Daydream is the fifth studio album by American singer-songwriter Mariah Carey. Released on October 3, 1995 by Columbia Records as the follow up to her internationally successful album, Music Box (1993) and holiday album Merry Christmas (1994), Daydream is slightly different from Music Box and Merry Christmas as it leaned increasingly towards contemporary R&B and hip hop and features less of a pure pop sound. Throughout the project, Carey collaborated with Walter Afanasieff, with whom she wrote and produced most of her two previous albums. With Daydream, Carey took more control over the musical direction as well as the album's composition. Carey said she considered Daydream the beginning of her musical and vocal transformation, a change that became more obvious in her 1997 release, Butterfly. During the album's production, Carey endured many creative differences with her label, Columbia Records and husband, Tommy Mottola.
On Daydream, Carey collaborated with Jermaine Dupri for the first time, and co-wrote and produced a song with Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds, with whom she had collaborated on Music Box. It was also the first time she had worked with Boyz II Men, an R&B group consisting of four male vocalists. Together, they wrote the concept and lyrics for "One Sweet Day", a song that Carey co-produced with Afanasieff. With his assistance and the addition of a few contemporary producers, she was able to make a subtle transition into the R&B market. Daydream was nominated for six Grammy Awards at the 38th annual ceremony, during which Carey performed live. Due to the album's critical and commercial success, critics believed Carey would be one of the nights big winners. However, to her dismay, she was completely shut out, causing the subject to become very public and controversial.
Six singles were released from the album. "Fantasy", the album's lead single, topped the Billboard Hot 100 for eight weeks, and became the second best-selling single of 1995 in the United States. The song topped the charts in Australia, Canada and New Zealand and became a top-five hit in Finland, France and the United Kingdom. "One Sweet Day" was the second single released from Daydream. The song topped the Billboard Hot 100 for sixteen weeks and became the longest-running number one single in American history, a record it still holds. It also topped the charts in Canada and New Zealand and peaked within the top five in Australia, France, Ireland and The Netherlands. Jointly the singles from Daydream spent a combined six months at the top of the Hot 100. To promote Daydream, Carey embarked on the short but successful, Daydream World Tour, visiting Japan and Europe.
Daydream became Carey's highest reviewed album at the time. Critics universally praised her matured lyrics and songwriting, as well as her musical direction. Alongside very favorable ratings, the album became a large worldwide commercial success. Daydream debuted at number one in over nine different countries, and in the top five in almost every major music market. The album became Carey's second album to be certified ten-times platinum (diamond) by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), denoting shipments of over ten million copies in the United States. Aside from its success in the United States, the album became the third best-selling album in Japan by a non-Asian artist, with over 2.1 million copies sold. Daydream remains one of the best-selling albums of all time, with sales of over 25 million copies worldwide.Daydream is the fifth studio album by American singer-songwriter Mariah Carey. Released on October 3, 1995 by Columbia Records as the follow up to her internationally successful album, Music Box (1993) and holiday album Merry Christmas (1994), Daydream is slightly different from Music Box and Merry Christmas as it leaned increasingly towards contemporary R&B and hip hop and features less of a pure pop sound. Throughout the project, Carey collaborated with Walter Afanasieff, with whom she wrote and produced most of her two previous albums. With Daydream, Carey took more control over the musical direction as well as the album's composition. Carey said she considered Daydream the beginning of her musical and vocal transformation, a change that became more obvious in her 1997 release, Butterfly. During the album's production, Carey endured many creative differences with her label, Columbia Records and husband, Tommy Mottola.
On Daydream, Carey collaborated with Jermaine Dupri for the first time, and co-wrote and produced a song with Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds, with whom she had collaborated on Music Box. It was also the first time she had worked with Boyz II Men, an R&B group consisting of four male vocalists. Together, they wrote the concept and lyrics for "One Sweet Day", a song that Carey co-produced with Afanasieff. With his assistance and the addition of a few contemporary producers, she was able to make a subtle transition into the R&B market. Daydream was nominated for six Grammy Awards at the 38th annual ceremony, during which Carey performed live. Due to the album's critical and commercial success, critics believed Carey would be one of the nights big winners. However, to her dismay, she was completely shut out, causing the subject to become very public and controversial.
