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Forever (Mariah Carey song)

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"Forever"
Cover of "Forever" featuring a close-up image of Carey from the shoulders upward
Single by Mariah Carey
from the album Daydream
B-side
ReleasedJune 18, 1996
Studio
  • Wallyworld
  • Sony (New York)
Genre
Length4:01
LabelColumbia
Composer(s)
Lyricist(s)Mariah Carey
Producer(s)
  • Walter Afanasieff
  • Mariah Carey
Mariah Carey singles chronology
"Always Be My Baby"
(1996) 		"Forever"
(1996) 		"Honey"
(1997)
Music video
"Mariah Carey - Forever (Live Video Version)" on YouTube

"Forever" is a rock and roll and pop song recorded by American singer Mariah Carey for her fifth studio album, Daydream (1995). Columbia Records released it to American radio stations for airplay on June 18, 1996, as the album's fifth single. The lyrics, written by Carey, are about one's continued affection despite the end of a romantic relationship. She composed the music and produced the song with Walter Afanasieff. Described by critics as referencing American music of the 1950s and 1960s, "Forever" is a doo-wop-influenced sentimental ballad in the form of a waltz. Its composition includes keyboards, guitars, and programming.

Music critics gave Carey's performance and the composition positive reviews; some viewed the song as unremarkable compared to others on the album. "Forever" reached number nine on the Billboard Hot 100 Airplay chart in the US and number 11 on the RPM Hit Tracks list in Canada. In both countries it achieved the most success on adult contemporary stations. The single entered the bottom half of charts in Australia, New Zealand, and the Netherlands. Carey performed "Forever" during the 1996 Daydream World Tour. Her performance at the Tokyo Dome in Japan was released as the music video. Columbia later included the song on Carey's compilation album Greatest Hits (2001).

Development and composition

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Before the late 1994 release of her holiday record Merry Christmas, American singer Mariah Carey began conceptualizing her fifth studio album Daydream (1995).[1] She again worked with producer Walter Afanasieff for the new album's ballads.[2] As collaborators since her debut album Mariah Carey (1990),[3] the pair crafted an adult contemporary sound together.[4]

One of their tracks created for Daydream, "Forever", is a rock and roll[5] and pop song[6] with elements of doo-wop.[7] It is a sentimental ballad with lyrics about continued affection amidst heartbreak:[8][9] "Forever / You will always be the only one".[10] Composed as a waltz[11] that lasts for four minutes and one second,[12] the track follows 12
8 time signature and moves at a tempo of 63 beats per minute. Carey's vocal range spans two octaves and three semitones from the low note of E♭3 to the high note of F♯5.[13]

Afanasieff produced "Forever" with Carey; she wrote the lyrics herself and the pair composed the music together. He also played the keyboards, provided synth bass, and programmed the drums and rhythm. Dan Shea and Gary Cirimelli added additional programming while Dann Huff played the guitars. Jay Healy and Dana Jon Chappelle engineered the song at Wallyworld and The Hit Factory in New York, where Andy Smith, Kurt Lundvall, Brian Vibberts, and Mike Scott acted as second engineers. After Mick Guzauski mixed "Forever" at New York's Sony Studios, Bob Ludwig conducted mastering at Gateway Mastering in Portland, Maine.[10]

"Forever"
Critics described "Forever" as having a retro-style composition.[5][14]
Problems playing this file? See media help.

Critics said "Forever" shared similarities with American music from the 1950s[5][11] and 1960s.[14][15] According to biographer Chris Nickson, this is displayed by the song's chord changes and prominent guitar arpeggios.[16] In the Jackson Citizen Patriot, Chris Jorgensen judged it as a homage to the Motown sound.[15] Larry Nager of The Commercial Appeal thought the strings resembled those in the 1959 song "Theme from A Summer Place"[14] and Salvatore Caputo of The Arizona Republic said the composition was inspired by Roy Orbison's music.[17] Rick Mitchell viewed it as an "attempt at an old-fashioned R&B ballad" in the Houston Chronicle.[18]

"Forever" was compared to Carey's past work. Nickson perceived similarities with songs from her 1990 debut album[16] and Billboard specified that the "retro-pop musical setting" recalled her first single "Vision of Love".[19] Writing for the same magazine, Sal Cinquemani considered the string-guitar combination a recurring musical motif in Carey's songs.[20]

Critical reception

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Carey's delivery received positive commentary from music critics. Billboard said she "plays the romantic ingenue with convincing, wide-eyed innocence and infectious hope".[19] Magazine contributor Princess Gabbara gauged her as capable of making an emotional impact on listeners.[9] According to Nick Krewen of The Spectator, the song helped her "move beyond the Barbie Doll plasticity of her debutante existence and into the real world of human emotion with truly soulstirring performances".[21]

