Raiff Celebrates Mariah's 20 Years In Music: 1996
With "One Sweet Day" and Daydream still dominating the charts, 1996 was poised to be another big year for Mariah.
In January, she appeared at the American Music Awards, where she performed "Fantasy" and took home two trophies: Favorite Pop/Rock Female Artist and Favorite Soul/R&B Female Artist. In February, she and Boyz II Men opened the Grammy Awards telecast, performing their successful duet, which was nominated that evening for Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals and Record of the Year. Including those two, Mariah was nominated for a total of six awards that night, but she did not win any of the awards. In an interview with MTV News, she explained that "I've been to awards shows and I've won, and I've been to awards shows and I've lost. And of course it feels better to win than it does to sit there six times and be like, 'Hi!' You can't expect everything in life, you really can't. I have to acknowledge the people who won and they were very talented, and that's it. So, on to the next thing."
Since "One Sweet Day" was still holding steady at #1, Sony delayed the release of a new single in the United States. Overseas, Mariah's cover of Journey's "Open Arms" was issued as the next single.
In March, Mariah appeared in Japan for the first of two legs of the Daydream Tour. Three shows at the Tokyo Dome (total sales representing over 150,000 seats) sold out in under three hours, becoming the fastest-selling show at that venue and shattering a ticket sales record previously held by the Rolling Stones. This was the first time Mariah performed a full concert outside of the United States, which meant that this was her first concert where she had a language barrier with her audience. As she explained to MTV News, "First of all, you're in front of so many people that basically don't speak your language. So that took a little getting used to, but I think by the end of the show everybody started to, kind of, relax."
Her show included six songs from the new album, and many of her hits such as "Make It Happen," "Anytime You Need A Friend" and "Vision of Love." She also brought back her cover of the SOS Band's "Just Be Good To Me," which she previously performed on the Music Box Tour. Clips from these concerts were used in a Fox TV special entitled "Daydream: From New York to Tokyo."
At a press conference in Tokyo, Mariah explained why it took her six years to tour outside of the USA: "The reason why I've taken so long to do a tour is because so much is relying on my voice and it's very strenuous to sing all my songs back to back so that's why I've waited, but I'm actually really looking forward it... I'm just ready to do the show for the fans."
After sixteen weeks at #1, "One Sweet Day" slowly began to decline down the singles chart and the next single was released. "Always Be My Baby" was one of two songs Mariah had co-produced with Jermaine Dupri. Not only did they do the album version together, but also a remix called the "Mr. Dupri Mix" which featured R&B group Xscape on backing vocals and rap from Da Brat. This was Da Brat's first collaboration with Mariah, and she would prove to be one of her closest friends and would appear on several other tracks over the years. Two music videos were produced: One for the album version, which was directed by Mariah and filmed at Camp Mariah, and the other for the remix, a black and white clip which featured all of the vocalists in the studio and having fun at Mariah's home. Dance remixes were again produced by David Morales.
The CD single for "Always Be My Baby" contained a previously unreleased bonus cut, "Slipping Away," which Mariah produced with Dave Hall and had intended for inclusion on Daydream. There has been speculation that Sony thought the song to be "too R&B" for the album and therefore scrapped it from the final track listing. "Slipping Away" was picked up by several radio stations across the US but did not make enough of an impact to dent Billboard's airplay charts.
"Always Be My Baby" debuted at #2 on the Billboard Hot 100, and after some time, it managed to nab the #1 spot on the Billboard Hot 100 for two weeks. Despite never reaching #1 in airplay, it was the most played song of 1996. Today, "Always Be My Baby" has more recurrent airplay than both "Fantasy" and "One Sweet Day."
In June, Mariah took her Daydream Tour to Europe, where she performed for the first time for audiences in the Netherlands, Germany, France and England. "Forever" was released as the final single from Daydream to correspond with the European tour. The music video was a live performance from one of the Japan concerts, interspersed with black-and-white footage of her trip to Japan. "Forever" did not receive a physical release in the United States, rendering it unable to chart on Billboard's Hot 100 under chart rules at that time. However, the song did very well at radio, peaking at #9 on Hot 100 Airplay and #2 on the Adult Contemporary Chart.
Mariah again triumphed at the World Music Awards. Due to being on tour, she was not able to appear at the show but she filmed a cute video in which she was depicted on the side of the road while her limo driver tried to fix a flat tire. She won four honors that night: World's Best Selling Female R&B Artist, World's Best Selling Overall Female Recording Artist. World's Best Selling Female Pop Artist and Best Selling American Female Recording Artist. She also won two Blockbuster Entertainment Awards: Favorite Single for "Fantasy" and Favorite Adult Contemporary Single Female for "One Sweet Day."
As the Daydream era came to a close, and the tour concluded, Mariah focused on her next project: A new record label. Crave Records, an imprint of Sony, would become home to up-and-coming talent looking for a break, much like Mariah had been just eight years ago. Not only would she sign and oversee the artists, but would help with writing and production as well. "I've always wanted to do it. Because I write so much, and I always have a lot of material that I don't even use that I love," she had told MTV News.
Artists signed to Crave Records included girl-group Allure, who had a top 5 hit in 1997 with "All Cried Out," and 7 Mile. Mariah would later bring 7 Mile on tour with her. "I'm trying to work with any of the artists who want my input or want help or want to collaborate," Mariah told Fred Bronson in Billboard. "And it's cool for them because I'm a peer. I reached success at an early age and it's easy to relate to me as a friend, not just a record company person." Crave Records eventually folded in 1998, after less than two years in operation.
