What do you think of Mariah Carey’s Daydream?

[Style.]

Released October 3rd, 1995, Daydream is Carey's second-best selling album, with 25,000,000 units sold worldwide. Carey herself describes the album as the beginning of her a real transformation in her music, no longer incorporating quite as many gospel and soul influences as she had done on previous projects.

Six singles were released from the album. Its lead single "Fantasy" became the first single by a female artist to debut at number one on the US Billboard Hot 100 and went on to top the chart for eight weeks, and became the second best-selling single of 1995 in the country. The second single "One Sweet Day" topped the Billboard Hot 100 for sixteen weeks and became the longest-running number-one single in Billboard's history, holding the record for 23 years. The album's next single "Always Be My Baby" reached number one as well. Jointly, the singles from Daydream spent a combined six months at the top of the Hot 100. 

I’m a newbie Mariah listener and after some digging, I’ve found out ‘Daydream’ is Mariah Carey’s best album. I’m feeling like a better person after listening to ‘Daydream’. Oh my gosh, this album is so good! I would rate it 8 out of 10, my favorite songs being:

• Fantasy,
• Underneath The Stars,
• One Sweet Day,
• Open Arms,
• Always Be My Baby,
• Melt Away,
• Looking In it’s absolutely sublime, 
• El Amor Que Sone

What do you think of the album? What rating would you give it out of 10? 
 

[Style.]

The music videos of this era. 

 

[glorified.ho]

Daydream-Riah was truly taking over the world. 

You can clearly see that around this time she started to have more creative freedom over her music videos, because until then, most of them were very bland and sepia-like 

I wish Tommy Mottola had let her include 'Slipping Away' on the album, it's so mature and addictive!

It's criminal that she didn't get any Grammy awards during this era.

 

[Lane]

Not her best album, that title belongs to Butterfly for me. Fantasy and Always Be My Baby are on my playlists, but the rest I don't really go back to often. I'd rate the album 7/10. 

[Samer]

I love Daydream! Underneath The Stars is one of my all time favorite Mariah songs, and the live performance at the Tokyo Dome Concert is flawless!

 

 

[aleomg]

I’m a huge fan of Mariah, but I don’t consider Daydream her best album.

Butterfly and The Emancipation of Mimi are flawless. 

My top 5 from that era:

Slipping Away (this should’ve been a single) 

Fantasy

Underneath the Stars

Always Be My Baby

Daydream Interlude (ICONIC) 

 

[bbbsss]

I wouldn't say Daydream is her best, however it is an iconic and beautifully crafted album. I agree with posters above saying that “UTS” should have been a single, alongside “Slipping Away”. This album also includes one of her most personal songs she’s ever written, which is “Looking In”, where Mariah’s lyrical genius jumped out big time. 

“She smiles through a thousand tears
And harbors adolescent fears
She dreams of all
That she can never be
She wades in insecurity
And hides herself inside of me”

 

[Spicechinodiva]

Her last album for international fame, of you deep dive her going full hip hop and R&B with Butterfly would hurt her in Europe and Australia, where that sound wasn't popular at all.

 

The sales would make a US and Asian act only. 

 

And even in south Africa, She wasn't really as popular as Whitney Houston and Celine Dion, her going against the adult contemporary sound actually ended up hurting her in markets that just embraced her. 

[rik LVR]

 

[Freakshow__]

One of my all time fav albums. Masterpiece. 

[SBJ]

I absolutely love it! 

[glorified.ho]

1 hour ago, Spicechinodiva said:

Her last album for international fame, of you deep dive her going full hip hop and R&B with Butterfly would hurt her in Europe and Australia, where that sound wasn't popular at all.

 

The sales would make a US and Asian act only. 

 

And even in south Africa, She wasn't really as popular as Whitney Houston and Celine Dion, her going against the adult contemporary sound actually ended up hurting her in markets that just embraced her. 

In your opinion, would she have lasted as long as she's lasting, had her continued on the adult contemporary sound?

I have the impression that if she had continued to follow Mottola's and the label's guidelines, she would have eventually become an uninteresting artist. Even Whitney headed towards a more R&B sound afterwards, with My Love Is Your Love.

