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Songs in bold are previously unreleased songs that have since been released officially. The US Copyright Office registration numbers for the songs and their ASCAP (American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers) work IDs, when available, are in brackets.

Pre-record deal[]

According the US Copyright Office, Mariah Carey started to copyright songs in 1985, when she was just 15 years old.

  • "Ticket to Heaven" (PAu-723-819), with music by Joel Kushnick and lyrics by Carey, registered on May 16, 1985.
  • "How to Begin" (PAu-723-833), with music by Paul Kushnick and lyrics by Carey, registered on May 16, 1985. This song is most likely "To Begin," an unreleased song that Carey mentioned in The Meaning of Mariah Carey. It was written while Carey was living at her mother's house. Carey has stated that the song is among one of the many lost tapes that she once owned.
  • "Discover That You're Mine" (PAu-734-102), with music and lyrics by Carey, registered on June 14, 1985.
  • "Weakness of the Body" was a demo Carey sang for Brenda K. Starr in 1986. The song ended up on Judy Torres' album Love Story in 1989. Carey's demo version of the song was leaked to the internet in 2002.
  • "Fade Away" (SRu-129-353), with music by Carey and Clarissa Dane and lyrics by Carey, registered on December 28, 1987. The registration says the song can also be known as "(You Just) Fade Away" (SRu-125-712).
    • On February 11, 1988, the song's credits were changed to have both writers share claim in music and lyrics. In an interview with Mariah Daily Journal in 2004, Dane revealed the song has a rock feel and stated Carey as one of the most versatile people out there, claiming she can sing any style and genre. The opening lyric is reportedly "Just another lonely night," with the style of the song being AOR in the vein of late 80's Heart and Chicago.
  • "BeeMar suite III." (PAu-1-134-561), with music and lyrics by Carey and Ben Margulies, registered on May 31, 1988.
  • "Bee mar suite 82288" (PAu-1-119-135), with music and lyrics by Carey and Margulies, registered on August 26, 1988.
  • "Just Can't Hold It Back" was mentioned in The Meaning of Mariah Carey. It was one of the songs she worked on with Gavin Christopher. It was also the song that led to Carey and Margulies meeting, as he was hired as a drummer on the session.
  • "Blind" (ASCAP work ID: 907835863) is registered under Carey's name on ASCAP. Carey, alongside Margulies and Ben Hemsley, are given songwriting credits. Margulies being credited suggests the song was either recorded for Mariah Carey or before Carey signed with Columbia Records.
  • "Breaking the Chains" (ASCAP work ID: 321203112) is registered under Carey's name on ASCAP. Carey, Starr and Australian singer-songwriter Denise Rich are credited as the writers of the song.
  • Carey stated in The Meaning of Mariah Carey that she recorded vocals for a T.M. Stevens song and a demo for Lenny Kravitz in her teens.

Mariah Carey (1988-1990)[]

Carey and Margulies worked on several songs together and put together a demo tape in the hope of getting Carey signed to a major label.

Additional songs were written and recorded for the album with different producers Carey was assigned to work with by Columbia.

  • "We're Not Makin' Love Anymore" was performed with Michael Bolton at the 32nd Annual NARM Convention in 1990, as a way to introduce Carey and her music to the music industry audience. It's speculated that it was supposed to be recorded and released on Bolton's Time, Love & Tenderness album in 1991, but due to scheduling conflicts, Carey was unable to finish the studio version of the song, as she was in the recording process of her sophomore album, Emotions. The song was eventually released featuring Patti LaBelle instead. The full live performance of the song featuring Carey was posted on YouTube in late 2018.
  • "I Lose Control" was written with Narada Michael Walden for Carey's debut album. It's been alleged that Columbia was torn between releasing either "Vision of Love" or "I Lose Control" as the album's lead single. Ultimately, "Vision of Love" was released and "I Lose Control" was scrapped from the album entirely. The song was then given to Penny Ford, who recorded it for her eponymous album in 1993. In January 2021, Walden replied to one of Carey's Facebook posts, saying he found the master tapes of Carey's version of the song and asked her to reach out to him.

