Mariah Carey

Mariah Carey released her self-titled debut album on June 12, 1990. Thirty-six weeks after making its debut at number eighty on the Billboard 200 album chart — and right after Mariah's double victory at the Grammy awards — it reached the top spot during the week of March 2, 1991. Mariah Carey spent eleven consecutive weeks at number one and also topped the 1991 Billboard 200 year-end chart. The album won the 1991 Billboard Music Award for Album of the Year and the Soul Train Music Award for Best Female R&B/Soul Album and was certified 9x Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America on December 15, 1999.

Mariah started working on the album with writing partner Ben Margulies even before she had a record deal. “When we met she was 17 years old and I was 24,” Margulies said. “We worked together for a three-year period developing most of the songs on the first album. She had the ability just to hear things in the air and to start developing songs out of them. Often I would sit down and start playing something, and from the feel of a chord, she would start singing melody lines and coming up with a concept.” At least four of the songs from the original demo tape ended up on the album: “Prisoner,” “Someday,” “Alone In Love” and “All In Your Mind,” while other songs didn't make the cut, including “Hypnotized” and “Here We Go Around Again.”

“My demos were much edgier than my albums became,” Mariah said in 2008. “I wish I could have gone back to the essence of what those records were when they were demos. Even the demos that I was working on with Ben. When it became time to work on the first album everyone was so obsessed about competing with these other records and to produce them up. Any producer I was supposed to work with had to be that much smarter than me. At that point I was so much younger than everybody else involved in putting my record together. And I felt like I was so much more in tune with what was really going on in terms of music. For me a lot of that edge was… honed. They smoothed it, honed it and toned it because it worked better for mass appeal.”

Mariah was very vocal about not being “open to working with superstar producers” from the very beginning. “From the demo to the finished songs, we went through a lot of different stages,” she told Entertainment Weekly in 1990. “The production got to be a headache. Different drum sounds, different synths, the strings weren't loud enough…” Later on she would elaborate further. “It took away some of my identity,” she told The Washington Post in 1995. “When I go back and listen to the demo, in some ways it's better than the album ended up being. Just in terms of the simplicity, it seemed to be more real and innocent and once we got big-name producers involved, it took on another quality.”

From these sessions came songs like “There's Got To Be A Way,” which she wrote with Ric Wake; “I Don't Wanna Cry,” written with Narada Michael Walden; as well as “You Need Me” and “Sent From Up Above,” both written with Rhett Lawrence. Mariah would never work with either of them again. “Because I've co-written all the songs, there's not that much anyone else can do,” she said. “It's not as if other people's material has been thrust upon me. But I do like doing things by myself in the studio because it gives me more freedom. Sometimes you don't care how someone else thinks your songs should sound — you wrote it, and you know how it should be. I think this is a good first effort and I'm very happy with it, but further down the road…”

Mariah only got production credits on “Vanishing” — which most critics called the highlight of the album. “‘Vanishing’ is my favorite song on the album, and I knew that it should only be piano and vocals because when I did the demo of the song, it was a piano/vocal and it was really raw. Just the emotion of the song came across,” Mariah said in 1990. “We tried putting a drum track on it, but it just took away from it. Then I said, ‘Well, maybe this could be a commercial song if we put music on it,’ but I decided that it was better to just preserve the integrity of the song and leave it really simple.”

Mariah wrote “Vision Of Love” — what would become her debut single — right after signing her record deal with Columbia. “It's a celebration of how I was feeling at the time and it's a very personal song. It's not really just a love song, it's about feeling good. I was at a very big turning point in my life at the time, so it's kind of about everything going on for me.” The label, however, had other plans for the first single. “There was a song I hated that they loved. They thought it was a hit, and they didn't think ‘Vision of Love’ was a hit at all. They knew it was a good song, but it was risky, a ballad.” The other song — presumably “I Lose Control,” which was eventually recorded by Penny Ford in 1993 — sounded, according to the label, younger. “I said, ‘It's not young, it's stupid.’ It was a cheesy little uptempo ditty I hated so much. I really stood my ground, and they didn't make me put it on the album. Lucky for me everything worked out, because if it hadn't, they would have said, ‘We told you this was the hit.’ ”

