Music Box (Mariah Carey album): Difference between revisions

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Music Box is the third studio album by American R&B singer Mariah Carey. It was released by Columbia Records on August 31, 1993 in North America. The album comprises ballads primarily co-written by Carey and Walter Afanasieff – with whom she had previously worked on Emotions (1991) – and a few urban dance tracks. During the course of the albums development, Carey wanted to re-captivate and broaden her audience, choosing a more pop oriented sound. During this time-frame, Carey and Afanasieff experimented with different organs and instruments, leading the albums sound away from her more contemporary previous efforts. Two unused tracks from the album sessions were released as b-sides: "Do You Think of Me" and "Everything Fades Away."

In order to successfully take the album in a new direction, Carey and Afanasieff sought out new and innovative producers, as well as some from Carey's previous releases. "Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds" first began working with Carey on Music Box, where he helped produce some of the albums softer and more melodious tracks, as well as being part of the songwriting process. Additional writers and producers for the album included, Robert Clivillés/David Cole (also known as C+C Music Factory) and Daryl Simmons. While the album featured a range of different talented writers and producers, the bulk of the songwriting was done by Carey and her writing partner, Walter Afanasieff. In future projects, they would continue solely writing material for Carey's albums, until her 1999 release Rainbow where he is absent from the writing credits.

Four singles were released from the album, with "Dreamlover", "Hero" and "Without You" becoming worldwide chart-topping singles, and the latter becoming Carey's highest charting international single to date. Without You became Carey's first number one single in most European markets and reached the top three in the United States. To promote Music Box, Carey embarked on the short but successful—Music Box Tour—which traveled to select cities in North America. Carey was nominated for "Best Female Pop Vocal Performance" for "Dreamlover" at the 1994 Grammy Awards and received the same nomination for "Hero" at the 1995 Grammy Awards, not winning either nomination.

After its release, Music Box received generally positive reviews from music critics, however, the album endured criticism regarding Carey's more mellow and lazy tone in comparison to her older work. Despite some of the reviews, the album became a commercial success, topping the Billboard 200 and becoming Carey's first number one album in Australia, France, Germany, Netherlands, Switzerland and United Kingdom. The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) certified it diamond, for shipments of ten million copies across the United States. Music Box remains Carey's highest seller and one of the best-selling albums of all time, with worldwide sales of over 32 million copies.

Background

After the success of Carey's previous album Mariah Carey and Emotions, Sony wanted to take Music Box in a new direction, but not too far from her older releases. Sony began letting Carey take more control over her projects, as well as letting her produce her own material. Due to criticism aimed at Carey's "overly boastful and powerful" vocals, Music Box debuted a more tamed side to Carey, including a softer and less intimidating sound. On the albums first track "Dreamlover", Carey worked with Dave Hall throughout the tracks entire production. However, after listening to the song, Tommy Mottola felt Dreamlover needed stronger tunes and a more "direct" sound. In order to help with some of the songs arrangements, Mottola enrolled the help of Walter Afanasieff, who took on the completed Dreamlover, and transformed it into a more commercial hit.

"Mariah and Dave did this loop thing, and it was new to us pop producers at the time. Their version of 'Dreamlover' was missing a lot of stuff. The spirit of the song was up but it wasn't hitting hard enough. [My work on the track] put a whole different shade of colors into it."

—Afanasieff on "Dreamlover" before and after he worked on it.

Aside from the changes on Dreamlover, Hero, the albums second single, also had its own story. While Carey and Afanasieff worked on Music Box, he was also working on the film Hero, starring Dustin Hoffman and Geena Davis. As a result, he and Carey began working on a theme-song for the film, a song that was intended for Gloria Estefan. After only two hours however, the finished product was perfect, surpassing both their expectations. When Mottola came for a final listen he became shocked as to what he heard, exclaiming, "Are you kidding me? You can't give this song to a movie. This is too good, Mariah, you have to take this song. You have to do it." After insisting, Carey and Afanasieff made some lyrical changes, and made it a very personal track "especially for Carey."

Writing and development

With Carey in the captains chair, and with more control than she had on any other album, she took the album in a new direction, alongside new writing partner Walter Afanasieff. For Carey's third studio effort, she enrolled the help of a range of songwriters, as well as record producers. Aside from Afanasieff, Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds took part in the project, a man who would collaborate with Carey often in the near future. Babyface, who helped produce allot of the album, also co-wrote a track with Carey titled, Never Forget You, a song that was released as a b-side to "Without You" exclusively in the United States. The album, which would comprise mostly of slower ballads (with the exception of "Dreamlover"), contained collaborations with some carry-on producers and writers from Emotions. Of these were Clivillés & Cole (of C+C Music Factory), who co-wrote the track "Now That I Know," a dance-able pop ballad, which used similar formulas and synthesizers from tracks on Emotions. Another writer/producer that worked on the album was David Hall, who with Carey wrote the U.S. smash hit "Dreamlover."