Emotions (1991)[]

  • "Can You Hear Me" is a song written and recorded during the Emotions album sessions. Carey wrote it with Barry Mann originally with Barbra Streisand in mind. Carey's demo version of the song was included on The Rarities in 2020.

Music Box (1992-1993)[]

  • "Do You Think of Me" is the B-side of the "Dreamlover" CD single but wasn't officially released as part of any album or on any streaming platforms until its inclusion on The Rarities in 2020. The song was included as a bonus track on Music Box: 30th Anniversary Edition in 2023.
  • "Everything Fades Away" was originally included as a bonus track on international releases of Music Box and later as the B-side of the "Hero" CD single. The song was scrapped from the final tracklist of the album because, according to Carey, the label considered the song "too R&B" for her at the time. It was included on The Rarities in 2020 and was added to the main tracklist of Music Box: 30th Anniversary Edition in 2023.
  • "All I Live For" is a song originally written and recorded for Music Box, though it never made the album. It was included on The Rarities in 2020. It has been speculated that the reason for its omission from the album was due to it not having been finished, as the version on The Rarities features vocals recorded in 2020 at the end. However, an extended version of the song featuring vocals from 1993 only was included on Music Box: 30th Anniversary Edition as a bonus track.
  • "Workin' Hard" was written with Robert Clivillés and the late David Cole from C+C Music Factory. It's unknown why it wasn't included on the album. It was released as a bonus track on Music Box: 30th Anniversary Edition.
  • "My Prayer" is a cover of The Platters' song of the same name, recorded during the Music Box era. It's unknown why it wasn't included on the album. It was released as a bonus track on Music Box: 30th Anniversary Edition.

Daydream (1994-1995)[]

  • "Slipping Away," written by Carey and co-produced with Dave Hall, was originally supposed to appear on Daydream and is believed to be a song about Carey's marriage to Tommy Mottola drifting apart. Even though the song had been mastered, it failed to make the final tracklist of the album and served as a B-side of the "Open Arms" and "Always Be My Baby" single releases instead. In 2019, during the Caution World Tour in London, Carey sang a snippet of the song and revealed that the label didn't let her include it on the album because "it was too R&B." The song was released on all streaming platforms for the first time in 2020 as a part of The Rarities.
  • "One Night" is one of Carey's first collaborations with Jermaine Dupri. The song was included on The Rarities in 2020.
  • "Forever" was remixed by David Morales, but his remixes were never released. Carey reportedly re-recorded her vocals for the remixes.

Someone's Ugly Daughter (1995)[]

In 2020, it was revealed that Carey, under the pseudonym D. Sue, was involved in the writing, recording and production of an alternative rock album in 1995, during the Daydream sessions. Though the album itself was released, albeit with Clarissa Dane's lead vocals and Carey on backgrounds, a version of the album with Carey's lead vocals exists and still remains unreleased. Carey has stated that she has found the version with her on lead and plans on releasing it, but needs to find the board mixes first.

  • "Joe," Carey's lead vocals remain unreleased.
  • "Love Is a Scam," Carey's lead vocals remain unreleased.
  • "Violent," Carey's lead vocals remain unreleased.
  • "Malibu," Carey's lead vocals remain unreleased.
  • "Demented" (also known as "The Crave Song") was the only song from the project acknowledged by Carey before 2020, teasing it in interviews, only calling it "The Crave Song" and mentioning that it was full of innuendo. Her manner of speaking showed a side of her that had never been seen before. Carey's lead vocals remain unreleased.
  • "Freak," Carey's lead vocals remain unreleased.
  • "Agony," Carey's lead vocals remain unreleased.
  • "Surrender," Carey's lead vocals remain unreleased.
  • "Hermit," Carey's lead vocals remain unreleased.
  • "Prom Queen," Carey's lead vocals remain unreleased.
  • "Stork: Orphan in My Room," Carey's lead vocals remain unreleased.