The rest of the year was fairly quiet for Mariah, until September when she appeared as a presenter at the MTV Video Music Awards. In a pre-show interview with Tabitha Soren, she revealed that she had finished working on remixes for "Underneath the Stars" with the Trackmasters, and that they would be released soon.
| "Underneath the Stars" was the first song Mariah recorded for Daydream, and one of her favorites. "The song has a real '70s soul vibe. We even put those scratches you hear on old records to give it that kind of flavor. [That song] was a good place to start, because it got me into the head of making an album that was more R&B—more in the vibe of the Minnie Riperton era, which has always been an inspiration to me." |
Though she fought for its single release, it never happened. Mariah had told her audience in the Netherlands in June that her performance of that song was being filmed as the music video. The live music video was never seen, and the "Drifting Remix" was never commercially released (though it was issued on a very rare promotional CD).
In December, Mariah appeared at the Billboard Music Awards, where she was presented with four awards: Hot Adult Contemporary Artist of the Year, Hot 100 Singles Artist of the Year, Hot 100 Airplay, and a special award given to her and Boyz II Men for a record-breaking sixteen weeks at number one with "One Sweet Day."
MARIAH QUOTES
| "Doing the remixes and the collaborations that I've done on this project has been really fun for me, because a lot of times I stayed more with the ballads and didn't go into the other areas of music that I love, like hip-hop for instance, and it's been so much fun for me to be able to collaborate with people I love and respect on this project." Press Conference In Tokyo "I'm still a young person writing about what I've experienced in my life. Once you've achieved a certain amount of success people expect you to dance like Janet Jackson, sing like Aretha Franklin, write lyrics like Bob Dylan and music like Stevie Wonder. Everybody can't be everything. I'm writing about what I can relate to, and a lot of people my age can relate to it too." - Tear Out Photobook "Did you know that some of my friends call me Emma or Emmy? It's been 'M', you see." Smash Hits "I have to avoid smoke, so I can't go out the night before. You know you want to go out and have fun, but you can't go to a club because it's smoky. Alcohol is bad. I used to think it was OK to drink something like a glass of champagne, but it really takes a lot of the edge off your voice so that's no good. So I just have to relax and drink tea with honey." Smash Hits "I sometimes defer to people who've had more experience. That was my motto for a long time. But now I'm able to say, 'I don't agree with you.' Now if I don't do what I want, I'm the only one to blame." Vibe "It's hard to be someone that people talk about and write about, you know? They don't know me." Vibe "If you see me as just the princess, then you misunderstand who I am and what I've been through. Vibe "Sometimes I walk around this place in the middle of a sleepless night and I think, 'You didn't do so badly for yourself, kid.'" Vibe |
COLLEAGUES' QUOTES
| Sean "Puffy" Combs: "She talked about Wu-Tang and Notorious B.I.G. and Mobb Deep – everybody who's hot. It was like talking to one of my friends. And she knows the importance of mixes, so [in the studio with her] you feel like you're with an artist who appreciates your work – an artist who wants to come up with something with you." (Vibe, 1996) David Morales: "Mariah's a great woman. I've never seen Mariah be unkind to anyone. She's the best person I've worked with on remixes. She's the one that I've spent the most time with." (The Sun, 2005) Jermaine Dupri: "Me and MC knocked out our first song, 'Always Be My Baby,' at the Hit Factory in New York. At first I didn't even want to speak up when I had an idea about how a song should go. I was way out of my comfort zone. Most of my artist had no idea what to do and were looking to me to tell them, but Mariah sold tens of millions of records and I didn't think she'd take kindly to being bossed by me... Being a collaborator with someone as big and talented as Mariah was something totally new to me. I couldn't find my voice in that situation because my confidence still had to kick in. Then Mariah kinda corrected me. She told me my silence was bugging her out. She needed me to be me and assert myself. 'Look, I didn't ask you up here to nod and smile and say 'yeah' all the time,' she said. 'If you've got something to say, say it!' We bounced ideas back and forth. When we were exploring an idea together and something really clicked, we'd both look up at each other at the same time. We just knew. MC knew exactly what she wanted and what she needed to take from me, and she worked fast. Once we were ready to record, it almost never took more than one take to get it right, and if I needed a redo I didn't even have to tell her. She just fixed it right away. The following year that first record went on to be one of her biggest of all time. If anything, the joint is even hotter these days. All the pop singers, from Nelly Furtado to Christina Aguilera, are trying on some variation of an R&B/hip-hop crossover, but back then she was the first. Her audience was ready for her to mix it up. (Young, Rich, and Dangerous, 2007) |
TV APPEARANCES
"Fantasy" Live at the AMAs, 1996
Wins Favorite Pop Rock Female Artist - AMAs, 1996
Wins Favorite R&B Artist - AMAs, 1996
Visions of a Daydream, 1996: Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3
Mariah Talks About Japan Tour - MTV News, 1996
Live in Japan Bonus Interview, 1996
"Just Be Good To Me" - Tokyo Dome Japan, 1996
Daydream From New York to Tokyo - FOX Special, 1996
Preview - Grammy Awards, 1996
Grammy Night Interview With Bill Bellamy - MTV, 1996
"One Sweet Day" Live at the Grammys, 1996
"Open Arms" Live on Des O'Connor UK, 1996
"Open Arms" Live at Top Of The Pops UK, 1996
"Open Arms" Live at Wetten Dass Germany, 1996
"Open Arms" Live at Japan Gold Disk Awards, 1996
"Always Be My Baby" Music Video
"Always Be My Baby" Remix Ft. JD, Da Brat & Xcape Music Video
Interview on Rosie O'Donnel Show, 1996
Acceptance Speech - World Music Awards, 1996
Wins Hot 100 Artist of the Year - Billboard Awards, 1996
Wins Most Weeks at #1 for "One Sweet Day" - Billboard Awards, 1996
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