“If It's Over” is a song written by American singer-songwriters

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 ...

and

Carole King Carole King Klein (born Carol Joan Klein; February 9, 1942) is an American singer-songwriter and musician renowned for her extensive contributions to popular music. She wrote or co-wrote 118 songs that charted on the Billboard Hot 100, ''Billbo ...

, with the former and

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 ...

helming its production. It was originally released on September 17, 1991, on Carey's second studio album, ''

Emotions Emotions are physical and mental states brought on by neurophysiology, neurophysiological changes, variously associated with thoughts, feelings, behavior, behavioral responses, and a degree of pleasure or suffering, displeasure. There is ...

''. Lyrically, the song tells of a romance that has withered, and finds the protagonist asking her lover, “if it's over, let me go”. Several months after the release of ''Emotions'', Carey performed the song during her appearance on the television show ''

MTV Unplugged ''MTV Unplugged'' is an American television series on MTV. It showcases recorded live performances of popular music artists playing acoustic instrument, acoustic or "unplugged" variations of songs. The show aired regularly from 1989 to 1999. F ...

''. Following the release of the ''

'' EP, the song's live version was used as the second single released from the EP in late 1992. The live single version omits the second verse and chorus, as the songs were shortened for the show. It received a very limited release, being featured as an airplay only single in certain territories. Its only peak was in the Netherlands, where it reached number eighty. Carey performed “If It's Over” live during the 34th annual

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious ...

s and on ''

Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (''SNL'') is an American Late night television in the United States, late-night live television, live sketch comedy variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Michaels and Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC. The ...

''.

Background and recording

During promotion for Carey's self-titled debut album (1990), she appeared on ''

The Arsenio Hall Show ''The Arsenio Hall Show'' is an American syndicated late-night talk show created by and starring comedian Arsenio Hall. There have been two different incarnations of ''The Arsenio Hall Show''. The original series premiered on January 3, 1989 ...

'' to perform her first single, "

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 ...

". During the very much talked about performance, singer-songwriter

had been watching Carey perform, taking interest in her and her material. One year later, during the recording sessions for Carey's second studio album, ''

'' (1991), King contacted Carey, asking if she would be interested in covering "

(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman "(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman" is a 1967 song by American soul singer Aretha Franklin released as a single by the Atlantic label from her album '' Lady Soul''. The lyrics were written by Gerry Goffin from an idea by Atlantic produce ...

", a song she had written alongside

Gerry Goffin Gerald Goffin (February 11, 1939 – June 19, 2014) was an American lyricist. Collaborating initially with his first wife, Carole King, he co-wrote many international pop hits of the early and mid-1960s, including the US No.1 hits " Will You L ...

for

Aretha Franklin Aretha Louise Franklin ( ; March 25, 1942 – August 16, 2018) was an American singer, songwriter and pianist. Honored as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Queen of Soul", she was twice named by ''Rolling Stone'' magazine as the Roll ...

. Carey declined, feeling uneasy about covering a song one of her musical influences executed so perfectly. Still determined to work with Carey, King flew out to New York City for one day, in hopes of writing and composing a

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 ...

of some sort. Throughout the day, the two songwriters exchanged musical ideas and melodies on the piano until "If It's Over" came into conception. In an interview following the collaboration, King said the following regarding Carey: "I love her voice. She's very expressive. She gives a lot of meaning to what she sings."

Composition

"If It's Over" is a

downtempo Downtempo (or downbeat) is a broad label for electronic music that features an atmospheric sound and slower beats than would typically be found in dance music. Closely related to ambient music but with greater emphasis on rhythm, the style may ...

ballad, which incorporates several genres and influences into its sound and instrumentation. Of them are R&B,

soul The soul is the purported Mind–body dualism, immaterial aspect or essence of a Outline of life forms, living being. It is typically believed to be Immortality, immortal and to exist apart from the material world. The three main theories that ...

and jazz, as well as drawing inspiration from 1950s and 1960s music and style. The song was written by Carey and

, with both helming the song's production as well. Instrumentally, "If It's Over" features several musical melodies including

baritone A baritone is a type of classical music, classical male singing human voice, voice whose vocal range lies between the bass (voice type), bass and the tenor voice type, voice-types. It is the most common male voice. The term originates from the ...

tenor A tenor is a type of male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the countertenor and baritone voice types. It is the highest male chest voice type. Composers typically write music for this voice in the range from the second B below m ...

alto The musical term alto, meaning "high" in Italian (Latin: '' altus''), historically refers to the contrapuntal part higher than the tenor and its associated vocal range. In four-part voice leading alto is the second-highest part, sung in ch ...

and

soprano A soprano () is a type of classical singing voice and has the highest vocal range of all voice types. The soprano's vocal range (using scientific pitch notation) is from approximately middle C (C4) = 261 Hertz, Hz to A5 in Choir, choral ...

saxophone notes, as well as the piano, trumpet,

horn Horn may refer to: Common uses * Horn (acoustic), a tapered sound guide ** Horn antenna ** Horn loudspeaker ** Vehicle horn ** Train horn *Horn (anatomy), a pointed, bony projection on the head of various animals * Horn (instrument), a family ...

and

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Wood * Bass or basswood, the wood of the tilia americana tree Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in th ...

. In the song, Carey makes brief use of the

whistle register The whistle register (also called the flute register or flageolet register) is the highest register of the human voice, lying above the modal register and falsetto register. This register has a specific physiological production that is differe ...