Butterfly (1997)[]

  • While there are no leftover songs from Butterfly, two unheard Morales remixes of "Honey," entitled "Boss Anthem Mix" (ASCAP work ID: 380939431) and "Boss Instrumental" (ASCAP work ID: 380939459), are credited under Carey's name on ASCAP. It's unknown why they were never released.

Rainbow (1999)[]

  • "After Tonight" was released on Rainbow with no featured artists. However, it was, for a brief moment, conceptualized as a duet with Carey's then boyfriend, Luis Miguel. David Foster, whom Carey co-wrote and co-produced the song with, stated that the song was originally written just for her and, even though he had both singers record it several different times, it never sounded right due to it not being in Miguel's key. Due to being in a hurry to finish the album, Carey didn't have time to re-record her vocals in a different key, so she ended up doing it by herself.
  • "There for Me" is a song co-written by Carey with Foster and Diane Warren, originally recorded for the Rainbow album. While it's unknown why it never made the final cut of the album, it was later included as the B-side of the "Never Too Far / Hero Medley" CD single.

Glitter (2000-2001)[]

  • "Lillie's Blue" (ASCAP work ID: 420597162), with credits to Carey, Jam, Lewis and James "Big Jim" Wright, is featured early in Glitter, where a young Billie Frank showcases her vocal abilities while singing in a bar with her mother. It's unknown if the song is sung by Carey in the movie and her vocals were just pitched up and heavily edited or if it's someone else altogether. If the latter, it may be that the song was never even intended to be recorded by Carey, but given copyright status primarily for its purpose in the movie.
  • "Out Here On My Own" was recorded for Glitter in 2000, but it never made final cut of the movie. The song was eventually released in 2020 when it was included on The Rarities.
  • "Loverboy (Firecracker – Original Version)" is the original version of the song that samples Martin Denny's "Firecracker" by the Yellow Magic Orchestra, before the sample was changed to Cameo's "Candy" at the last minute after it was used on Jennifer Lopez's "I'm Real," shortly before the release of "Loverboy". The original mix of the track can be heard briefly in early commercials for Glitter. This version of the song was included on The Rarities in 2020.
  • "Glitter" (ASCAP work ID: 371343814) is registered under Carey's name on ASCAP. Carey, Jam, Lewis and Wright are credited as songwriters.
  • "Royal Tones" (ASCAP work ID: 481402971) is one of the six unreleased songs Carey worked on with Stevie J, Mike Mason and Mr. Dalvin for Glitter.
  • On The Meaning of Mariah Carey, Carey mentions approaching Prince to sample the song "Nasty Girl," originally recorded by Vanity 6, for the film. He, however, told Carey to finish the song she had begun and they'd would work on another new one together. Carey neither finished the song nor collaborated with Prince.

Charmbracelet (2002)[]