The composition of "Forever" also received warm reviews. Daina Darzin from Cash Box praised the "lush but unobtrusive orchestration serving as a respectful backdrop" to Carey's vocals.[22] Mitchell and Billboard's Andrew Unterberger viewed it as a successful interpretation of retro styles.[8][18] Ken Tucker welcomed the waltz tempo in Entertainment Weekly;[23] Pitchfork writer Jamieson Cox said it showed how Carey's Daydream "performances are uniformly strong no matter the context".[11]

Others considered "Forever" an unimpressive album track. Nickson thought it "came across as something of a throwaway".[16] Cleveland.com writer Troy L. Smith said it paled in comparison with the other singles.[24] Jonathan Takiff of the Philadelphia Daily News suggested it was worse than "One Sweet Day" (1995) and "Open Arms" (1995).[25]

"Forever" has appeared on rankings of Carey's music. Smith placed it at number 55 out of 76 in a 2017 list of Carey's best singles.[24] Billboard named it the 100th greatest song of Carey's career in 2020.[8] Writers for BET and Gold Derby thought it was one of her best singles not to reach number one on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart.[26][27]

Release and commercial performance

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"Forever" is the tenth track on Daydream, which was released on September 26, 1995.[28] Columbia Records issued it as the album's fifth single.[29] The label serviced the song to American pop and rhythmic radio stations for airplay on June 18, 1996.[30] It also promoted the song to adult contemporary outlets at the same time.[31] "Forever" lacked a retail release in territories such as Canada, Japan, and the United States.[29][32] In the lattermost country, singles from the album had already topped the Hot 100 for an unprecedented six months.[33] Unterberger consequently described the release as a victory lap[8] and Smith said it showed how Columbia was "trying to milk the success of Daydream".[24] Critics from music magazines predicted the song would become a success.[7][19][34]

Ineligible to chart on the Hot 100 at the time due to its lack of a commercial product,[35] "Forever" instead reached number nine on the Hot 100 Airplay component chart in the United States.[36] It became Carey's sixteenth top-ten entry and the lowest-peaking of her career at the time aside from the holiday song "All I Want for Christmas Is You" (1994).[36] On both of the Billboard and Radio & Records adult contemporary charts, "Forever" topped out at number two.[37][38] It also reached number two on the RPM adult contemporary chart in Canada.[39] The single peaked at numbers eleven and thirteen on the RPM and The Record multi-format airplay charts, respectively.[32][40] Elsewhere, "Forever" peaked at number forty in New Zealand,[41] number forty-seven in the Netherlands,[42] and number seventy-seven in Australia.[43] In 2001, it was included on Carey's compilation album Greatest Hits.[44]

Live performances and music video

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Exterior of Tokyo Dome
Carey's performance of "Forever" at the Tokyo Dome is used for the single's B-side and video.[8][22]

Carey performed "Forever" on October 10, 1995, during a concert at Madison Square Garden in New York City. It was included on her video album, Fantasy: Mariah Carey at Madison Square Garden, the next year.[45][46] She sang it during the Daydream World Tour in 1996.[47] Filming for the official music video occurred five months later during her March shows at the Tokyo Dome in Japan.[8][22] The live audio was released on the single as its B-side[12][22] and later on her 2020 compilation album The Rarities.[48] In a review for KQED, Emmanuel Hapsis ranked the video as the third-worst of Carey's career because "concert videos are so lazy."[49]

In 2008, American singer Kristy Lee Cook performed a cover version as a contestant on the seventh season of American Idol.[50] She sang "Forever" in a country music fashion;[51] Rodney Ho of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution likened it to the style of Faith Hill.[52] Some critics derided Cook's vocals[53] and others said she gave a strong rendition.[54]

Formats and track listing

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Credits and personnel

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Recording

  • Recorded at Wallyworld and The Hit Factory (New York)
  • Mixed at Sony Studios (New York)
  • Mastered at Gateway Mastering Studios (Portland, Maine)[10]

Personnel

  • Mariah Carey – lyrics, music, producer, arranger, background vocals
  • Walter Afanasieff – music, producer, arranger, keyboards, synth bass, drum and rhythm programming
  • Dan Shea – additional programming
  • Dann Huff – guitars
  • Gary Cirimelli – Macintosh, digital and synthesizer programming
  • Jay Healy – vocal engineering
  • Dana Jon Chappelle – music engineering, additional vocal engineering
  • Mick Guzauski – mixing
  • Andy Smith – second engineering
  • Kurt Lundvall – second engineering
  • Brian Vibberts – second engineering
  • Mike Scott – second engineering
  • Bob Ludwig – mastering[10]

