

“Didn’t Mean to Turn You On” ( Glitter, 2001)Īnother flashback jam, but a more literal one, as Carey takes on Cherrelle’s 1984 dance-pop gem “I Didn’t Mean to Turn You On” as her ‘80s-era Glitter avatar Billie Frank. Can’t say the victory lap wasn’t well-earned. “Forever” wasn’t released as an official single - topping the Hot 100 for a combined 26 weeks with Daydream ’s first three singles was perhaps sufficient chart dominance for one album cycle - but took over MTV anyway with its video, shot during her sold-out, fever-pitched live dates at the Tokyo Dome on the recent Daydream World Tour. Read our ranking below, and check out a Spotify playlist of the entire list at the bottom.Ī sweetly waltzing ballad of devotion, whose convincing throwback pop provided an early model for Yours Truly -era Ariana Grande. To celebrate this formidable song catalog, Billboard has compiled a list of its staff’s 100 favorite Mariah Carey songs - only including our favorite version for each individual song - which take us on a journey unlike any other in pop history, and, three decades in, still has us feeling emotions deeper than we ever dreamed of. From 1990’s debut torch song “Vision of Love” to this year’s Lauryn Hill teamup “Save the Day,” it’s been three decades of gems from the Elusive Chanteuse: songs that have soundtracked countless first loves, friendships, devastating breakups, nights out, family crises, personal epiphanies, moments of crippling loss, moments of unexpected strength - and of course, every holiday season since 1994.

That includes the smash hits, naturally - many of which have become iconic - but also the fan-favorite commercial flops, the more personal deep cuts, the brilliantly curated and executed remixes. 2).īut of course, the best way to understand the legacy of Mariah Carey is still through her classic songs. 29), and The Rarities, a career-spanning compilation of B-sides and unreleased material to be unveiled on Friday (Oct. Much of that 30-plus-year history will be more fully explained by two much-anticipated projects Carey is releasing this week: The Meaning of Mariah Carey, her revealing memoir co-written with Michaela Angela Davis that dropped on Tuesday (Sept.
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Of course, all of these stats and achievements only scratch the surface on the full Mariah Carey story - one that also includes several moments of game-changing collaboration, multiple generations of enduring artistic influence, more dramatic turns than one of her action-packed videos and a wider scope of highs and lows than even her five-octave vocal range.
