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Always Be My Baby

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"Always Be My Baby"
Song

"Always Be My Baby" is a pop/R&B song written and produced by American singer Mariah Carey, rapper Jermaine Dupri, and songwriter Manuel Seal. Released in 1996 as the fourth single from Carey's fourth studio album Daydream (1995), the song reached number one on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart, number two in Canada, and peaked within the top twenty of the majority charts on which it appeared. Although the lyrics chronicle a relationship that has ended, the protagonist asserts that her former lover will "always be [her] baby," and will come back to her once he realises that he misses her. The song received a 1996 Grammy Award nomination for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance.

Chart performance

"Always Be My Baby" was solicited to radio on March 26 1996 in North America, and it became Carey's eleventh number-one single on the U.S. Hot 100. However, unlike its predecessors "Fantasy" and "One Sweet Day," the song did not debut at number one but at number two, and ascended to the top position four weeks following its release. It spent two weeks at number one and nine non-consecutive weeks at number two, to date Carey's longest stay at the second position and the fourth longest stay at number two. "Always Be My Baby" also managed to reach number one on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks.

"Always Be My Baby" was the most-played single in the U.S. in 1996 and appeared at number-one on the year-end Hot 100 Airplay chart, but despite this achievement it never reached number one on the Hot 100 Airplay throughout the course of 1996. Due to its airplay, it became Carey's first number-one on the Adult Top 40 format. It also reached the top five on the Adult Contemporary and Top 40 Mainstream charts. Along with "Hero", it remained one of her most popular numbers on adult contemporary stations into the 2000s.[citation needed]

Outside the U.S., the song became another success, but it was unable to match the chart success of "Fantasy" in most markets. Although generally performing less well than "One Sweet Day," it reached the top five in Canada and the United Kingdom, where it fared better than all of Carey's releases from Daydream. In Australia, it reached the top twenty. It peaked at number two on the United World Chart becoming her first of four too peak at this position.

Music videos and remixes

The music video for "Always Be My Baby" was the second to be directed by Carey. She is the seemingly happy narrator of a tale of young love, as a young boy and a girl elope in the middle of the night. The video was filmed on location at Carey's sponsored charity, Camp Mariah.

The main remix of this song, also known as "Always Be My Baby" (Mr. Dupri Mix), features re-sung vocals with most of the melodic structure being retained, but uses a sample of the song "Tell Me If You Still Care" by The S.O.S. Band and includes background vocals from Xscape. The remix is the first to feature Da Brat, who would later go on to become Carey's best friend and rap on remixes of "Honey" (1997), "I Still Believe" (1998), "Heartbreaker" (1999) and "Loverboy" (2001), and was a guest artist on "4real4real", an international bonus track for Carey's latest album, "E=MC²". And Mariah also gave her voice in Da Brat's "Gotta Thing 4 U" (2002), A video was created for the Mr. Dupri mix, which shows Carey, Da Brat, and Xscape hanging out around Carey's former mansion. It is in black and white and has the shot of Carey in a beret that would become the cover for this single.

Dance remixes with re-recorded vocals were created by David Morales and Satoshi Tomiie of Def Mix Productions.

There was also a reggae remix featuring Lil' Vicious.

On Season 7 of American Idol, David Cook performed a rock arrangement of the song during the 4/15/08 episode, in which Mariah Carey mentored the contestants on her songs.

Formats and track listings

These are the formats and track listings of major single releases of "Always Be My Baby."

  • U.S. CD single
  1. "Always Be My Baby" (album version)
  2. "Always Be My Baby" (Mr. Dupri mix — featuring Da Brat and Xscape)
  3. "Slipping Away"
  • U.S. CD maxi single
  1. "Always Be My Baby" (Mr. Dupri no rap radio mix — featuring Xscape)
  2. "Always Be My Baby" (Mr. Dupri mix — featuring Da Brat and Xscape)
  3. "Always Be My Baby" (Mr. Dupri extended mix — featuring Da Brat and Xscape)
  4. "Always Be My Baby" (Reggae Soul mix — featuring Lil' Vicious)
  5. "Always Be My Baby" (album version)
  • Canadian/European/Australian CD single
  1. "Always Be My Baby" (album version)
  2. "Always Be My Baby" (Mr. Dupri mix — featuring Da Brat and Xscape)
  • UK CD single 2
  1. "Always Be My Baby" (Def Classic radio version)
  2. "Always Be My Baby" (Always club mix)
  3. "Always Be My Baby" (Dub-a-Baby)
  4. "Always Be My Baby" (Groove a Pella)
  5. "Always Be My Baby" (St dub)

Credits and personnel

  • Lead vocals — Mariah Carey
  • Background vocals — Mariah Carey, Melonie Daniels, Kelly Price, and Shanrae Price
  • Music performance — Jermaine Dupri and Manuel Seal
  • Engineer — Jay Healy
  • Assistant engineers — Jay Healy and Phil Tan
  • Second engineers — Andy Smith, Kurt Lundvall, Mike Scott, Glen Manchese
  • Mixed by Mick Guzauski

Charts

Chart (1996) Peak
position
U.S. Billboard Hot 100 1 (2 weeks)
U.S. Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks 1 (1 week)
U.S. Billboard Rhythmic Top 40 1
U.S. Billboard Adult Top 40 1
U.S. Billboard Adult Contemporary 2
U.S. Billboard Top 40 Mainstream 3
U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Music/Club Play 6
U.S. ARC Weekly Top 40 1 (1 week)
United World Chart 2
Canadian Singles Chart 2
UK Singles Chart 3
Brazilian Singles Chart 4
Japanese Singles Chart 10
Australian ARIA Singles Chart 17
Swedish Singles Chart 38
German Singles Chart 76
Israeli Singles Chart 1
Template:Succession box two to one

See also

References

  • "ARC Weekly Top 40". Rock on the Net. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |accessmonthday= ignored (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  • "ARIA.com". Australian airplay and sales charts. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |accessmonthday= ignored (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  • "Billboard.com". Billboard Hot 100 chart. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |accessmonthday= ignored (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  • "Jam Canoe". Canadian airplay and sales charts. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |accessmonthday= ignored (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  • "Oricon.co.jp". Japanese sales chart. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |accessmonthday= ignored (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
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