One of the noticeable differences from Music Box and Carey's previous albums was its sound. The album, was described by Walter Afanasieff as a softer and more pop-oriented album, "filling the songs with air," and allowing far more space in the overall sound. Another noticeable change was in the albums production. When Mariah Carey was released, critics took notice of its "overly produced" and "studio perfect" quality, where in comparison, Emotions maintained a "raw, live sound." "Music Box" however, fell in between the two, a decision made by Carey during the albums production. She would layer each track with live backing vocals, so not to sound too overly produced, but still kept the inclusion of musical synthesizers.

Composition

According to Marc Shapiro, Music Box reflected signs of Carey's vocal maturity, as well as represented an album she was truly proud of. The albums first single "Dreamlover" was described as a "slight piece of pop puff," representing a more commercial side to Carey than the "more ambitious" "Vision of Love." Critics believed the songs chart performance was due to its summer release, as people were still looking for a "not-too-heavy" and more diverse sound. The songs composition was described as "mid tempo and mildly dance-able," stating that Carey sang in a more "perpetually happy, little-girl voice." "Hero", the albums second single, was one of Carey's most inspirational ballads at the time.

"Its not that I'm experimenting with lower notes. I actually think my natural voice is low. My speaking voice is low, you know what I mean? And I'm really comfortable singing in my lower register..., I sing from the heart. Whatever the music makes me feel at the time, I go into the studio to sing a song, that's what it's going to do. Some people like it, some people don't. But it's just a part of my voice and that's it."

—Carey, on her vocals on Music Box, as well as her voice in general

The song was described as "a lush ballad," with Carey making use of her impressive, "lower alto register." As one of the more emotional tracks on the album, "Hero" built emotion, verse through verse, where the lyrics and melody finally "broke through." "Anytime You Need a Friend", was another pop ballad, in which Carey would "let her voice roam free," a feature critics felt lacked on the album. The song featured "rough and low vocals,", as well as some glimpses of Carey's upper registers. As with most of the songs on Music Box, the lyrics boasted a positive message, and was the only song on the album to feature traces of gospel-inspired vocals throughut the chorus.

The albums title track, Music Box, was another ballad Carey wrote with Afanasieff. The song was described as one of Carey's more difficult compositions, due to its "softness." The song requires a great deal of vocal control, to keep "the tunes softness and sweetness, without resorting to volume." Carey's vocals on the track are defined as "soft and controlled," managing to maintain the delicate balance in a manner that seems effortless, floating easily over the keyboard and the shimmer of the guitar. Lyrically, due to the songs message of "commitment and promise," and the "tinkling music-box line played on the synthesizer," the track gives the sensation of a wedding vow recital. "Never Forget You," one of the albums b-sides, is a slow song, further connecting it to the songs message of "lamenting the loss of love, in a very tender way." The song contains lovely keyboard notes that hover over the verses and allow Carey to indulge in her backing vocals. It was described as a "stand out track," one that could have easily become a hit single, "with an appeal that would have easily transcended generational barriers."

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
About.com
Allmusic
Billboard	(Positive)
Entertainment Weekly	(C+)
Robert Christgau	(Negative)
Rolling Stone	(Positive)

Upon release, the album received generally positive reviews from music critics. Bill Lamb from About.com gave the album a generally positive review, writing "Another good collection of dance music and ballads" and "the songwriting is generally high quality, and Nilsson's "Without You" is a good choice for a cover." On a more critical note however, Lamb described the album as a "toned down" album, and that Carey's upper registers aren't accessed as often as in previous releases, writing "Mariah toned down the vocal gymnastics here, but she seemed to lose a lot of her energy as well. There are still strong songs here, but the overall effect is of a formula wearing a bit thin." Ron Wynn from Allmusic gave the album 4/5 stars and wrote "Her solution was to make an album in which her celebrated octave-leaping voice would be downplayed and she could demonstrate her ability to sing softly and coolly. Well, she was partly successful; she trimmed the volume on Music Box. Unfortunately, she also cut the energy level; Carey sounds detached on several selections. She scored a couple of huge hits, "Hero" and "Dreamlover," where she did inject some personality and intensity into the leads." Overall however, he claimed the albums 'different' approach was wise.

