Raiff Celebrates Mariah's 20 Years in Music: 1998
Posted by Raiff on Sunday, 23-May-2010, 12:01PM EDT
It was time to hit the road in 1998. Armed with a record full of songs that she was eager to perform for the fans, Mariah kicked off the Butterfly Tour at Japan's Tokyo Dome on January 11. This was the first of four sold out shows at that arena, where she also sold out in 1996. Mariah's setlist was full of plenty of the new songs, including "My All," "Close My Eyes" and "Babydoll." Her performance of "My All" at the Tokyo Dome was aired via satellitle at the American Music Awards where she was also honored with the Favorite Soul/R&B Female Artist award.
After Japan, it was on to Taiwan and then to Australia, where she performed in Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne and Perth. Special guest Olivia Newton-John joined her in Melbourne to duet on "Hopelessly Devoted To You" from the movie Grease. The tour concluded on February 21 in Honolulu, Hawaii, where Mariah sold out Aloha Stadium. The Hawaii show was intended to be the first stop of the U.S. leg of the tour, which was cancelled when Mariah was offered a roll in the Chris Tucker movie Double-O-Soul, which also never came to be.
Considering that she was promoting an album that she was overjoyed to have released, it was only appropriate that Mariah had the time of her life while on tour. "It gave me the chance to experience things I hadn't done before," she said. "Like in Hawaii, I met this dolphin named Roger. We swam together. And I got to hold a koala in Australia and play with llamas." As much fun as she had with the animals of the world, Mariah really enjoyed connecting with her fans. "It's my favorite thing to do. I love the crowds. They make it worthwhile. The Japanese are reserved, but the people in Taiwan were party people. It's amazing how different they are. Each has their own point of view and each is intriguing. The audiences are different too."
The next song to be released from Butterfly was "Breakdown," which Mariah produced with Krayzie Bone and Wish Bone of Bone-Thugs-N-Harmony, who were also featured on vocals. Larry Flick of Billboard said that the song was "a refreshing change of pace" and further said of their collaboration that "Carey successfully matches the unique pace and pattern of the rap with fluttering, high-pitched vamps... The rhymes are tightly sewn into the track's primary vocal arrangement and are crucial to the evolution of the song's lyric."
A video was shot for "Breakdown," but it did little to help her at radio and thus the single wasn't released commercially. The song made it to #13 in R&B airplay, but it barely scrapped the overall airplay charts, it was her worst charting single to date.
Up next from Butterfly was "The Roof," perhaps one of Mariah's most sensual songs. Lyrically, the song spoke about wanting to relive a night of romance on the rooftop.
| Some have speculated that "The Roof" is about Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter, whom Mariah was dating around this time. The pair had originally met in November 1996 at a benefit for the Fresh Air Fund. As had been the case with her separation from Tommy, Mariah spoke very little, if at all, to the media about her new beau. In his book, The Life You Imagine, Derek wrote that they did not start dating at that initial meeting, and that when they did, their relationship only lasted about six months. In one of the rare moments she did speak about her romance, Mariah revealed in an interview that a big part of their connection was that they were both bi-racial. Ultimately, life in the spotlight took its toll on the couple and they split. A statement from Mariah's spokesperson at the time said, "Media pressure was too much for them as a couple, and they are now just good friends." |
The next and final single from the album was "My All," a song Mariah had been pushing to be put out since Butterfly was released. She promoted the single with another appearance on The Rosie O'Donnell Show and with a performance on the Blockbuster Entertainment Awards, where she won Favorite Female Pop Vocalist. She also appeared on VH1's first ever Divas Live, a benefit concert for the Save the Music Foundation. Mariah opened the night with a show-stopping performance of "My All" that included the new David Morales dance mix of the song. She was joined by fellow divas Gloria Estefan, Celine Dion, Shania Twain, Carole King and Aretha Franklin, with whom she sang on "Chain Of Fools."
"My All" debuted at #2 on the Billboard Hot 100, and soon after became Mariah's 13th #1 single. This feat gave Mariah the distinction of matching Michael Jackson's record of #1 singles. After "One Sweet Day" and "Fantasy," "My All" is Mariah's third-best selling physical single. A second CD single was later issued, with an urban remix called "My All/Stay Awhile," which featured rappers Lord Tariq and Peter Gunz.
Later in the summer, a music video was released for "Whenever You Call," featuring Mariah's live performance of the song earlier in the year at Aloha Stadium, interspersed with clips from her Hawaii concert. As the Butterfly era came to a close, the album ended up having respectable sales: around 4 million copies in the U.S. and 8.5 million worldwide.
Mariah had missed the two previous World Music Awards ceremonies due to other commitments, but this year, she made it to Monaco, where she was recognized for all of her success so far. She opened the show with "My All" and later returned to perform "Honey." Prince Albert of Monaco presented her with the honor of World's Best Selling Female Soul/R&B Artist, and the Legend Award for World's Best Selling Artist of the '90s.
