Annual Grammy Awards were held on February 20, 1991. They recognized accomplishments by musicians from the previous year. Quincy Jones was the night's biggest winner winning a total of six awards including Album of the Year. Performer ...

. Columbia issued "I Don't Wanna Cry" as the fourth single from ''Mariah Carey''. The label distributed cassettes and

7-inch vinyl In music, a single is a type of release of a song recording of fewer tracks than an album ( LP), typically one or two tracks. A single can be released for sale to the public in a variety of physical or digital formats. Singles may be standal ...

s to retail in March1991 with the album track "You Need Me" as a

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph record, vinyl records and Compact cassette, cassettes, and the terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side of a Single (music), single usually ...

. The latter song has a similar relationship separation theme, this time incorporating

funk Funk is a music genre that originated in African-American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African-Americans in the ...

and

rock music Rock is a Music genre, genre of popular music that originated in the United States as "rock and roll" in the late 1940s and early 1950s, developing into a range of styles from the mid-1960s, primarily in the United States and the United Kingdo ...

. A promotional CD includes a

radio edit In music, a radio edit, or a "clean version," is a modification, typically truncated or censored, intended to make a song more suitable for airplay. It may be censored for profanity, vulgarities, or subject matter; or adjusted for length, instr ...

version. In Japan,

Sony Music Sony Music Entertainment (SME), commonly known as Sony Music, is an American multinational music company owned by Japanese conglomerate Sony Group Corporation. It is the recording division of Sony Music Group, with the other half being the ...

released "I Don't Wanna Cry" as a

mini CD Mini CDs, or pocket CDs, are CDs with a smaller diameter and one-third the storage capacity of a standard 120 mm disc. Formats Amongst the various formats are the * Mini CD single, a small disc. The format is mainly used for audio CD s ...

on May 2,1991. It is featured on Carey's compilation albums '' #1's'' (1998), ''

Greatest Hits A greatest hits album or best-of album is a type of compilation album that collects popular and commercially successful songs by a particular artist or band. While greatest hits albums are typically supported by the artist, they can also be creat ...

'' (2001), and '' #1 to Infinity'' (2015).

Critical reception

Critics judged "I Don't Wanna Cry" to be one of the best songs from ''Mariah Carey''. Aside from Carey's work, it received comparisons to other ballads about relationships such as

George Michael George Michael (born Georgios Kyriacos Panayiotou; 25 June 1963 – 25 December 2016) was an English singer-songwriter and record producer. Regarded as a pop culture icon, he is one of the List of best-selling music artists, best-selling rec ...

's "

Careless Whisper "Careless Whisper" is a song recorded by English singer-songwriter George Michael. Released as the second single from Wham!'s second studio album ''Make It Big'' (1984), it was written by Michael and Andrew Ridgeley, with Michael producing the ...

" and

Chris Isaak Christopher Joseph Isaak (born June 26, 1956) is an American singer, songwriter, guitarist and occasional actor. Noted for his reverb-laden rockabilly revivalist style and wide vocal range, he is popularly known for his breakthrough hit and sig ...

's "

Wicked Game "Wicked Game" is a song by American rock musician Chris Isaak from his third album '' Heart Shaped World'' (1989). It was released as a single to little attention in July 1989 but became a sleeper hit when Lee Chestnut, an Atlanta radio station ...

". Commentators considered "I Don't Wanna Cry" conventional and thought that Carey's vocal performance elevates the song's orthodoxy. Glenn Gamboa of ''

Newsday ''Newsday'' is a daily newspaper in the United States primarily serving Nassau and Suffolk counties on Long Island, although it is also sold throughout the New York metropolitan area. The slogan of the newspaper is "Newsday, Your Eye on LI" ...

'' regarded it as perhaps "the surest sign from her debut that areys powerful voice could turn an average song into a hit" and

Cleveland.com ''The Plain Dealer'' is the major newspaper of Cleveland, Ohio; it is a major national newspaper. In the fall of 2019, it ranked 23rd in U.S. newspaper circulation, a significant drop since March 2013, when its circulation ranked 17th daily an ...

's Troy L. Smith reckoned although it might have generic production, that "doesn't stop Carey from rescuing the song with an amazing vocal". Critics felt that Carey's vocals and the composition complement each other and resonate emotion. According to ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'', "Walden's grand production suits her acrobatic vocal style". Rob Tannenbaum of ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...