Ashley S. Battel from Billboard gave the album a positive review, writing "While Carey tones down the predominance of her tremendous vocal range throughout much of this release, there is no question that she remains the driving force behind yet anoth[e]r collection of heavy-rotation Top-40 successes including "Dreamlover," "Hero" and the remake of Harry Nilsson's "Without You." David Browne from Entertainment Weekly gave the album a mixed review. He expressed how due to Carey's lower energy level, her voice no longer soars above the backup chorus, instead it only "drip[s] over them like syrup instead of overpowering them; she lets the melodies speak for themselves." Browne awarded the album an unenthusiastic score of C+. Music Box received praise from Rolling Stone, which wrote "Carey softened her approach on Music Box, putting a damper on the just-for-fun disco of her previous records, and mainstreaming her lite soul into "uplifting" ballad territory. "Hero" soared on wings of Carey's golden tone to Number One." American critic Robert Christgau gave the album a "bomb" sign, indicating negatice reviews. Overall, Music Box was well received by critics, praising it for its tracks, lyrics and vocals. The albums energy level and Carey's vocal bombastic however, were almost unanimously criticized. Critics felt Carey became "too mellow" and "somewhat lazy" on the album, especially in comparison to her previous work, with Ron Wynn writing "sometimes excessive spirit is preferable to an absence of passion."

Chart performance

Music Box entered the U.S. Billboard 200 at number two, with 174,000 copies sold. In its fifteenth week after release, the album topped the chart and endured its highest sales week, selling 505,000 copies and staying at the top for eight non-consecutive weeks. It remained in the top-ten for thirty one weeks and on the Billboard 200 for 128 weeks (more than two years, and the most of all her albums), re-entering the chart three times. The album also reached number one on Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums. Music Box was the second-best selling album in the United States in 1994, only behind Ace of Base's The Sign.

The album became a success in Canada, peaking at number two on the charts and being certified seven-times platinum by the Canadian Recording Industry Association (CRIA). Music Box became Carey's best-seller in Europe, topping the charts in Australia, Germany, New Zealand, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. In Germany, it became her highest charting album, spending eighty weeks on the German Albums Chart, eleven of which were spent at number one. Germany's sales of the album were also very impressive, with a certification of 2x platinum by the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI), for shipments of over one million copies. In Australia, the album became one of the best-selling albums in Australia, being certified eleven-times platinum by the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA), denoting shipments of over 770,000 copies. The album finished at number one on the (ARIA) 1994 End of Year Chart. In United Kingdom, Music Box, remains Carey's highest seller, topping the UK Singles Chart and being certified 5x platinum. It became one of the few albums to sell over a million copies in France, receiving a diamond certification and topping the French album charts. Sales in France are estimated at over 1,418,100.

In Asia, Music Box became one of the best-selling albums of 1994, selling over 2,030,000 copies in Japan alone. The albums sales continued to skyrocket in Asia, topping sales of over 600,000 in South Korea and 330,000 copies in Taiwan as of 1996. In Singapore and Hong Kong, sales stand at over 110,000 and 80,000 copies respectively. In the United States, Music Box became Carey's best-selling album at the time, being certified diamond by the RIAA, denoting shipments of over ten million copies. Billboard estimates the album's sales at over 7,189,000 copies in the United States.

Worldwide, the album has sold 32 million copies and is listed as one of the best-selling albums of all time.

Singles

"Dreamlover" was released as the albums first single on August 13th, 1993. The single debuted at number thirteen on the Billboard Hot 100, and due to its massive airplay, the song reached the top of the Hot 100, staying there for eight weeks. Dreamlover topped the charts in Canada, and reached the top-ten in most other countries. The song was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), denoting shipments of over one million copies, as well as receiving a gold certification in Australia and New Zealand. The music video for "Dreamlover" featured "summer scenery," with scenes of Carey swimming in a pool by a waterfall, lying in a bed of sunflowers, as well as singing in front of hip-hop dancers. The video tried to capture, a "home video" feel, adding to the songs subtle and airy nature, something that only helped the song dominate the charts "Hero" served as the albums second single, and was released on October, 1993. Music critics praised the song, calling it her most directly inspirational song since "Make It Happen". The song topped the charts in the United States and the top-five in almost every major music market. The music video for "Hero," featured footage from Carey's concert at Proctor's Theatre, as was done for Carey's following music video for "Without You."

