Glitter

Released on September 11, 2001, Glitter was the soundtrack to the film of the same name, directed by Vondie Curtis-Hall. The soundtrack debuted at number seven on the Billboard 200 after selling 116,000 copies and was certified Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America on October 16, 2001.

The Glitter soundtrack was Mariah's first effort after parting ways with Sony Music and signing a new deal with Virgin Records worth an estimated $80 million, a mega-deal that ranks among the biggest ever awarded to an entertainer. “I am elated about my new partnership with Virgin Records,” Mariah said in a statement, “and I look forward to being a part of their uniquely creative musical environment.” Sony Music CEO and Mariah ex-husband Tommy Mottola, however, was not happy with Mariah's decision and would use everything in his power to try to boycott the project. Not only was the movie being released by Columbia Pictures, a division of Sony Pictures Entertainment, Sony Music retained distribution of the soundtrack in Japan, which gave him easy access to the soundtrack.

“Loverboy” was released on July 16, 2001 as the soundtrack's first single. For the original version the song, Mariah and producer Clark Kent had chosen to use The Yellow Magic Orchestra's “Firecracker” as a sample but, when Sony Music released a song using the same sample before “Loverboy,” they were forced to redo the song from scratch. They chose to use a sample from Cameo's “Candy” instead. “The song is based on a loop from Cameo's ‘Candy,’ which is one of my favorite all-time songs,” Mariah told Top Of The Pops in 2001. “And Cameo actually came back into the studio and re-laid their vocals, which I couldn't believe. So it is sort of like the girls' version of that song.” Mariah released the original version of “Loverboy” with the “Firecracker” sample on her 2020 compilation, The Rarities.

Despite the initial bump on the road, “Loverboy” was projected to top the Billboard Hot 100 on its second week on the chart. Sony Music pushed Destiny's Child's “Bootylicious” up a week early to prevent it. Virgin retaliated by slashing Mariah's single to 49 cents to boost sales, and Sony Music did the same with Destiny's Child's. Silvio Pietroluongo, the Hot 100 chart manager, said he thought the move “while not an uncommon practice by labels, was curious.” In the end, despite “Loverboy” outselling “Bootylicious” by over 50,000 copies, Destiny's Child's song was number one thanks to airplay. “Loverboy” peaked at number two and became the best-selling single of 2001 in the United States.

“Never Too Far” was released as the soundtrack's second single, but with no commercial release, hindering its charting ability. It was later re-recorded as a medley with Mariah's number one “Hero,” with all the proceeds being donated towards a charity for victims of the September 11 attacks and their families, police officers and relief workers. “I started [performing] at different charity events where I did a combination of ‘Never Too Far’ and ‘Hero.’ We made it into a medley and kinda put them both in the same key and just made it work, and people responded really well to it.” Mariah said. “It's been interesting for me, since the events of September 11, the way people have been playing ‘Hero’ and talking to me about ‘Never Too Far,’ 'cause that song is also about loss. I figured that it would be a nice thing to do, to put them both out for Christmas. I feel like it's our responsibility to do what we can right now in terms of music, just being artists and being human beings.” The medley saw a commercial release on December 11, 2001, including the previously unreleased song “There For Me,” co-written with Diane Warren and David Foster. “Never Too Far / Hero Medley” was the last commercial release from the soundtrack in the United States, peaking at number eighty-one on the Billboard Hot 100.

Tracklist

Track #	Song	Run time
1	Loverboy (Remix feat. Da Brat, Ludacris, Twenty II and Shawnna) Written by Mariah Carey, Larry Blackmon, Thomas Jenkins, Da Brat, Ludacris, Twenty II, Shawnna. Produced by Clark Kent and Mariah Carey.	4:30
2	Lead The Way Written by Mariah Carey, Walter Afanasieff. Produced by Mariah Carey and Walter Afanasieff. Additional production by Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis and James "Big Jim" Wright.	3:53
3	If We (feat. Nate Dogg and Ja Rule) Written by Mariah Carey, Damion Young, Jeffrey Atkins, H. Hersh, Nathaniel Hale. Produced by Damizza and Mariah Carey.	4:11
4	Didn't Mean To Turn You On Written by James Harris III, Terry Lewis. Produced by Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis and Mariah Carey.	4:54
5	Don't Stop (Funkin' 4 Jamaica) [feat. Mystikal] Written by Mariah Carey, DJ Clue, Duro, Thomas Brown, Toni Smith, M. Tyler. Produced by Mariah Carey, DJ Clue and Duro.	3:38
6	All My Life Written by Rick James. Produced by Mariah Carey and Rick James.	5:10
7	Reflections (Care Enough) Written by Mariah Carey, Philippe Pierre. Produced by Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis and Mariah Carey.	3:21
8	Last Night A DJ Saved My Life (feat. Busta Rhymes, Fabolous and DJ Clue) Written by Michael Cleveland. Produced by Mariah Carey, DJ Clue and Duro.	6:43
9	Want You (feat. Eric Benet) Written by Mariah Carey, James Harris III, Terry Lewis, James Wright. Produced by Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis and Mariah Carey.	4:44
10	Never Too Far Written by Mariah Carey, James Harris III, Terry Lewis. Produced by Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis and Mariah Carey.	4:44
11	Twister Written by Mariah Carey, James Harris III, Terry Lewis. Produced by Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis and Mariah Carey. Co-produced by James "Big Jim" Wright.	2:26
12	Loverboy (feat. Cameo) Written by Mariah Carey, Larry Blackmon, Thomas Jenkins. Produced by Clark Kent and Mariah Carey.	3:50
Bonus	Loverboy (MJ Cole Main Remix Radio Edit) Written by Mariah Carey, Larry Blackmon, Thomas Jenkins, Da Brat. Produced by MJ Cole.	4:13

Releases

Original Release

Glitter was issued on CD, Cassette and 12" Vinyl. The Japanese edition of the soundtrack, manufactured by Sony Music, includes the MJ Cole Radio Mix of “Loverboy” as an exclusive bonus track.