, prior to the last belted crescendo. According to author Chris Nickson, the song's instrumentation and basis was crucial to Carey's performance throughout the song. Additionally, he described its content and instrumentation:

"As a song full of gospel and soulful influences, it allowed Mariah to really tear loose and show what she could do – which in reality was far more than the vocal gymnastics that seemed to comprise her reputation so far. From a deep rumble to a high wail, she covered five octaves wonderfully, as the power of the tune built. The backing vocals – which once again had those churchy harmonies – filled out the spare melody, as did the stately horns, which entered towards the end. The song was truly a vocal showcase for Mariah."

Live performances

Carey performed "If It's Over" on the 17th season of ''

'', alongside " Can't Let Go". During the performance, Carey appeared on stage wearing a black leather sports jacket, as well as matching black pants and boots.

played the piano, while

Trey Lorenz Trey Lorenz (born Lloyd Lorenz Smith; January 19, 1969) is an American R&B singer-songwriter and record producer. He was born in Florence, South Carolina and is a graduate of Wilson High School. Lorenz is best known for his duet with recording a ...

, Patrique McMillan and Melonie Daniels provided the live background vocals. Additionally, five additional musicians were provided; Lew Delgado,

saxophone; Lenny Pickett,

saxophone; George Young,

saxophone; Earl Gardner, trumpet; and Steve Turre,

trombone The trombone (, Italian, French: ''trombone'') is a musical instrument in the Brass instrument, brass family. As with all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player's lips vibrate inside a mouthpiece, causing the Standing wave, air c ...

. Additionally, Carey performed "If It's Over" at the 34th annual

s, held on February 26, 1992. As the curtain was drawn, Carey walked on stage wearing a red and black evening gown, while sporting a golden-curly hairstyle. Behind a large red curtain held behind her, several back up singers were placed standing on a concealed elevated platform. On March 16, 1992, Carey performed the song live as part of a seven piece set-list for ''

''. The show aired 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 ...

several times, and was eventually released as an EP titled, ''

''.

Release

Following the release of " I'll Be There" as the lead single from ''MTV Unplugged'' a month prior to the EP's public arrival, Carey's live version of "If It's Over" from ''MTV Unplugged'' was released as an airplay-only single in a few countries. It was released on CD and cassette as a commercial single in Australia on November 23, 1992. Following its release, promotion for Carey's second studio effort ''Emotions'' was halted.

Reception

Upon release, "If It's Over" garnered generally positive critical appreciation from contemporary music critics. Bill Lamb from

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commented that the song "stands with Carey's best," and complimented its

gospel Gospel originally meant the Christianity, Christian message ("the gospel"), but in the second century Anno domino, AD the term (, from which the English word originated as a calque) came to be used also for the books in which the message w ...

infusion.

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

's Ashley S. Battel wrote "it will take you on a musical journey," while describing the song's vocals and instrumentation. Jan DeKnock from ''

The Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is an American daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Founded in 1847, it was formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper", a slogan from which its once integrated WGN radio and WGN tel ...

'' compared it to "the style of the great

soul ballad A sentimental ballad is an emotional style of music that often deals with romantic and intimate relationships, and to a lesser extent, loneliness, death, war, drug abuse, politics and religion, usually in a poignant but solemn manner. Ballads ...

s of the `60s." ''

People Magazine ''People'' is an American weekly magazine that specializes in celebrity news and human-interest stories. It is published by Dotdash Meredith, a subsidiary of IAC (company), IAC. With a readership of 46.6 million adults in 2009, ''Peopl ...

'' stated that the singer "does bank her pyrotechnics" for the "sultry" song. Rob Tannenbaum from ''

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 ...

'' gave it a mixed review, comparing it to the work of

, but said it "translates into such excesses as the

falsetto Falsetto ( , ; Italian language, Italian diminutive of , "false") is the vocal register occupying the frequency range just above the modal voice register and overlapping with it by approximately one octave. It is produced by the vibration of the ...

whoops." The song only managed to chart at number 80 in the Netherlands, lasting five weeks in the chart.

Track listing

Netherlands/European CD single # "If It's Over" (Live) – 3:47 # "If It's Over" – 4:38 European CD maxi-single # "If It's Over" (Live) – 3:47 # "If It's Over" – 4:38 # "

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 ...

" (New 12" jackswing) – 4:13 Japanese CD single # "If It's Over" (Live) – 3:47 # "

" – 3:59

Credits and personnel

;Recording * Recorded and mixed at Right Track Recording, NYC. ;Personnel * Lyrics – Mariah Carey * Music – Mariah Carey, Carole King * Production – Mariah Carey, Walter Afanasieff * Recording and mixing – Dana Jon Chappelle * Keyboards and Synthesizers, Hammond B-6 Organ, Synclavier Strings and Tambourine – Walter Afanasieff * Guitar – Cornell Dupree * Bass – Will Lee * Trumpet – Earl Gardner * Trombone – Keith O'Quinn * Tenor Saxophones – George Young, Larry Feldman * Baritone Saxophone – Lewis Delgatto * Drums – Steve Smith * Akai Programming – Ren Klyce * Macintosh programming – Gary Cirmelli * Assistant engineer – Bruce Calder * Vocal arrangement – Mariah Carey * Background vocals – Mariah Carey, Trey Lorenz, Patrique McMillan, Cindy Mizelle Credits adapted from the liner notes of ''Emotions''.