Dreamlover (song)

"Dreamlover"
Single by Mariah Carey
From the album Music Box
Released	1993
Format	CD single CD maxi single Cassette single Cassette maxi single 7" single 12" single
Genre	Pop
Length	3:53
Label	Sony
Writers	Mariah Carey
Producers	Mariah Carey Dave Hall Walter Afanasieff
Director	Diane Martel
Certification	Platinum
Chart positions	#1 (USA) #9 (UK) #7 (AU) #1 (CAN)
Mariah Carey singles chronology
"If It's Over" 1992	"Dreamlover" 1993	"Hero" 1993

"Dreamlover" was the first single released from Mariah Carey's fourth album, Music Box in the third quarter of 1993 both in the United States and internationally. It was nominated for the 1994 Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance, but did not win. It gained a BMI pop award, as had Carey's every single other than "I'll Be There".

Song information

The single was written by Carey, and co-produced by Carey, Hall, and Walter Afanasieff. (Afanasieff was brought in by Sony to tone the song down, as the company felt the original production was too rough and mellow.) "Dreamlover" is built around a sample of The Emotions' song "Blind Alley", written by David Porter, and it also uses a Hammond B-3 organ. A summer pop anthem, and one of Carey's signature songs, it has her picturing an ideal man, her dream lover, as she exclaims: "dreamlover, come rescue me, take me up, take me down, take me anywhere you want to baby, now". This song started Carey's trend to use samples as backbones of her lead uptempo singles; later examples include "Fantasy" and "Honey".

Years later stablemate Bruce Springsteen apparently used "Dreamlover" for his song "Let's Be Friends", on his album The Rising.

Chart performance

"Dreamlover" became Carey's seventh number-one single on the Billboard Hot 100 and was easily her biggest hit in the U.S. to date. Elsewhere too it became another hit, following the success of "I'll Be There", and was the first in a series of singles from Music Box that slowly made Carey a worldwide superstar.

After debuting at number forty on the Hot 100, the single spent six weeks climbing to number one, her quickest climb to the top although not her highest debut. It stayed at the top for eight weeks, the longest stay yet for a Carey single. It spent a total of twenty-nine weeks on the Hot 100, the longest stay for a Carey single, and twenty-six of these were in the top forty. It was ranked number three on the Hot 100 year-end charts of 1993, making it not only one of the biggest hits of the year and decade but also her highest peak on this chart.

"Dreamlover" was very successful across the various Billboard formats. Although it did not top all the Billboard charts for which it was eligible (as "Vision of Love" and "Love Takes Time" had done), it did top eight Billboard charts (one more than these two had done). It was at number one on the Hot 100 Airplay Chart for eleven weeks, her longest stay yet. It gained such a lot of airplay that together with the other hits from Music Box it made Carey one of the most played artists across 1993 and 1994. Although selling enough to become her first single to achieve platinum certification, it only reached number two on the Hot 100 Singles Sales. The song was not just played on pop stations (although it was very successful in these formats, topping the Mainstream Top 40 for eight weeks); it was also played on dance and R&B radio stations, topping both the respective airplay charts. It was quite successful as an R&B single, topping the single sales component also, but stalling at number two on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks. It became her first chart topper (for six weeks) on the Rhythmic Top 40.

"Dreamlover" was a success outside the U.S., becoming Carey's fourth consecutive number one single in Canada. It became another top ten hit for Carey in the United Kingdom and Australia; however, it only just made the top ten in the former, not matching the number two peak set by "I'll Be There", though it was more successful in the latter. It was only moderately successful in Continental European markets, making the top twenty in almost all.

Video

The video for "Dreamlover" was one of the first for which Carey was given more creative control. Directed by Diane Martel, it shows Carey frolicking around fields in upstate New York on a nice summer day. The video also includes Carey flying away in a hot air balloon as a legion of half-naked male hip hop dancers dance on, as well as the first appearance of Carey's dog Jack.

The video was first released to consumers on the Here Is Mariah Carey video, and was later included on the DVD/video version of #1's.