"Without You", the albums third single, became the biggest international hit of Carey's career. "Without You" reached number three in the United States, but experienced its real success throughout Europe. The song became Carey's first number one chart topper in France, Germany, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom, propelling the sales of Music Box throughout the world. Carey brought the song renewed popularity, threw her highly successful adaptation. It became on of the "fifty most-played songs of the year" and even outsold Harry Nilsson's version, receiving many awards and recognition. "Anytime You Need a Friend", the albums final single, experienced success on the charts, reaching the top-ten in most major countries, as well as peaking at number twelve in the United States. It became the second single in Music Box to perform better throughout Europe than in the U.S.

Promotion

Main article: Music Box Tour

Carey performing Hero in Florida, during her Adventures of Mimi Tour

In order to promote the album, Carey embarked on her first-headlining tour. Originally, Carey had not planned to tour due to stage fright, a feat she followed during her previous album releases. However, after the continued success of Music Box and persuasion from Tommy Mottola, Carey agreed to tour, supporting her current and previous albums. As Carey was not physically or emotionally ready for an extensive tour, six shows were dated, each with many days in between, in order to give Carey's voice time to rest. An extra performance, taking place at Proctor's Theatre was planned, where Carey would film the one-hour special, Here Is Mariah Carey, to be released during the Christmas season.

When the tickets went on sales, the shows did not sell-out instantly; but were selling at a healthy pace. On the opening night of Carey's tour, she sang at the Miami Arena. The show was only about two-thirds full, something that worried Carey's management, as it was the tour's opening night. However, Carey did not seem to mind, and began the show with high spirits. The first show in Miami received scathing reviews, with critics "ripping her opening-night performance to shreds." The following shows were more favorable to Carey, not only were her succeeding shows sold-out, they also won rave-reviews. Regarding Carey's show in New York, The New York Times wrote the following remarks regarding Carey's voice and performance on the tour,

"Beyond any doubt, Ms. Carey's voice is no studio concoction. Her range extends from a rich, husky alto to dog-whistle high notes; she can linger over sensual turns, growl with playful confidence, syncopate like a scat singer. Although rock concerts aren't known for precise intonation, she sang with startlingly exact pitch. If [she] was nervous, it didn't show. Smiling and strutting across the stage, moving easily to the music without obvious choreography, she combined the assurance of an arena-scale pop performer with the casualness of a suburban girl-next-door. [Her] concert was about mastery, not innovation, her flamboyance was just right, especially because Ms. Carey didn't overdo it. Most songs were strategically plotted as arcs: introductory wordless "ooh's," slow and sultry opening verses, then a gradual climb to rippling gospel phrases and those ultra-high notes, followed by time to taper off."

Aside from touring for the first time in her career, Carey visited various American and European television programs, where she performed different singles from the album. In late 1993, Carey appeared on The Arsenio Hall Show, where she performed both "Dreamlover" and "Hero." Other performances Carey staged during 1993 included, "Hero" on The Jay Leno Show and "Dreamlover" on her first visit to Top of the Pops. Throughout 1994, Carey continued the albums promotion, performing "Without You" on a second visit to "Top of the Pops," as well as visiting France, Germany, Japan, Spain and Sweden. In the midst of her "Music Box Tour," Carey had already began working with Walter Afanasieff on her holiday album Merry Christmas, which was to be released during the Christmas season of the following year. Additionally, Carey and Affanasieff reportedly already began experimenting with different ideas and musical components for her 1995 studio album, Daydream.

Track listing

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"Dreamlover"	Mariah Carey, Dave Hall	M. Carey, D. Hall, W. Afanasieff	3:54
2.	"Hero"	M. Carey, W. Afanasieff	M. Carey, W. Afanasieff	4:19
3.	"Anytime You Need a Friend"	M. Carey, W. Afanasieff	M. Carey, W. Afanasieff	4:26
4.	"Music Box"	M. Carey, W. Afanasieff	M. Carey, W. Afanasieff	4:57
5.	"Now That I Know"	M. Carey, David Cole, Robert Clivillés	M. Carey, D. Cole, R. Clivillés	4:19
6.	"Never Forget You"	M. Carey, Babyface, Daryl Simmons	M. Carey, Babyface	3:46
7.	"Without You"	Peter Ham, Tom Evans	M. Carey, W. Afanasieff	3:36
8.	"Just to Hold You Once Again"	M. Carey, W. Afanasieff	M. Carey, W. Afanasieff	3:59
9.	"I've Been Thinking About You"	M. Carey, D. Cole, R. Clivillés	M. Carey, D. Cole, R. Clivillés	4:48
10.	"All I've Ever Wanted"	M. Carey, W. Afanasieff	M. Carey, W. Afanasieff	3:51