Charts

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References

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  1. ^ Nickson 1998, p. 136
  2. ^ Nickson 1998, p. 143
  3. ^ Shapiro 2001, p. 49
  4. ^ Chan 2023, p. 88
  5. ^ a b c Holden, Stephen (October 8, 1995). "Mariah Carey Glides Into New Territory". The New York Times. Archived from the original on January 23, 2012.
  6. ^ Dyer, Ervin (November 3, 1995). "Mariah Carey Daydream (Columbia)". Weekend. Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. p. 21. Archived from the original on June 30, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ a b Sholin, Dave (June 7, 1996). "Singles". Gavin Report. p. 54.
  8. ^ a b c d e f Unterberger, Andrew; et al. (October 5, 2020). "The 100 Greatest Mariah Carey Songs: Staff Picks". Billboard. Archived from the original on May 19, 2022.
  9. ^ a b Gabbara, Princess (August 31, 2018). "All the Tracks on Mariah Carey's Music Box, Ranked". Billboard. Archived from the original on December 8, 2022.
  10. ^ a b c d Daydream (liner notes). Columbia Records. 1995. CK 66700.
  11. ^ a b c Cox, Jamieson (December 10, 2017). "Mariah Carey: Daydream Album Review". Pitchfork. Archived from the original on January 22, 2024.
  12. ^ a b c "Forever" (CD single). Columbia Records. 1996. 663477 1.
  13. ^ Hal Leonard 2007, pp. 64–70
  14. ^ a b c Nager, Larry (November 3, 1995). "Hot Sounds". The Commercial Appeal. Memphis, Tennessee. p. C1. Archived from the original on June 30, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  15. ^ a b Jorgensen, Chris (October 19, 1995). "Mariah Is Back". Jackson Citizen Patriot. Jackson, Michigan. p. D12. Archived from the original on July 1, 2024 – via GenealogyBank.
  16. ^ a b c Nickson 1998, p. 149
  17. ^ Caputo, Salvatore (October 20, 1995). "Mariah Carey Daydream: Do 1 Song Unlike Whitney". The Arizona Republic. Phoenix. p. D4. Archived from the original on July 1, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  18. ^ a b Mitchell, Rick (October 8, 1995). "Carey Sees Life in Daydream". Zest. Houston Chronicle. p. 6. Archived from the original on July 1, 2024 – via GenealogyBank.
  19. ^ a b c Flick, Larry, ed. (June 22, 1996). "Singles". Billboard. p. 86. ProQuest 227091009.
  20. ^ Cinquemani, Sal (September 17, 2021). "Mariah Carey's Emotions at 30: Tracks Ranked Worst to Best". Billboard. Archived from the original on May 30, 2024.
  21. ^ Krewen, Nick (October 12, 1995). "Mariah Carey / Daydream". Ego. The Spectator. Hamilton, Ontario. p. 4. Archived from the original on June 30, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  22. ^ a b c d Darzin, Daina (June 22, 1996). "Singles Reviews". Cash Box. p. 7 – via Internet Archive.
  23. ^ Tucker, Ken (October 13, 1995). "Daydream (1995)". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on October 31, 2013.
  24. ^ a b c Smith, Troy L. (August 23, 2020). "All 76 Mariah Carey Singles Ranked". Cleveland.com. Archived from the original on October 27, 2022.
  25. ^ Takiff, Jonathan (October 17, 1995). "An Excess of Mariah". Philadelphia Daily News. p. 34. Archived from the original on July 1, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  26. ^ Reyes, Jon. "Mariah Carey Singles That Deserved to Be No. 1 (But Didn't Get There)". BET. slide 18. Archived from the original on June 30, 2024.
  27. ^ Montgomery, Daniel (March 27, 2023). "The 23 Best Mariah Carey Songs That Didn't Hit Number-One: Underrated Hits from the Elusive Chanteuse". Gold Derby. Archived from the original on July 22, 2024. Retrieved July 1, 2024.
  28. ^ "Mariah Carey / Daydream" (in Traditional Chinese). Sony Music Taiwan. Archived from the original on October 3, 2022.
  29. ^ a b Shapiro 2001, p. 155
  30. ^ "Selected New Releases". Radio & Records. June 14, 1996. pp. 37, 44. ProQuest 1017298145, ProQuest 1017299298.
  31. ^ "Top 40 Highlights". Top 40 Airplay Monitor. June 14, 1996. p. 1.