Remixes

"Dreamlover" marked the first time Carey got control over her remixes. She enlisted David Morales to create the "Dreamlover (Def Club mix)"; it was the first of Carey's remixes to use re-sung vocals. This helped make Morales a star remixer, helped bridge the gap between pop and house music, and also started a trend of having star remixers redo singles sung by pop divas. Even today, the Def Club mix of "Dreamlover" is considered a breakthrough record in the house music industry.

Besides the dubs, edits, and other variations of the Def Club Mix, other remixes using the original vocals from the song's original album version also exist, as created by Brian Morgan of Bam Jam Productions: "Dreamlover (Theo's Club Joint Mix)" and "Dreamlover (Bam Jam Soul)". Finally, an officially released live version of "Dreamlover" as performed on the Here Is Mariah Carey television special/video is also available.

Track listings of major single-releases

U.S. CD single (cassette single/7" single)

1. "Dreamlover" (album version)
2. "Do You Think of Me" (album version)

U.S. CD maxi single (cassette maxi single)

1. "Dreamlover" (album version)
2. "Dreamlover" (Def club mix)
3. "Dreamlover" (Def instrumental)
4. "Dreamlover" (USA Love dub)
5. "Dreamlover" (Eclipse dub)
6. "Dreamlover" (Def tribal mix)

U.K. cassette single

1. "Dreamlover" (album version)
2. "Do You Think of Me" (album version)

U.K. CD maxi single (12" vinyl single)

1. "Dreamlover" (Def club mix)
2. "Dreamlover" (Def instrumental)
3. "Dreamlover" (USA Love dub)
4. "Dreamlover" (Eclipse dub)
5. "Dreamlover" (Def tribal mix)

Charts

Year	Single	Chart	Position	Number of chart topper
1993	"Dreamlover”	U.S. ARC Weekly Top 40	#1 (8 weeks)
1993	"Dreamlover”	U.S. Billboard Hot 100	#1 (8 weeks)	7th
1993	"Dreamlover"	U.S. Billboard Hot 100 Singles Sales	#2	-
1993	"Dreamlover"	U.S. Billboard Hot 100 Airplay	#1 (11 weeks)	7th
1993	"Dreamlover"	U.S. Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks	#2	-
1993	"Dreamlover"	U.S. Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles Sales	#1 (4 weeks)	4th
1993	"Dreamlover"	U.S. Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay	#1 (1 week)	4th
1993	"Dreamlover"	U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Music/Maxi-Singles Sales	#3
1993	"Dreamlover"	U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Music/Club Play	#1 (1 week)	3rd
1993	"Dreamlover"	U.S. Billboard Mainstream Top 40	#1 (8 weeks)	1st
1993	"Dreamlover"	U.S. Billboard Rhythmic Top 40	#1 (6 weeks)	1st
1993	"Dreamlover"	U.S. Billboard Adult Contemporary	#2	-
1993	"Dreamlover"	UK Singles Chart	#9	-
1993	"Dreamlover"	Canadian Singles Chart	#1 (3 weeks)	4th
1993	"Dreamlover"	ARIA Singles Chart	#7	-
1993	"Dreamlover"	Germany Singles Chart	#42	-
1993	"Dreamlover"	France Top 100 Singles	#49	-
1993	"Dreamlover"	Switzerland Top 100 Singles	#13	-

Billboard Hot 100 Chart trajectory — "Dreamlover"
Week	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29
Chart position	40	13	9	3	2	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	5	6	10	13	16	17	19	26	30	30	26	32	37	46	48	49

Official remixes/versions list

• "Dreamlover (album version)
• "Dreamlover (live) (edited performance from Here Is Mariah Carey)
• "Dreamlover (Def club mix)
• "Dreamlover (Def club mix edit)
• "Dreamlover (Def instrumental)
• "Dreamlover (Def tribal mix)
• "Dreamlover (USA Love dub)
• "Dreamlover (Eclipse dub)
• "Dreamlover (Bam Jam Soul)
• "Dreamlover (Theo's Club Joint) or (Club Joint mix)

See also

• Hot 100 No. 1 Hits of 1993 (USA)
• 1993 in music

External links

• "Dreamlover" lyrics — lyrics for the album version of "Dreamlover"