'' thought that Carey's "downcast whispers animated the song's luxurious sorrow" and ''

Vibe Vibe, alternatively '' vibes,'' is short for ''vibration''. A "vibe" is an emotional reaction to the aura or energy felt to belong to a person, place or thing. Vibe may also refer to: People * DJ Vibe (born 1968), Portuguese DJ * Lasse Vibe (b ...

''s Julianne Shepherd said "she strikes a perfect balance between vocal ability and emotional rawness." Reviewing retrospectively, Leah Greenblatt of ''

Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American online magazine, digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, ...

'' graded "I Don't Wanna Cry" a B+ and ''

Stereogum ''Stereogum'' is a daily Internet publication that focuses on music news, reviews, interviews, and commentary. The site was created in January 2002 by Scott Lapatine. ''Stereogum'' was one of the first MP3 blogs and has received several awar ...

''s Tom Breihan scored it a 5 out of 10.

Commercial performance

In the United States, "I Don't Wanna Cry" debuted at number 50 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 Singles chart dated April 6,1991, as Carey's "

Someday Someday or Some Day may refer to: Film and television * ''Someday'' (1935 film), a British film directed by Michael Powell * ''Someday'' (2011 film), a Japanese film directed by Junji Sakamoto * ''Someday'' (2021 film), an Indian Hindi-lang ...

" departed the top 10. It rose from number eight to number one in the May 25,1991, issue and replaced " I Like the Way (The Kissing Game)" by Hi-Five. The song's jump to number one was the biggest since

Meco Domenico Monardo (November 29, 1939 – May 26, 2023), known as Meco, was an American record producer and musician, as well as the name of his band or production team. Meco is best known for his 1977 space disco version of the ''Star Wars'' ...

's "

Star Wars Theme/Cantina Band "Star Wars Theme/Cantina Band" is a song recorded by Meco, taken from the album '' Star Wars and Other Galactic Funk''. It hit number one on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 on October 1, 1977, holding on to the spot for two weeks and peaked at no. 7 on ...

" did the same in 1977, a feat British publication ''

Music Week ''Music Week'' is a trade publication for the UK record industry distributed via a website and a monthly print magazine. It is published by Future. History Founded in 1959 as ''Record Retailer'', it relaunched on 18 March 1972 as ''Music We ...

'' deemed "unprecedented". "I Don't Wanna Cry" became Carey's fourth consecutive number one on the Hot 100. This made her the second act after

the Jackson 5 The Jackson 5, later known as the Jacksons, are an American pop band composed of members of the Jackson family. The group was formed in Gary, Indiana in 1964, and originally consisted of brothers Jackie, Ti ...

in 1970 to have their first four singles reach number one and the second female artist after

Paula Abdul Paula Julie Abdul (born June 19, 1962) is an American singer, dancer, choreographer, actress, and television personality. She began her career as a cheerleader for the Los Angeles Lakers at the age of 18 and later became the head choreographe ...

to have four number-one songs from a debut album. "I Don't Wanna Cry" spent two weeks at number one and nineteen total on the chart. , it is Carey's 11th-best performing song on the Hot 100 and Walden's final number one as a producer. "I Don't Wanna Cry" experienced success across multiple

radio format A radio format or programming format (not to be confused with broadcast programming) describes the overall content broadcast on a radio station. The radio format emerged mainly in the United States in the 1950s, at a time when Radio broadcasting, ...

s in the United States. The song topped at least one of the

, and

charts published by ''

'', ''

Gavin Report The ''Gavin Report'' was a San Francisco-based radio industry trade publication. The publication was founded by radio performer Bill Gavin in 1958. Its Top 40 listings were used for many years by programmers to decide content of programs. The ...

'', or ''

Radio & Records ''Radio & Records'' (''R&R'') was a trade publication providing news and airplay information for the radio and music industries. It started as an independent trade from 1973 to 2006 until VNU Media took over in 2006 and became a relaunched sister ...

'' magazines. It received citations from performance rights organizations

ASCAP The American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP) () is an American not-for-profit performance-rights organization (PRO) that collectively licenses the public performance rights of its members' musical works to venues, broadc ...

and BMI for being one of the most-played songs on American radio and television stations in 1991. The

certified it

in 2022, which denotes 500,000 units based on digital downloads and on-demand

streams A stream is a continuous body of surface water flowing within the bed and banks of a channel. Depending on its location or certain characteristics, a stream may be referred to by a variety of local or regional names. Long, large stream ...

