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This page is associated with Emotions Era
 
This article is an Black class article
 
Emotions (song) has charted at #1 on the Hot 100
 
This page is associated with the 1990s


"Emotions" is the first song and first single by Mariah Carey from her second album, Emotions. The song was written and produced by Mariah Carey, David Cole, and Robert Clivillés. The song was officially released as the first single on August 13, 1991 in the third quarter of 1991 and in the fourth quarter elsewhere.

Song Information[]

This disco-influenced song has its protagonist going through a variety of emotions, from high to low, up to the point where she declares "you got me feeling emotions" and sings high notes. Mariah was sent to work with the C+C Music Factory and they composed the song "You're So Cold", which became the first choice for the album's first single. However, a second session with the production team had them feeling in a lighter mood when "Emotions" was created and finally decided upon as the lead single.

"Emotions" is disco-influenced pop song and it is written in the key of C major. Mariah usually prefers to transpose the key to B♭ major when performing live (one example of this is on MTV Unplugged). Mariah's vocal range spans more than four octaves on the track, from C3 to E7. The song tested and challenged Mariah's vocal range and is her first song to require the execution of multiple whistle notes. It starts on a falsetto note followed by a belted note. This is one of the reasons why many singers who try to emulate her vocal technique may use an incorrect vocal technique. The sheet music of the song has a 8va marking on the last part of the song.

Song Response[]

"Emotions" was nominated for the 1992 Grammy Award for "Best Female Pop Performance," but Mariah lost out to Bonnie Raitt with her song, "Something to Talk About." The song did win a BMI R&B Award, continuing Mariah's unbroken streaks of wins for this award.

Music Video[]

The single's music video, directed by Jeff Preiss, features Mariah and her friends with exotic animals experiencing emotions while partying and having fun around town in New York. The video was desaturated but still maintains various different color tints, which change from brown to red to blue and so forth.

Remixes[]

David Cole and Robert Clivillés created the main remix of "Emotions" known as "Emotions" (12" club mix). Although Carey did not re-record her vocals for it, she added a new gospel-style intro before the song's dance portion. This new intro was used when she performed "Emotions" on MTV Unplugged in 1992, as well as at some later concerts. A music video was created using the 12" club mix, but only slight changes in editing differentiate it from the video for the original version.

Chart Performance[]

The song became Mariah's 5th #1 hit song of her career, giving her the distinction of being the first and only music act to have their first five singles hit #1 on the Billboard Hot 100. The song reached #1 during its seventh week on the Billboard Hot 100 and lasted for 3 weeks from October 6th to October 26th, replacing Marky Mark and The Funky Bunch's "Good Vibrations" from the top of the charts. It was later replaced by R&B singer Karyn White's song, "Romantic."

"Emotions" became Mariah's most successful single since "Vision of Love." It managed to make the top 5 in Canada and New Zealand, and also became her first single to reach the U.K. Top 20 since her debut single. The song also topped Billboard's R&B and dance charts. It was moderately successful in Australia, missing the top ten, and received limited success in Europe. The song was certified Gold in the United States, New Zealand, and Australia.

Charts[]

Country Peak
position
Australian Singles Chart 13
Canadian Singles Chart 3
New Zealand Singles Chart 3
Dutch Singles Chart 12
German Singles Chart 39
Irish Singles Chart 27
Swedish Singles Chart 30
Japanese Singles Chart 90
UK Singles Chart 4
U.S. Billboard Hot 100 1
U.S. Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs 1
U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Music\Club Play 1
U.S. Billboard Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks 3
Emotions
September 17, 1991 • 46:58 • Columbia Records
Songs
Released EmotionsAnd You Don't RememberCan't Let GoMake It HappenIf It's OverYou're So ColdSo BlessedTo Be Around YouTill the End of TimeThe Wind
Scrapped Can You Hear Me
Artists
Mariah Carey

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