  32. ^ a b c "100 Hit Tracks & Where to Find Them". RPM. September 30, 1996. p. 6. Archived from the original on May 7, 2023 – via Library and Archives Canada.
  33. ^ Nickson 1998, p. 146
  34. ^ "Albums". Music & Media. October 7, 1995. p. 14.
  35. ^ Mayfield, Geoff; Sandiford-Waller, Theda (December 5, 1998). "A New Hot 100 Reflects Changes in Music Business". Billboard. p. 129. ProQuest 1505960408.
  36. ^ a b c "Mariah Carey Chart History (Radio Songs)". Billboard. Archived from the original on November 22, 2022.
  37. ^ a b "Mariah Carey Chart History (Adult Contemporary)". Billboard. Archived from the original on September 1, 2023.
  38. ^ a b "AC Top 30". Radio & Records. October 11, 1996. p. 89. ProQuest 1017292369.
  39. ^ a b "Adult Contemporary Tracks". RPM. September 16, 1996. p. 18. Archived from the original on May 7, 2023 – via Library and Archives Canada.
  40. ^ a b c Lwin 1999, p. 59
  41. ^ a b "Mariah Carey". Charts.org.nz. Archived from the original on January 17, 2023.
  42. ^ a b "Mariah Carey" (in Dutch). Dutch Charts. Archived from the original on January 17, 2023.
  43. ^ a b Ryan 2011, pp. 49–50
  44. ^ Greatest Hits (CD liner notes). Columbia Records. 2001. 2 505461.
  45. ^ Campbell, Mary (November 29, 1995). "Mariah Carey Carries Off Television Show with Ease". The Spokesman-Review. Associated Press. Archived from the original on April 6, 2023.
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  47. ^ Nickson 1998, p. 155
  48. ^ "レアリティーズ" [Rarities] (in Japanese). Oricon. Archived from the original on November 19, 2022.
  49. ^ Hapsis, Emmanuel (August 12, 2015). "All 64 Mariah Carey Music Videos, Ranked from Worst to Best". KQED. Archived from the original on November 21, 2022.
  50. ^ "American Idol Cuts Kristy Lee Cook, 6 Left". Times Herald-Record. Associated Press. April 17, 2008. Archived from the original on July 23, 2024.
  51. ^ Ollison, Rashod D. (April 22, 2008). "Pop Goes the Idol". The Baltimore Sun. Archived from the original on July 24, 2024.
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  53. ^
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  57. ^ "Forever" (CD maxi single). Columbia Records. 1996. 663477 2.
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  59. ^ "Mariah Carey – dorobek wykonawcy na LP3" [Mariah Carey – Artist's Achievements on LP3] (in Polish). LP3. Retrieved August 8, 2024.
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  61. ^ "Mariah Carey Chart History (Pop Airplay)". Billboard. Archived from the original on April 17, 2023.
  62. ^ "Mariah Carey Chart History (Rhythmic Airplay)". Billboard. Archived from the original on November 17, 2023.
  63. ^ "CHR/Pop Top 50". Radio & Records. September 6, 1996. p. 35. ProQuest 1017286640.
  64. ^ "CHR/Rhythmic Top 50". Radio & Records. August 23, 1996. p. 39. ProQuest 1017288902.
  65. ^ "Hot AC Top 30". Radio & Records. September 13, 1996. p. 76. ProQuest 1017290311.
  66. ^ "2012년 52주차 Download Chart" [2012 Week 52 Download Chart] (in Korean). Gaon Chart. Archived from the original on December 24, 2021.
  67. ^ "Year End Top 100 Hit Tracks". RPM. December 16, 1996. p. 20. Archived from the original on November 17, 2017 – via Library and Archives Canada.
  68. ^ "Year End Top 100 Adult Contemporary Tracks". RPM. December 16, 1996. p. 46. Archived from the original on July 29, 2017 – via Library and Archives Canada.
  69. ^ a b "The Year in Music 1996". Billboard. December 28, 1996. pp. YE-36, YE-84. ProQuest 1506066145, ProQuest 1506070040.
  70. ^ "Top 40/Mainstream Titles". Airplay Monitor. December 27, 1996. p. 30.
  71. ^ "Top 40/Rhythm-Crossover Titles". Airplay Monitor. December 27, 1996. p. 32.
  72. ^ "96 of 1996". Radio & Records. December 13, 1996. p. 70. ProQuest 1017293708.
  73. ^ "96 of 1996". Radio & Records. December 13, 1996. p. 28. ProQuest 1017298476.
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  75. ^ "96 of 1996". Radio & Records. December 13, 1996. p. 72. ProQuest 1017293735.

Books

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