“Vision Of Love” was released on May 15, 1990. Nine weeks after debuting at number seventy-three on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, it reached number one during the week of August 4, where it stayed for four consecutive weeks. The following week, “Vision Of Love” became the first song in almost five years to simultaneously top the Hot 100, Hot Black and Hot Adult Contemporary singles charts. “I really didn't think that ‘Vision Of Love’ was going to be a big Pop hit because it wasn't like everything that was going on at the time — it wasn't a Dance record, it wasn't a Rap song, it wasn't Heavy Metal. It really didn't fit any particular format to me, and I was pleasantly surprise that it caught on the way it did. It makes me feel great because it's one of my favorite songs I've written.” “Vision Of Love” won the Grammy award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance during the 33rd annual ceremony, as well as the Soul Train Music Award for Best Female R&B/Soul Single, and was certified Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America on October 9, 2019.

The album's closing track, “Love Takes Time” — a last-minute addition —, was released as the second single on September 11, 1990. “I wrote ‘Love Takes Time’ after the album had already been completed,” she told Perry Stern in 1990. “I wrote it with Ben Margulies, my songwriting partner, and we just threw it down on tape thinking it would be for my second album. I played it for Don Ienner, Tommy Mottola and Bobby Colomby after one of my shows and they all flipped out and said, ‘This is a number-one record — we've got to stop and put it on this album!’ ” “Love Takes Time” made its debut at number seventy-three on the Billboard Hot 100 and reached the number-one spot on the week of November 10, where it spent three weeks. On August 31, 2023, it was certified Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America.

“Someday,” was released as the album's third single on December 13, 1990. “I wrote ‘Someday’ a while ago. It's one of the oldest songs on the album and I wrote it with Ben. He was playing this drum groove and some chords, and we put the song together. I took it home, wrote the lyrics and we had it on the shelf for a long time. It was one of the original songs on the demo that got me my record deal, so I guess it was good luck in a sense.” “Someday” became Mariah's third number-one single on the Billboard Hot 100 chart during the week of March 9, 1991. The song spent two weeks at number one and was certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America on February 12, 1991.

On March 19, 1991, “I Don't Wanna Cry” was released as the album's fourth single. “I wrote that song with Narada Michael Walden and it was my first experience with a big-time producer,” Mariah said in 1990. “They just sort of threw me in the room and said ‘Write with him!’ I was really sort of intimidated but we sat down at the piano, we just came up with this song and I took it home and wrote the lyrics and that was it.” The song reached the top of the Billboard Hot 100 during the week of May 25, making Mariah the first artist since the Jackson Five to have their first four singles reach number one, and was certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America on November 17, 2022.

“There's Got To Be A Way” was commercially released in Europe, peaking at number fifty-four on United Kingdom's Official Singles Chart. “I did have a Gospel choir sing on ‘There's Got To Be A Way’ which I really loved because I love Gospel music and Gospel vocal arrangements,” Mariah said about the song. “It's really the spirituality and the incredible free singing and the realness of Gospel music that I love. There is just such a rawness there and a lot of the singers are just so incredible, I love it.”

Mariah Carey - Mariah Carey Cover Art
Cover Art
Mariah Carey - Mariah Carey - Publicity Photos
Publicity Photos
Mariah Carey - Mariah Carey - Publicity Material
Publicity Material
Mariah Carey - Mariah Carey - Booklet
Booklet

