Mariah Carey’s debut album reached #1

First posted 2/25/2008; updated 12/2/2020.

Mariah Carey Mariah Carey

Released: June 12, 1990 Charted: June 30, 1990 Peak: 111 US, 3 RB, 6 UK, 11 CN, 6 AU Sales (in millions): 9.0 US, 0.3 UK, 17.0 world (includes US and UK) Genre: pop

Tracks: Song Title (date of single release, chart peaks) Click for codes to singles charts. Vision of Love (6/2/90, 1 US, 9 UK, 1 AC, 1 RB, gold single) There’s Got to Be a Way (6/1/91, 54 UK) I Don’t Wanna Cry (4/6/91, 1 US, 1 AC, 2 RB) Someday (1/19/91, 1 US, 38 UK, 5 AC, 3 RB, gold single) Vanishing All in Your Mind Alone in Love You Need Me Sent from Up Above Prisoner Love Takes Time (9/15/90, 1 US, 37 UK, 1 AC, 1 RB, gold single) Total Running Time: 46:44

Rating: 3.948 out of 5.00 (average of 27 ratings) Awards: (Click on award to learn more).

About the Album: In 1988, eighteen-year-old Mariah Carey launched her efforts at a music career. She started as a backup singer for Brenda K. Starr, who noticed her “gifted voice” WK and took her to a record industry gala to try to convince a label executive to listen to her demo. Tommy Mottola signed her to Columbia, who were looking for “a young and very talented female vocalist to rival Whitney Houston…or a pop star to match Madonna.” WK Columbia got its wish. Powered by four Billboard Hot 100 #1 songs, Mariah Carey’s “extremely impressive debut” AMG was one of the most successful first-album outtings in music history. She became the first artist since the Jackson 5 to have the first four singles top the U.S. charts. The album “is replete with smooth-sounding ballads and uplifting dance/R&B cuts. Carey convincingly seizes many opportunities to display her incredible vocal range…With this collection of songs acting as a springboard for future successes, Carey establishes a strong standard of comparison for other breakthrough artists of this genre.” AMG Vision of Love, the lead single, was “regarded as one of the strongest debut singles by a female artist.” WK It was “featured during her television debut on The Arsenio Hall Show, an appearance noted by many as her formal introduction to stardom.” AMG The song was followed by the ballad Love Takes Time, a late edition to the album. She was told it was a “career-maker” WK and needed to be added to the first album even though the album was already completed and being mastered. It did make it on the original cassette and compact disc, but the title got left off the first copies printed. Ben Marguiles, who helped her write the song, said the song “was strong enough to stop the pressing;” WK he speculated that they “had to throw away a few hundred copies.” WK The third single, “the energetic Someday,” AMG was one of the four songs featured on the demo tape Carey gave to Mottola. Ric Wake, one of the producers assigned to the album, said, “I loved that song right from the beginning.” WK It was helped to #1 by a performance at the 1991 American Music Awards. A week before the song hit #1, Carey hit the top spot on the Billboard album chart. The fourth single, and fourth #1 from the album, was I Don’t Wanna Cry. When working with her on the song, producer Narada Michael Walden described Carey as “very shy” WK but also noted how professional she was for someone her age WK and that she had an astonishing voice. WK

Resources and Related Links: DMDB encyclopedia entry for Mariah Carey AMG All Music Guide review by Ashley S. Battel WK Wikipedia

Whitney Houston’s “I Wanna Dance with Somebody” hit #1

I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me) Whitney Houston

Writer(s): George Merrill, Shannon Rubicam (see lyrics here) Released: April 30, 1987 First Charted: May 8, 1987 Peak: 12 US, 13 BA, 12 CB, 13 GR, 13 RR, 13 AC, 2 RB, 12 UK, 11 CN, 15 AU, 7 DF (Click for codes to charts.) Sales (in millions): 6.0 US, 1.1 UK, 8.0 world (includes US + UK) Airplay/Streaming (in millions): 2.0 radio, 399.99 video, 1001.14 streaming

Awards: Click on award for more details.

About the Song: Songwriters George Merrill and Shannon Rubicam met when both were singing at a wedding. A few months later, Shannon auditioned and won the part as a singer for George’s band Sparrow. The band didn’t stay together, but the pair started writing demos together. Their big break came when Whitney Houston recorded their song “How Will I Know” and it topped the Billboard Hot 100. The pair were asked to come up with another song for Whitney. Their first effort was “Waiting for a Star to Fall,” which Arista passed on, but the duo recorded it under the name Boy Meets Girl and had a top 10 hit with it in 1988. They went back to the drawing board and came up with “I Wanna Dance with Somebody.” FB Shannon explained that the concept “wasn’t ‘I wanna go down to the disco and dance,’ really. It was, ‘I wanna do that dance of life with somebody.’” FB When they finished the demo, George rushed it to the airport to meet Arista’s Clive Davis, who listened to it on the plane. SF He loved it, but producer Narada Michael Walden thought it was too country, saying “It reminded me of a rodeo song with Olivia Newton-John singing…There’s gotta be some way I can make it…funkier.” FB The song was released as the first single from Whitney Houston’s sophomore album, Whitney. It topped the charts in 14 countries and was her biggest hit until “I Will Always Love You” in 1992. WK It was her fourth chart-topper on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100. It also returned to the top 40 in the wake of her death in 2012. The song got mixed reviews from critics. Rolling Stone’s Vince Aletti criticized the song for “not taking any chances” and referring to it as “How Will I Know II.” WK Robert Hilburn of the Los Angeles Times called it “a deliciously raucous tune with a bit of the synthesizer underpinnings and giddy zest of Cyndi Lauper’s ‘Girls Just Want to Have Fun.’” WK Slant magazine called it “definitive ‘80s dance-pop.” WK Resources: FB Fred Bronson (2007). The Billboard Book of Number One Hits (4th edition). Billboard Books: New York, NY. Page 670. SF Songfacts WK Wikipedia Related Links: First posted 11/13/2019; last updated 7/25/2023.