  • "There Goes My Heart" was co-written with 7 Aurelius and recorded at Compass Point Studios in Nassau, Bahamas, originally for an alleged live EP. When songs from those sessions were repurposed for Charmbracelet, "There Goes My Heart" was left out of the final tracklist, only to be included on the Tour Edition of the album, released in 2003.
  • "Reach for the Sky" was written and recorded during the Bahamas sessions with 7 Aurelius for the alleged live EP. Carey mentioned the song in several interviews, comparing it to "Hero," and boasting of its live instrumentation and its olympic theme/arena type sound. Fans and critics were shocked when the heavily promoted song was nowhere to be found on the album when it was released. When questioned about the song at the March of Dimes 6th Annual New York Metro Achievement in Radio Awards, Carey said that she decided to include "My Saving Grace" on the album's final cut instead of "Reach for the Sky." Rumors suggest the song was never fully finished.
  • "Alive" was allegedly mentioned in an article in W magazine, where it was said it was supposed to be released on the scrapped live EP. The song is said to have been penned by Carey and Aurelius, with additional production by Foster. The track was also said to mix live vocals with a studio beat, while being "transparently honest". According to W's journalist, who heard the song being mastering, it's unlike any Carey song. "It's refreshing to hear Carey sing folk in a ballad format," quotes. The opening is said to be a guitar-based riff that stops completely, allowing for a lower registry Carey to pull in and continue with her mid-chords staying comfortably throughout the song. The lyrics "Soft and tender, he feels alive when he dances with the moon" are allegedly whispery, yet candid and erotic.
  • "Yours" was released on Charmbracelet, with no featured artists. However, Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, whom Carey co-produced the track with, thought Timberlake's voice would suit the song and he was subsequently called in to record some vocals. Carey was also impressed with the results and wanted the duet on the album. However, Jive Records refused to allow clearance for the track to be legally released, as they didn't want Timberlake associated with Carey due to her public image at the time. In 2005, following the success of The Emancipation of Mimi, rumors surfaced that Timberlake was eager to work with Carey again on the same song.
  • "The Wedding Song" was mentioned by Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis in interviews around the Charmbracelet era, but the song was never released. It's unknown if "The Wedding Song" is the actual name of the song or just a placeholder title. Fan theories suggest that "The Wedding Song" might actually be just an early/alternative title for "Yours," as it's the only song on the album where Carey worked with Jam and Lewis. Another theory suggests that the song is actually an unreleased studio version of "You and I (We Can Conquer the World)," as not only it was Carey and Mottola's wedding song, but it was also performed at The 8th Annual BET Walk of Fame Ceremony Honoring Stevie Wonder in October 2002. It's possible that a studio track was put together with the help of both Jam and Lewis for Carey to rehearse for the performance.
  • "Never Enough" was allegedly recorded during the Charmbracelet album sessions. A very rough 20-second clip of what sounds like Carey singing the song's outro was leaked to the internet, however, its authenticity is unconfirmed.
  • It's known that Carey worked with DJ Quik for Charmbracelet on an upbeat track and possibly a ballad, but no songs from those sessions have been leaked or released officially.

The Emancipation of Mimi (2004-2005)[]

  • "When I Feel It" was originally written and produced by Carey and Mahogany for The Emancipation of Mimi and was even confirmed as a track on the album from early reports of its tracklist. However, only weeks before the album was to be released, the sample of the Dynamic Superiors' "Here Comes That Feeling Again" that was used in the song was denied clearance by the original songwriters. Carey and her record label pleaded to have the sample cleared, but were once again denied. As a result, the track was not legally allowed to be released and the track "Joy Ride" replaced it on the album. A very brief and rough cell phone recording of a snippet of "When I Feel It" was leaked to the internet by fans in early 2005. The entire track leaked to the internet in July 2007 after Mahogany put it on sale on his official MySpace profile.
  • "Your Girl" was released on Emancipation with no featured artists. However, the song was originally supposed to include a rap verse from N.O.R.E.. L.A. Reid, the album's executive producer, believed the album had enough guest appearances already and, as a result, N.O.R.E.'s raps were removed. A very brief and rough cellphone recording of a snippet of "Your Girl" with N.O.R.E. was leaked to the internet by fans in early 2005. The full song was included on the Your Girl EP, released as part of #MC30.

E=MC² (2007-2008)[]

In interviews, Carey revealed that 22 songs were produced/written for the album, but only 16 ended up showing up on the album: 14 tracks on the standard version and 2 tracks were released as bonus tracks on different international releases of the album.

  • "Cool On You" was written with Dupri, Manuel Seal, Jr. and Johntá Austin for E=MC², but it wasn't released until 2020 when it was included on The Rarities. Alternative titles for this track as mentioned in The Rarities' liner notes include "Do the Coat," "Kick Rocks" and "Eat Dirt". "Kick Rocks" was named by Carey in an interview many years ago.

Tennessee (2008)[]

  • "Help Me Make It Through the Night" is a cover of Kris Kristofferson's song of the same name, recorded for the shelved Tennessee soundtrack, along with "Right to Dream," but only the latter was released.

Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel (2009)[]

  • "Imperfect" was the original reason why the album was titled Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel. Produced by Tricky Stewart, the song was teased before the release of the album, but it never made the final tracklist. It was then supposed to appear on Angels Advocate, before the album was shelved indefinitely. An unmastered version of the song was leaked in May 2010.
  • "Skydiving" was produced by Timbaland and surfaced on the internet a week before the album was released. It's likely that song was originally part of the tracklist, since the iTunes LP version of the album included a "Skydiving" animation.

Angel's Advocate (2010)[]

In January of 2010, Island Def Jam announced Angels Advocate, a re-release of Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel featuring remixes and duet versions of the songs included on the original album, as well as new songs and unreleased material from the Memoirs sessions. "Up Out My Face" featuring Nicki Minaj and "Angels Cry" featuring Ne-Yo were sent to radio as the first two singles from Angels Advocate, however, according to several media outlets, the album ended up being shelved due to Memoirs' poor commercial performance. Several songs from the project featuring different were subsequently leaked.

  • "Betcha Gon' Know" with R. Kelly. This version of the song was later included on the deluxe version of Me. I Am Mariah... The Elusive Chanteuse in 2014.
  • "H.A.T.E.U." with OJ Da Juiceman, Big Boi and Gucci Mane. This version of the song was played at Carey's meet & greet area at The Butterfly Returns.
  • "Candy Bling" with T-Pain.
  • "Ribbon" with Ludacris and The-Dream.
  • "Inseparable" with Trey Songz.
  • "It's a Wrap" with Mary J. Blige. This version of the song was later included on the deluxe version of Me. I Am Mariah... The Elusive Chanteuse in 2014.
  • "More Than Just Friends" with Fabolous.
  • "I Want to Know What Love Is" with The-Dream, reportedly remixed to be an uptempo track.
  • A press release also confirmed guest appearances by Snoop Dogg, Akon and K-Ci & JoJo, but no remixes featuring these artists have been leaked.
    • It can be assumed that K-Ci & JoJo were set to be featured on a remix of "The Impossible," as Carey mentions the R&B group Jodeci in the song, of which K-Ci & JoJo were part of.
  • "Call Me Now" featuring Westlife, which has not yet been leaked, was allegedly one of the few new tracks, set to appear exclusively on the UK version of the album.
  • Songs co-produced with Jermaine Dupri, Timbaland and Swizz Beatz were also supposed to appear on the album.

Me. I Am Mariah... The Elusive Chanteuse (2011-2014)[]

  • "America the Beautiful" was recorded in 2013 to be used as Carey's backing track for her performance at Macy's 4th of July Fireworks Spectacular. The following year, a version with background vocals was included on the Japanese and Target versions of the album.
  • "Thirsty" featuring Rich Homie Quan was only released as an airplay single. This version of the song is not officially available to the public.
  • "Save the Day" was originally written in February 2011 with Dupri for Carey's then-untitled 14th studio album, with its royalties planned on being donated to charities that bring awareness to human rights issues. It's been said that the idea for the song was to reunite a variety of musicians to conceive the song as a charity single. In 2012, Carey stated on Twitter that the song was still in demo form and "in a holding pattern for a very special reason." The song was eventually re-recorded and released as the lead single from The Rarities in 2020.
  • "Somewhat Loved (There You Go Breakin' My Heart)" was written with The-Dream in 2012 for the album but it wasn't recorded at the time. In 2021, Carey re-worked the song with Jam and Lewis for their debut album Jam & Lewis: Volume One.
  • "Panic the City" is a song written by Carey and Dupri around 2009. Carey teased it several times while promoting Me. I Am Mariah... The Elusive Chanteuse. Carey's nephew Shawn McDonald has revealed that this song is a dance track.
  • "Hope Street" was a song rumored to be featured on the album. A snippet of a song that is alleged to be "Hope Street" aired during Carey's segment on Nightline in January 2013.
  • "#Beautiful" was supposed to have a dance remix with re-recorded vocals, but it was never finished, possibly due to Carey's shoulder injury in July 2013.

#1 to Infinity (2015)[]

  • "Why You Mad? (Infinity Remix)" featuring Justin Bieber, French Montana & T.I. is a remixed version of "Infinity" which was never released. It was, however, leaked in August 2015 by TMZ.