Tracklist

Track # Song Run time
1
Vision Of Love
Written by Mariah Carey, Ben Margulies.
Produced by Rhett Lawrence. Additional production: Narada Michael Walden.
3:28
2
There's Got To Be A Way
Written by Mariah Carey, Ric Wake.
Produced by Ric Wake and Narada Michael Walden.
4:53
3
I Don't Wanna Cry
Written by Mariah Carey, Narada Michael Walden.
Produced by Narada Michael Walden.
4:47
4
Someday
Written by Mariah Carey, Ben Margulies.
Produced by Ric Wake.
4:06
5
Vanishing
Written by Mariah Carey, Ben Margulies.
Produced by Mariah Carey.
4:11
6
All In Your Mind
Written by Mariah Carey, Ben Margulies.
Produced by Ben Margulies and Ric Wake.
4:43
7
Alone In Love
Written by Mariah Carey, Ben Margulies.
Produced by Rhett Lawrence.
4:11
8
You Need Me
Written by Mariah Carey, Rhett Lawrence.
Produced by Rhett Lawrence.
3:51
9
Sent From Up Above
Written by Mariah Carey, Rhett Lawrence.
Produced by Rhett Lawrence.
4:05
10
Prisoner
Written by Mariah Carey, Ben Margulies.
Produced by Ric Wake.
4:22
11
Love Takes Time
Written by Mariah Carey, Ben Margulies.
Produced by Walter Afanasieff.
3:49

Releases

First Press

The first copies of Mariah Carey were issued on CD, Cassette and 12" vinyl with no mention of “Love Takes Time” on the inserts or tracklist, despite the song being included on the album.

Mariah Carey - Mariah Carey - CD - First Press
CD
Mariah Carey - Mariah Carey - CD - First Press - Digipack Edition
CD
Digipack Edition
Mariah Carey - Mariah Carey - Casstte - First Press
Cassette

Original Release

Mariah Carey was originally available on Cassette, Vinyl and CD, and later re-issued in MiniDisc.

Mariah Carey - Mariah Carey - CD (United States)
CD
USA Edition
Mariah Carey - Mariah Carey - CD (Europe)
CD
Europe Edition
Mariah Carey - Mariah Carey - CD (Japan)
CD
Japan Edition
Mariah Carey - Mariah Carey - Cassette
Cassette

Special Editions

A special limited edition picture CD version of the album was released in the United Kingdom. In Australia, a limited edition bonus pack of Mariah Carey was released in 1991 including a bonus CD with an interview and the live versions of “Vanishing” and “Don't Play That Song” from Mariah's debut showcase at New York City's Tatou Club.

Mariah Carey - Mariah Carey - Picture Disc CD (United Kingdom)
Picture Disc
UK Exclusive
Mariah Carey - Mariah Carey - Bonus Pack 2X CD (Australia)
Bonus Pack 2X CD
Australia Exclusive
Mariah Carey - Mariah Carey - Blu-Spec CD2 (Japan)
Blu-Spec CD2
Japan Exclusive

Vinyl Editions

To celebrate its 30th anniversary, three variants of the album were released on vinyl in 2020: a standard opaque black vinyl, a clear smoke vinyl (sold exclusively through the Mariah Carey Official Store as a limited edition box set which also includes Mariah's memoir, The Meaning Of Mariah Carey, and a commemorative T-shirt), and a limited edition glass bottle vinyl (sold exclusively by Walmart). Mariah Carey was also re-released on October 15, 2022, in occasion of National Album Day, this time in a sheer smoke vinyl.

Mariah Carey - Mariah Carey - Black Vinyl (First Press)
Black Vinyl: First Press
1990
Mariah Carey - Mariah Carey - Black Vinyl
Black Vinyl
1990
Mariah Carey - Mariah Carey - Black Vinyl
Black Vinyl
2020
Mariah Carey - Mariah Carey - Glass Bottle Vinyl
Glass Bottle Vinyl
2020
Mariah Carey - Mariah Carey - Clear Smoke Vinyl
Clear Smoke Vinyl
2020
Mariah Carey - Mariah Carey - Sheer Smoke Vinyl
Sheer Smoke Vinyl
National Album Day 2022

Singles

Mariah Carey - Vision Of Love
Vision Of Love
Mariah Carey - Love Takes Time
Love Takes Time
Mariah Carey - Someday
Someday
Mariah Carey - I Don't Wanna Cry
I Don't Wanna Cry
Mariah Carey - There's Got To Be A Way
There's Got To Be A Way

Lyrics

Vision Of Love

There's Got To Be A Way

I Don't Wanna Cry

Someday

Vanishing

All In Your Mind

Alone In Love

You Need Me

Sent From Up Above

Prisoner

Love Takes Time