Columbia 66700
Producers: Walter Afanasieff, Mariah Carey, Dave Hall, Jermaine Dupri, Manuel Seal, and David Morales
Track listing: Fantasy / Underneath the Stars / One Sweet Day / Open Arms / Always Be My Baby / I Am Free / When I Saw You / Long Ago / Melt Away / Forever / Daydream Interlude (Fantasy Sweet Dub Mix) / Looking In
October 21, 1995
4 weeks (nonconsecutive)
With Daydream, her fifth full-length studio album, Mariah Carey made history. “Fantasy,” the album’s first single, entered the Hot 100 at Number One on September 30, 1995, making Carey the first female artist ever to debut at the top of that chart. Three weeks later, with “Fantasy” still holding the pole position on the Hot 100, Daydream bowed at Number One on The Billboard 200, earning Carey the additional distinction of the first artist to debut at the top with an album and its initial single.
If that wasn’t enough, Carey kept the streak alive when “One Sweet Day,” the second single from Daydream, entered the Hot 100 at Number One on December 2, 1995, making Carey the first artist — male or female — to debut at Number One on the singles chart twice in a row. Carey’s record-breaking streak continued on March 9, 1996, when “One Sweet Day” became the longest-running Number One single of the rock era, logging its 15th week at the top.
“The overall feeling surrounding the sessions on Daydream was much more calm than on the sessions for Music Box,” Carey says. “I took a little more time on this one.” Once again Carey collaborated with several noted producers, including Walter Afanasieff and David Morales, but initially she found some of the most rewarding moments on her own. “There were times when I was in the studio alone doing vocals on ‘Underneath the Stars’ and ‘I Am Free,'” she says. “It was a really creative time.” On several tracks, Carey also recorded her own background vocals.
For “Fantasy,” Carey opted to sample “Genius of Love,” a 1982 hit for the Tom Tom Club. “I grew up loving that song,” she says. “I think that is one of the best tracks ever produced. I just thought that the melody I had would go really well with that track … It really complimented what I was doing.”
For the single release, several different remixes were recorded, including one version featuring Wu Tang Clan rapper Ol’ Dirty Bastard. One of Morales’s remixes ended up on the album. “It’s an interlude, but it’s actually one of my favorite things on the album,” she says. “It sort of inspired the title Daydream.” The song, recorded at 5 A.M., was one of the first cuts recorded at Carey’s home studio. Morales surprised Carey by having her sing over a remix she had never heard before. “It was at the very end of the session,” Carey says. “When I got to that part of the song it was very jazzy, so it inspired me to start scatting on the top of it. It had this dreamy, ethereal feeling.”
Also included on Daydream is “One Sweet Day,” Carey’s collaboration with Boyz II Men. “I had the idea for the song and finished the first verse and chorus, but then I stopped writing, because the style of background vocals I wanted to do would be perfect for Boyz II Men,” she says. Carey presented the idea to her manager. “Months later, after getting through all the drama that it takes to bring our schedules together, they came in and I played it for them, and as it turned out Nate Morris was writing something similar dedicated to his road manager, who was shot to death. Lyrically and melodically, it was almost identical to mine, so we combined it all. It was just a crazy coincidence. The melodies could literally be woven together.”
Since Carey and Boyz both had busy schedules, the recording session was taped for the music video clip. “We just felt it was very important to document the session and that’s what the video is,” says Carey, “a documentary about making the record.”
THE TOP FIVE
Week of October 21, 1995
1. Daydream, Mariah Carey
2. Jagged Little Pill, Alanis Morissette
3. Dangerous Minds, Soundtrack
4. Cracked Rear View, Hootie & the Blowfish
5. Starting Over, Reba McEntire