In September, Mariah appeared on the Soul Train Lady of Soul Awards. She performed "My All/Stay Awhile" live with Lord Tariq and Peter Gunz. She was presented with the Aretha Franklin Award for Female Entertainer of the Year.
Soon after, a new Mariah song was sent to radio. "Sweetheart" was a remake of the Rainy Davis song from the 1980s, which she performed with Jermaine Dupri for his album, Life in 1472.
| "'Sweetheart' is actually a remake of a song that I used to get ready for school listening to, growing up in New York. And it was, you know, big in the '80s. And I did it with Jermaine Dupri, for his album actually, and I just decided to put it on my album as well because I think it's a cute, fun song. So we went to Spain to the film the video and it was fun." |
Unfortunately, "Sweetheart" was Mariah's worst-performing single yet. The song failed to enter the Billboard airplay charts and did not make an impression anywhere else in the world. The CD single was cancelled just days before its planned release date, despite the fact that it had already been shipped to stores.
"Sweetheart" was the first single from an album of songs that had fared much better than it had: a collection of Mariah's 13 #1 hits. Titled simply #1's, the album also featured four new songs. In addition to "Sweetheart," the record featured a newly-recorded duet with Brian McKnight on "Whenever You Call" and a cover of Brenda K. Starr's "I Still Believe." Mariah explained that she recorded this song as a tribute to Starr, for whom she was a backup singer before getting her record deal: "She was very supportive of me, and always trying to let somebody listen to my tape. And so doing this album which is like, number ones, it's like a lot of firsts... This [song] was kind of like, my entrance into the music business and so this is kind of a tribute to her."
The most anticipated new song from #1's was "When You Believe," a duet with Whitney Houston that they recorded for the soundtrack of The Prince of Egypt. For years, people had speculated about an alleged rivalry between the two singers, which Mariah hoped would finally be put to rest.
| "I really enjoyed working with her, it was good. People think that there was some rivalry or whatever but when we got in the studio, we had a good time," Mariah explained. "Jeff Katzenberg from Dreamworks had a vision and he was putting the movie together, and wanted to get us to do the last, you know, it's kind of the theme song of the movie and it happens at the end. And he screened the movie for me before it was done, and the minute the song came on, I knew that was the one he wanted us to do." |
Mariah and Whitney promoted "When You Believe" with a joint appearance on The Oprah Winfrey Show, where they performed it live, as well as by hosting a primetime television special highlighting all of the artists who contributed songs to The Prince of Egypt soundtrack. They also appeared together on stage at the MTV Video Music Awards to present the Best Male Video to Will Smith.
Despite the anticipation of hearing two of music's biggest voices together for the first time, airplay was minimal and the duet only peaked at #38 in overall U.S. airplay. Internationally, "When You Believe" fared much better, reaching the top 10/20 in every major market outside of North America.
Mariah promoted #1's with several television appearances, including The View, The Late Show with David Letterman, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, as well as an appearance on MTV on the album release day, where she premiered the "When You Believe" music video on the jumbo television screen in the middle of Times Square in New York.
In interviews regarding the album, Mariah stressed that #1's was not a comprehensive greatest hits album, but rather a collection of the #1 singles, which she wanted her fans to have as a "thank you" for making those songs so successful.
In December, "Mariah Carey: Around The World" aired on the UPN network. Mariah's third network television special highlighted her Butterfly Tour. From adopting puppies in Japan to swimming with dolphins and singing with Olivia Newton John in Australia, the show took fans who were unable to catch the tour on-stage and behind the scenes with Mariah. In addition to the tour footage, the special featured two brand-new performances from a special intimate filming in New York: "I Still Believe" and "Whenever You Call" with Brian McKnight. "Around The World" would be released to DVD and home video in 1999.
Mariah capped the year with another recognition from Billboard. At its annual awards show in December, she was honored with the Special Hot 100 Award for the most #1 singles ever by a female solo artist.