Six singles were released from the album. "Fantasy", the album's lead single, topped the Billboard Hot 100 for eight weeks, and became the second best-selling single of 1995 in the United States. The song topped the charts in Australia, Canada and New Zealand and became a top-five hit in Finland, France and the United Kingdom. "One Sweet Day" was the second single released from Daydream. The song topped the Billboard Hot 100 for sixteen weeks and became the longest-running number one single in American history, a record it still holds. It also topped the charts in Canada and New Zealand and peaked within the top five in Australia, France, Ireland and The Netherlands. Jointly the singles from Daydream spent a combined six months at the top of the Hot 100. To promote Daydream, Carey embarked on the short but successful, Daydream World Tour, visiting Japan and Europe.
Daydream became Carey's highest reviewed album at the time. Critics universally praised her matured lyrics and songwriting, as well as her musical direction. Alongside very favorable ratings, the album became a large worldwide commercial success. Daydream debuted at number one in over nine different countries, and in the top five in almost every major music market. The album became Carey's second album to be certified ten-times platinum (diamond) by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), denoting shipments of over ten million copies in the United States. Aside from its success in the United States, the album became the third best-selling album in Japan by a non-Asian artist, with over 2.1 million copies sold. Daydream remains one of the best-selling albums of all time, with sales of over 25 million copies worldwide.false2025-11-07 22:45:52Daydream19951995-01-011995-01-0151BalladContemporary R&BDance-PopElectronicGarage HouseHip HopPopPop/Hip-HopR&BRock111260210990068768480-08fa-4593-886c-c03ad0a14234494e8d09-f85b-4543-892f-a5096aed1cd4bf0126a1-b79c-3c9c-a892-f4bf4fac2bb0/media/data/media5/Music/Mariah Carey/Daydream/folder.jpgMariah CareyMariah CareyMariah Carey (;: 0:01 born March 27, 1969) is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, and actress. An influential figure in popular music, she is known for her five-octave vocal range, melismatic singing style, and signature use of the whistle register. Carey is also credited with influencing vocal styles, merging hip-hop with pop through her collaborations, popularizing remixes, and helping break down racial barriers for multiracial Americans in popular culture. Referred to as the "Songbird Supreme" by Guinness World Records, she was ranked as the fifth greatest singer of all time by Rolling Stone in 2023, and has been dubbed the "Queen of Christmas" for the enduring popularity of her Christmas music, particularly the 1994 song "All I Want for Christmas Is You", which is the best-selling holiday song by a female artist.
Carey rose to fame in 1990 with her self-titled debut album under the guidance of Columbia Records executive Tommy Mottola, whom she later married in 1993. She is the only artist to date to have their first five singles reach number one on the US Billboard Hot 100, from "Vision of Love" to "Emotions". Carey gained worldwide success with her albums Music Box (1993) and Daydream (1995)―both of which rank among the best-selling albums and spawned singles such as "Dreamlover", "Hero", "Without You", "Fantasy", "Always Be My Baby" and "One Sweet Day". The lattermost of these topped the US Billboard Hot 100 decade-end chart (1990s). After separating from Mottola, Carey adopted a new urban image and began incorporating more hip-hop and R&B elements with the releases of Butterfly (1997) and Rainbow (1999). By the end of the 1990s, Billboard ranked Carey as the most successful artist of the decade in the United States. She left Columbia Records in 2001 after eleven consecutive years of US number-one singles and signed a record deal with Virgin Records.
Following a highly publicized breakdown and the failure of her 2001 film Glitter and its accompanying soundtrack, Virgin bought out Carey's contract, and she signed with Island Records the following year. After a brief, mildly successful period, Carey returned to the top of the charts with The Emancipation of Mimi (2005) which became one of the best-selling albums of the 21st century. Its second single, "We Belong Together", topped the US Billboard Hot 100 decade-end chart (2000s). Her subsequent ventures included roles in the films Precious (2009), The Butler (2013), A Christmas Melody (2015), and The Lego Batman Movie (2017), being an American Idol judge, starring in the docu-series Mariah's World, performing multiple concert residencies, and publishing the memoir The Meaning of Mariah Carey (2020).
Carey is one of the best-selling music artists, with over 220 million records sold worldwide, and is an inductee of the Songwriters Hall of Fame, the National Recording Registry at the Library of Congress and the Long Island Music and Entertainment Hall of Fame. In 2019, Billboard named her the top-charting female solo artist, based on both album and song chart success. She holds the record for the most Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles by a solo artist (19), a female songwriter (18), and a female producer (15), spending a record 93 weeks atop the chart. Carey is the highest-certified female artist in the United States and 10th overall, with 75 million certified album units. Among her accolades are 6 Grammy Awards (including the Global Impact Award), 10 American Music Awards, 20 Billboard Music Awards and 12 Guinness World Records.