International edition

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
11.	"Everything Fades Away"	M. Carey, W. Afanasieff	M. Carey, W. Afanasieff	5:25

Latin American edition

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
12.	"Héroe"	M. Carey, W. Afanasieff	M. Carey, W. Afanasieff	4:19

Album credits

Personnel

• Mariah Carey – lead vocals, background vocals
• Walter Afanasieff – keyboards, additional keyboards, synthesizers,
• Dave Hall – synthesizers, keyboards, rhythm programming
• David Cole – keyboards
• Babyface – keyboards, percussion, background vocals
• Ren Klyce – Akai and Roland programming
• Gary Cirimelli – MacIntosh and synthesizer programming
• Ricky Crespo – programming
• Shawn Lucas – programming
• James T. Alfano – programming
• Michael Landau – guitars
• Kayo – bass
• Robert Clivilles – drums, percussion
• Mark C. Rooney – background vocals
• Cindy Mizelle – background vocals
• Melonie Daniels – background vocals
• Kelly Price – background vocals
• Shanrae Price – background vocals

Production

• Mariah Carey – arranger
• Dave Hall – arranger
• Walter Afanasieff – arranger
• Robert Clivilles – arrager
• David Cole – arranger
• Babyface – arranger
• Bob Rosa – engineer, mix engineer
• David Gleeson – engineer
• Dana Jon Chappelle – engineer, vocal engineering
• Acar Key – engineer
• Frank Filipetti – engineer
• Jim Zumpano – engineer
• Jim Caruana – 2nd engineer
• Jen Monnar – 2nd engineer
• Kent Matcke – 2nd engineer
• Mark Krieg – 2nd engineer
• Kirk Yano – additional tracking engineer
• Mick Guzauski – mixing
• Bob Ludwig – mastering, Gateway Master Studios

Charts and certifications

Charts

Chart	Peak position
Australian Albums Chart	1
Austrian Albums Chart	1
Belgian Wallonia Albums Chart	34
Canadian RPM Albums Chart	2
Dutch Albums Chart	1
French Albums Chart	1
German Albums Chart	1
Hungarian Albums Chart	4
Italian Albums Chart	2
Japanese Albums Chart	2
New Zealand Albums Chart	2
Norwegian Albums Chart	2
Spanish Albums Chart	2
Swedish Albums Chart	3
Swiss Albums Chart	1
UK Albums Chart	1
U.S. Billboard 200	1
U.S. Billboard R&B/Hip hop Albums	1

Certifications

Country (Provider)	Certification (sales thresholds)
Australia (ARIA)	11x Platinum
Austria (IFPI)	2x Platinum
Brazil (ABPD)	Gold
Canada (CRIA)	7x Platinum
Finland (IFPI)	Gold
France (SNEP)	Diamond
Germany (BVMI)	2x Platinum
Netherlands (NVPI)	6x Platinum
New Zealand (RIANZ)	5x Platinum
Norway (IFPI)	Platinum
Spain (PROMUSICAE)	4x Platinum
Sweden (IFPI)	Platinum
Switzerland (IFPI)	4x Platinum
United Kingdom (BPI)	5x Platinum
United States (RIAA)	Diamond

• Most certifications are from old criterion (Sales may be higher than the certification level says now).

Singles

Year	Single	Peak chart positions										Certifications (sales thresholds)
		US	US R&B	AUS	CAN	FRA	GER	NL	NZ	SWI	UK
1993	"Dreamlover"	1	2	7	1	49	39	8	2	13	9	AU: Gold NZ: Gold US: Platinum UK Sales: 150,000
	"Hero"	1	5	7	10	5	41	10	2	—	7	AU: Platinum FR: Gold NZ: Gold NO: Gold US: Platinum UK Sales: 270,000
1994	"Without You"	3	7	3	2	2	1	1	1	1	1	AU: Platinum AT: Platinum FR: Gold DE: Platinum NL: Platinum NZ: Gold CH: Gold UK: Gold US: Gold UK Sales: 445,000
	"Never Forget You"			—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
	"Anytime You Need a Friend"	12	22	12	—	12	41	10	5	15	8	AU: Gold NZ: Gold UK Sales: 100,000
	"—" denotes releases that did not chart or was not released.

Chart procession and succession

See also

• List of best-selling albums worldwide
• List of best-selling albums in the United States
• List of best-selling albums in Japan

Notes

References

• Nickson, Chris (1998). Mariah Carey revisited: her story. St. Martin's Press. ISBN 978-0312195120.