MARIAH QUOTES
| "I don't think I turned my back on my old audience. I still have ballads on it. But I also had a chance to experiment and play with what is today's music. As a teenager, I think I was swayed in a direction that was too old for me at the time, and now this music is appropriate for who I am now." The Boston Herald "['Butterfly'] was a turning point with the amount of control I had. I don't think I made wrong choices with it. It's my favorite album I've recorded. There are certain songs I've done before that stand out or are signature songs. But this album, as a whole, is my signature." The Boston Herald "When people were like, 'Oh, she's jumping R&B bandwagon,' I said, I wish people would just listen to some of the other cuts on my albums that were never promoted. Then they would understand my favorite songs were songs that never got any light." Vibe "When I was little, I'd talk in this really high whisper, and my mom would be like, "You're being ridiculous." I thought if I can talk like that I can sing like that. So I started [she goes higher and higher and higher] just messing around with it. I'd practice and practice, and she'd be like, "You're gonna hurt yourself." Vibe "Back in junior high I was a tough girl who used to smoke cigarettes in the bathroom and slam girls into the lockers. But I was fake-bad because I was copying a friend, and she did a lot of other things that I didn't want to do. People thought I was this wild, tough chick - but I wasn't. And more recently people thought I was a goody two-shoes, but I'm not just that either." Arena "Now I feel like I'm much closer to the person I was before all this happened. Now I'm trying to have fun - I don't wanna be old before my time. I don't want to be on stage in a freaking sequinned gown singing 'Hero' every night. Then again, I do still have the ballads - I'm not stupid." Arena COLLEAGUES' QUOTES Babyface: "Working with Mariah and Whitney was definitely a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Working on it, it took some time. I think it was worth all the time and effort that we put into it. You know, both guys did great." Whitney Houston: "We've never met or talked before. It was our first time working together. In the studio, we were laughing a lot and talking in between a song, we had a great time together. She's a vivid minded girl, she's a smart lady. I really like Mariah." Aretha Franklin: "Mariah Carey has done some things I like. Her vocals and production have a very tight quality." Celine Dion: Despite rumors of rivalry between the two around the time of Divas Live in 1998, Celine has reportedly commented on Mariah when asked if she would ever duet with her and said something along the lines of "If Mariah was to ask me to duet with her, I will travel immediately 20000 km in order to sing with her for sure!" Gloria Estefan: Gloria once commented on Mariah saying that it was okay she was cut out of the press photo for Divas Live, because they "had to make room for Mariah's hair." Patti LaBelle: Has often complimented Mariah ("She has a great voice. I don't know, I love her talent!") and has even called her, her god-daughter. She introduced her at the 1999 Billboard Awards and has duetted with Mariah. She also gave a standing ovation to her when Mariah performed a medley of "If Only You Knew/Somewhere Over The Rainbow" "Mariah has an amazing gift from God that has no color, no boundaries and no limitations. You hear the passion and honesty within her music." Damizza: "They say all these negative things about her like she dates rappers or about the way she dresses. If anybody were to meet her, they'd know she's Mary Poppins. She doesn't smoke, she hardly drinks, she doesn't do drugs. She's got a very sensitive voice so that if she walks into a room with smoke she can't sing for three days, or she can't talk. It's funny to be her friend and read all these things about her. Tabloids are always saying she's off on holiday but she's the hardest working person I've ever met in my life. She works 23 hours a day, literally, she never sleeps and she takes care of everybody. When I hear someone say something about her I usually get offended because she gave me my shot, she gave Shade his shot, she gave us all our shots. She gave ODB his first light of day past Wu Tang Clan, and she invented the whole pop-rap collaboration. Nobody would have done a song with ODB at that level - this is a lady who'd sold a 100 million records at that point. She did not have to do that record, she wasn't trying to get street credibility. When we did 'Cry Baby' for her album a long time ago, I called Snoop and said what we wanted to do and he said 'Vision of Love' is my favorite record of all time.' Everybody has a soft spot for Mariah. She's the greatest in the world." |
TV APPEARANCES
"Babydoll" - Tokyo Dome Japan, 1998
"Hopelessly Devoted To You" w/ Olivia Newton-John - Melbourne, AU, 1998
"The Roof" - Taipei, Taiwan 1998
"Whenever You Call" Duet w/ Brian McKnight- ATW, 1998
"Sweetheart" ft. Jermaine Dupri Music Video
"I Still Believe" - Around The World, 1998
"My All" Performances, 1998: AMAs | Des O'Connor UK | TOTP UK
Divas Live VH1: "My All" | "Make It Happen" | "Chain of Fools" | "Natural Woman"
World Music Awards - Monaco, 1998: Award | "Honey" | "My All"
Wins Entertainer Of The Year Award - Soul Train Lady Of Soul Awards, 1998
"My All/Stay Awhile" - Soul Train Awards, 1998
"When You Believe" Music Video
Mariah & Whitney Present Best Male Video - VMAs, 1998
"If Only You Knew/Somewhere Over The Rainbow" - 1998 Essence Awards
"Got To Be Real" - Patti LaBelle One Night Only, 1998
The View, 1998: "I Still Believe" | "Vision Of Love"
"I Still Believe" + Interview - Tonight Show w/ Jay Leno, 1998
"I Still Believe" + Interview - David Letterman Show, 1998
Rosie O'Donnell Show, 1998: "Close My Eyes" | Interview
The Oprah Winfrey Show, 1997: Interview | "When You Believe" | "I Still Believe"
Interview - Donny & Marie Show, 1998
Interview with Jamie Theakston - O Zone, 1998: Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3
Blockbuster Awards, 1998: "My All" | Award - Best Pop Female
Interview - Howard Stern, 1998
"I Still Believe" + Special Hot 100 Award - Billboard Awards, 1998
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