Caution (2018)[]

  • "Angels Cry" was named by Carey in her Genius interview as one of the songs written with Prince Charlez for the album. The wording used by Carey suggests it was never recorded.
  • "Roc 'N Roe" is a song written by Carey during the Caution sessions and recorded by her kids, Moroccan and Monroe Cannon. It was first mentioned during her appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live! in June 2018, describing the whole situation around its recording. Carey also added that it doesn't have an official title yet, hence it being called "Roc 'N Roe" by Carey. In a different interview, Carey stated that she is reluctant to release it as the kids sound a lot younger, but she might release it eventually. The song has not yet been released as of September 2023.
  • "Runway" was originally exclusive to the Japanese version of the album, but it was released worldwide on June 24, 2022.
    • A duet version of the song featuring Japanese rapper KOHH was released exclusively on the digital version of the album available in Japan.
  • Jermaine Dupri was said to have produced remixes for the album, but none were released.

Miscellaneous Songs[]

  • "Where Are You Christmas?" was written by Carey, James Horner and Will Jennings in 2000 for the Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas soundtrack. The song was originally recorded by Carey, but due to a legal case with Mottola, it could not be released. Carey then gave the song to Faith Hill. In 2021, Carey stated that she planned on re-recording the song for Mariah's Christmas: The Magic Continues, but chose to write a new song for the special instead.
  • "Misty Moon" was a song recorded in 2004 specifically for Sokenbicha commercials in Japan. It is a cover of the traditional Japanese song "Oborozukiyo." The full song was never released officially.
  • "Friendz" is a song Carey worked on with N.O.R.E. in 2004, meant for his unreleased album 1 Fan a Day. The song was included on some promotional vinyls and mixtapes, but was never officially released to the public.
  • "I Pray" was written by Carey and Kenneth Crouch for Paul Robbins to perform on The Oprah Winfrey Show in 2005. Carey's demo version of the song was included on The Rarities in 2020.
  • "My Life" with Damizza was recorded in 2005 for his unreleased Guilty by Association mixtape. While the mixtape was shelved, the song was included on promotional vinyls and was played on minor radio stations.
  • "Mesmerized" was a track co-written with Loris Holland, recorded for Lee Daniels' The Paperboy in 2012, but was not included in the final cut of the film. The song was released as part of The Rarities in 2020.
  • "All I Want" (ASCAP work ID: 916528894) is registered under Carey's name on ASCAP. Carey and Hall credited as the writers of the song, while Carey is listed as the performer. It's unknown what album this song was written for.
  • "Be with You” (ASCAP work ID: 905493415) is registered under Carey's name on ASCAP. According to the database, it was written with Damizza, Howie B and rapper Knoc-turn'al and features the latter. Given that Damizza is credited, it can be assumed that the song was written and possibly recorded around 1998-2004.
  • "Black Box" (ASCAP work ID: 912216593) was registered on ASCAP in 2021, with Carey being the sole writer credited. Nothing else is known about the song.
  • "Ecstasy" is a song that Carey wrote with Jermaine Dupri. Carey has stated that she was unable to find this song when looking for material for The Rarities.
  • "Flow" (also known as "The Flow") (ASCAP work ID: 360517442), written by Jam and Lewis, is registered under Carey's name on ASCAP. It was possibly recorded for Glitter.
  • "Headlines" (ASCAP work ID: 380354894) is registered under Carey's name on ASCAP. Saxophonist Branford Marsalis is credited as the sole writer of the song, while Carey is listed as the only performer. Nothing else is known about the song.
  • "I Like It" is a song by Buccweet that Carey was featured on in the early 2000s. The song was leaked to the internet.
  • "In Motion" (ASCAP work ID: 908106851) is registered under Carey's name on ASCAP. It was written with C+C Music Factory and James William Reed Rockhill.
  • "Shawty Shawty" (ASCAP work ID: 884793027) is registered under Carey's name on ASCAP. Carey, alongside Dupri, Seal and Maejor are credited as songwriters.
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