. Outside of the United States, the song performed well in Canada. It reached the top 10 on the sales-based singles chart published by ''

The Record The Record may refer to: Music * The Record (Fear album), ''The Record'' (Fear album), a 1982 studio album by the hardcore-punk band Fear * The Record (Boygenius album), ''The Record'' (Boygenius album), a 2023 studio album by the indie rock supe ...

'' ( 7) and the airplay-based chart produced by ''

RPM Revolutions per minute (abbreviated rpm, RPM, rev/min, r/min, or r⋅min−1) is a unit of rotational speed (or rotational frequency) for rotating machines. One revolution per minute is equivalent to hertz. Standards ISO 80000-3:2019 def ...

'' ( 2). Elsewhere, "I Don't Wanna Cry" peaked at number 13 on the

New Zealand singles chart The Official Aotearoa Music Charts, formerly the Official New Zealand Music Chart (), is the weekly New Zealand top 40 singles and albums charts, issued weekly by Recorded Music NZ (formerly Recording Industry Association of New Zealand). The M ...

and number 49 on the

Australian singles chart The ARIA Charts are the main Australian record chart, music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling songs and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA beca ...

Music video and performances

Carey's video album '' The First Vision'' (1991) presents a preview of the song's music video. The clip captures her singing amid red-orange lighting on an empty stage.

directed the official video for "I Don't Wanna Cry", which Columbia released in April1991. He had previously done so for "Someday". The sepia-toned video features Carey and a male model in a dark

Midwestern United States The Midwestern United States (also referred to as the Midwest, the Heartland or the American Midwest) is one of the four census regions defined by the United States Census Bureau. It occupies the northern central part of the United States. It ...

home surrounded by candles and empty picture frames. After brooding over their tainted relationship, she enters a wheat field and cries. The video received critical commentary. According to KQED's Emmanuel Hapsis, Carey's performance foreshadows her strong acting ability in '' Precious'' (2009). ''

People The term "the people" refers to the public or Common people, common mass of people of a polity. As such it is a concept of human rights law, international law as well as constitutional law, particularly used for claims of popular sovereignty. I ...

'' writer Drew Mackie thought her walking barefoot appears seductive. Carey disavowed the video later in her career. As Columbia reshot scenes due to the appearance of her dress and the male model, she prefers the director's cut. This version premiered on

MTV MTV (an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on ...

in November1998 and is included on her 1999 video compilation ''#1's''. "I Don't Wanna Cry" is not one of Carey's fondest compositions; she has seldom performed it live. The song is noticeably absent from her 1993 high-profile '' Here Is Mariah Carey'' concert. Carey sang "I Don't Wanna Cry" during the 1993

and the 1996

. Her performance of the song at the

Tokyo Dome is an indoor stadium in Bunkyō, Tokyo, Japan. It was designed as a baseball stadium following its predecessor, Korakuen Stadium (whose former site is now occupied by the Tokyo Dome Hotel and a plaza for this stadium). In Japan, it is often us ...

during the latter is included on her compilation album '' The Rarities''. In 2015, Carey resumed singing "I Don't Wanna Cry" for her Las Vegas concert residency #1 to Infinity.

Credits and personnel

Credits adapted from the

liner notes Liner notes (also sleeve notes or album notes) are the writings found on the sleeves of LP record albums and in booklets that come inserted into the compact disc jewel case or cassette j-cards. Origin Liner notes are descended from the prog ...

of ''Mariah Carey''.

A-side: "I Don't Wanna Cry"

Locations Personnel Publishing

B-side: "You Need Me"

Locations Personnel Publishing

Charts and certifications

Notes

References

Books

* * * * * * * * * * * {{authority control 1990 songs 1991 singles 1990s ballads Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles Cashbox number-one singles Columbia Records singles Mariah Carey songs Song recordings produced by Narada Michael Walden Songs written by Mariah Carey Songs written by Narada Michael Walden Sony Music singles Torch songs Pop ballads

Background

Recording

Composition and lyrics

Release

Critical reception

Commercial performance

Music video and performances

Credits and personnel

A-side: "I Don't Wanna Cry"

B-side: "You Need Me"

Charts and certifications

See also

Notes

References

Books