Butterfly (Mariah Carey song)
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| "Butterfly" | ||||
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| Single by Mariah Carey | ||||
| from the album Butterfly | ||||
| Released | December 1, 1997 | |||
| Format | CD single | |||
| Recorded | June 1997 | |||
| Genre | Pop | |||
| Length | 4:35 | |||
| Label | Columbia | |||
| Writer(s) | Mariah Carey, Walter Afanasieff | |||
| Producer | Mariah Carey, Walter Afanasieff | |||
| Mariah Carey singles chronology | ||||
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"Butterfly" is a song written and produced by American singer Mariah Carey and Walter Afanasieff for Carey's seventh album, Butterfly (1997). It is a ballad combining elements of pop and gospel, but Carey had originally conceived it as a house record with David Morales titled "Fly Away (Butterfly Reprise)." After realizing how personal the lyrics were and how they could be applied to Butterfly, she wrote "Butterfly" with Afanasieff.[1] On the song's lyrics, Carey comments "It was '97 and I was leaving my marriage [to Tommy Mottola] which encompassed my life. I was writing the song 'Butterfly' wishing that that's what he would say to me."[2]
It was released as the album's second single in 1997. It did not appear on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart because it was not issued as a commercial single in the United States; Billboard magazine rules at the time stipulated that a commercial release was required for a song to enter the Hot 100. It was a moderate success on charts that airplay-only singles were allowed to enter, such as the Rhythmic Airplay Chart, Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks and Top 40 Mainstream charts, and it reached number 16 on Billboard's Hot 100 Airplay chart. "Butterfly" was not a substantial hit outside the U.S.: it reached number 22 in the UK and number 27 in Australia, failing to match the success of "Honey," the album's first single. In France and Germany the single did not reach the top forty.
"Butterfly" was nominated for the 1998 Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance, which it lost to Sarah McLachlan's "Building a Mystery."
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[edit] Music video and remixes
The single's music video was co-directed by Carey and Daniel Pearl. It is inspired by the Tennessee Williams play Baby Doll and a dream of Carey's. It starts with a man leaving a house with Carey inside, and Carey is then seen wandering through a forest with horses.
David Morales created several dance remixes of the song — in addition to the original version of "Butterfly", which is known as "Fly Away (Butterfly Reprise)" — among them the "Fly Away" club mix (an extended version of "Fly Away (Butterfly Reprise)") and Def 'B' Fly mix (a variation of the "Fly Away" club mix with completely re-sung vocals of the original "Butterfly"). "Fly Away (Butterfly Reprise)" reached the top twenty on the Billboard Hot Dance Club Play chart, and a shortened version is included as an interlude on the album Butterfly. Latin remixes of "Butterfly", influenced by the musical styles of flamenco and salsa, were also commissioned by Meme. They include "Butterfly" (Sambatterfly), "Butterfly" (Classic Bossa Nova), and "Butterfly" (Meme's extended club mix part 1).
[edit] Formats and track listings
European CD single
- "Butterfly"
- "Fly Away" (Butterfly reprise) (Fly Away Club Mix)
Japanese CD single
- "Butterfly"
- "The Roof"
- "The Roof" (Mobb Deep Mix)
Australian CD maxi-single
- "Butterfly"
- "Fly Away" (Butterfly Reprise)
- "Fly Away" (Butterfly Reprise) (Fly Away Club Mix)
- "Fly Away" (Butterfly Reprise) (Def 'B' Fly Mix)
- "Honey" (Morales Dub)
European CD maxi-single #1
- "Butterfly"
- "Fly Away" (Butterfly Reprise)
- "Fly Away" (Butterfly Reprise) (Fly Away Club Mix)
- "Fly Away" (Butterfly Reprise) (Def 'B' Fly Mix)
European CD maxi-single #2
- "Butterfly"
- "Fly Away" (Butterfly Reprise)
- "Fly Away" (Butterfly Reprise) (Fly Away Club Mix)
- "The Roof" (Mobb Deep Mix)
European CD maxi-single #3
- "Butterfly"
- "One Sweet Day" (Live)
- "Hero" (Spanish Version)
- "Without You"
[edit] Charts
| Chart (1997) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australian Singles Chart[3] | 27 |
| Dutch Singles Chart[4] | 52 |
| European Singles Chart[5] | 61 |
| French Singles Chart[6] | 43 |
| German Singles Chart[7] | 76 |
| New Zealand Singles Chart[8] | 15 |
| Swedish Singles Chart[9] | 24 |
| UK Singles Chart[10] | 22 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot 100 Airplay[11] | 16 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks[12] | 11 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Club Play[12] | 13 |
[edit] References
- ^ "Sharps and Flats". Salon. 1997-09-19. http://www.salon.com/sept97/sharps/sharps970930.html.
- ^ Sischy, Ingrid (September 2007), "Mariah", Interview: 156-165
- ^ Australian Singles Chart
- ^ Dutch Singles Chart
- ^ European Singles Chart
- ^ French Singles Chart
- ^ German Singles Chart
- ^ New Zealand Singles Chart
- ^ Swedish Singles Chart
- ^ UK Singles Chart
- ^ Hot 100 Airplay
- ^ a b Artist Chart History - Mariah Carey
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