However, its undeniable that Mottolla was instrumental in the early years of her career;

[Jacolicious]

The Emancipation of Mimi is my favorite Mariah Carey album, but Daydream is a CLOSE second. Fantasy is one of my all-time favorite songs, and having lost one of my dear friends, One Sweet Day brings me to tears every time now. I get it now.

[everybodygoesdown]

Second best album of her after Butterfly 🦋 

[Style.]

On 6/29/2022 at 7:25 PM, bbbsss said:

I wouldn't say Daydream is her best, however it is an iconic and beautifully crafted album. I agree with posters above saying that “UTS” should have been a single, alongside “Slipping Away”. This album also includes one of her most personal songs she’s ever written, which is “Looking In”, where Mariah’s lyrical genius jumped out big time. 

“She smiles through a thousand tears
And harbors adolescent fears
She dreams of all
That she can never be
She wades in insecurity
And hides herself inside of me”

 

Looking In is stunning. I get teary whenever I listen to it. 

[Style.]

On 6/29/2022 at 7:16 PM, aleomg said:

I’m a huge fan of Mariah, but I don’t consider Daydream her best album.

Butterfly and The Emancipation of Mimi are flawless. 

My top 5 from that era:

Slipping Away (this should’ve been a single) 

Fantasy

Underneath the Stars

Always Be My Baby

Daydream Interlude (ICONIC) 

 

I only heard Caution and Daydream in full. I will check Butterfly next as many consider it her magnum opus (alongside Daydream). 
 

 

[princessmimi]

Omg I LOVE this album!
Its my fave from her entire discography.

Fantasy is also my fave Mariah song.

I also wish Open Arms was a single with a video cause her cover was beautiful.

 

Plus I have the album cover as a poster on my wall.

So yeah u can tell I love Daydream so much

[Spicechinodiva]

On 6/29/2022 at 1:18 PM, glorified.ho said:

In your opinion, would she have lasted as long as she's lasting, had her continued on the adult contemporary sound?

I have the impression that if she had continued to follow Mottola's and the label's guidelines, she would have eventually become an uninteresting artist. Even Whitney headed towards a more R&B sound afterwards, with My Love Is Your Love.

However, its undeniable that Mottolla was instrumental in the early years of her career;

Nobody knows, but looking at the Guinness book of workd records, outside all i want for Christmas is you, HER records are mainly us based only.

 

Whitney, Madonna, Britney, Celine Dion are all global records, so yeah and no..

 

It's very sad, when you think about it from 25 Million, 15 Million for Butterfly, then 7 million for rainbow.

 

Like one fan said post 21st century, Madonna and others have two or 3 albums that saw double digit sellers not like 20 million but in the teens, and Mariah Carey only had one, that one album can be described as her believe moment, cos each album sold less and eventually the last decade, proved that her success was mainly in the states..

 

When you hear that only LA Reid was willing to sign her to Epic records, and no other label wanted her. 

 

That's kinda bad, because that just proves Mariah wasn't as successful as Celine Dion or whitney globally..outside the 90s, considering she's not known for touring and has stage fright badly.  

[Живак]

an iconic era by an iconic artist, in 1995 the diva was born:

 

[bbbsss]

1 hour ago, Spicechinodiva said:

Nobody knows, but looking at the Guinness book of workd records, outside all i want for Christmas is you, HER records are mainly us based only.

 

Whitney, Madonna, Britney, Celine Dion are all global records, so yeah and no..

 

It's very sad, when you think about it from 25 Million, 15 Million for Butterfly, then 7 million for rainbow.

 

Like one fan said post 21st century, Madonna and others have two or 3 albums that saw double digit sellers not like 20 million but in the teens, and Mariah Carey only had one, that one album can be described as her believe moment, cos each album sold less and eventually the last decade, proved that her success was mainly in the states..

 

When you hear that only LA Reid was willing to sign her to Epic records, and no other label wanted her. 

 

That's kinda bad, because that just proves Mariah wasn't as successful as Celine Dion or whitney globally..outside the 90s, considering she's not known for touring and has stage fright badly.  

I was born and lived my whole life in Europe and Mariah is definitely considered to be an icon here and is certainly in the same lane as Celine and Whitney. Commercially I am not aware of her success here, but nor do I care to be honest. She is thirty something years into her career and is still adored by millions worldwide. That is all that matters.