Dreamlover

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"Dreamlover"

Single by Mariah Carey
from the album Music Box
B-side(s)	"Do You Think of Me"
Released	July 27, 1993 (U.S.)
Format	CD single, CD maxi single, cassette single, cassette maxi single, 7" single, 12" single
Genre	Pop/R&B
Length	3:53
Label	Sony
Writer(s)	Mariah Carey, Dave Hall, Walter Afanasieff
Producer(s)	Mariah Carey, Dave Hall, Walter Afanasieff
Certification	Platinum (RIAA)
Chart positions
#1 (U.S., Canada) #7 (Australia) #9 (UK)
Mariah Carey singles chronology
"If It's Over" (1992)	"Dreamlover" (1993)	"Hero" (1993)

"Dreamlover" is a song written and produced by American singer Mariah Carey, Dave Hall and Walter Afanasieff, and recorded for Carey's fourth album Music Box (1993). Sony/Columbia executives brought in Afanasieff to tone the song down, because they felt the original production was too rough and mellow.^{[citation needed]} It is built around a sample of The Emotions' "Blind Alley", written by David Porter, but uses a Hammond B-3 organ. Its protagonist pictures an ideal man, her "dream lover", as she exclaims: "dreamlover, come rescue me, take me up, take me down, take me anywhere you want to baby, now".

It was released as the first single from Music Box in the third quarter of 1993 (see 1993 in music), and marked the start of a trend of Carey's to use samples as backbones for the lead singles from her studio albums; later examples include "Fantasy" (1995) and "Honey" (1997). It was nominated for the 1994 Grammy Award for "Best Female Pop Vocal Performance", losing to "I Will Always Love You" by Whitney Houston. It won a BMI Pop Award, as had Carey's every U.S. single other than "I'll Be There".

"Dreamlover" has been one of Carey's most popular songs in concert, through 2006 holding a regular slot in all of her tours' setlists, often near the beginning of the show.

Rock singer Bruce Springsteen used "Dreamlover" for his song "Let's Be Friends", from the album The Rising (2002).

1 Chart performance
2 Music video and remixes
3 Track listings
4 Charts
5 See also
6 External links

[edit] Chart performance

"Dreamlover" became Carey's seventh number-one single on the Billboard Hot 100 and was easily her biggest hit in the U.S. at the time. It reached number one in its sixth week (her quickest climb) and spent eight weeks at the top (her longest stay at the time), from September 5 to October 30, 1993. It replaced "Can't Help Falling in Love" by UB40, and was replaced by Meat Loaf's "I'd Do Anything for Love (but I Won't Do That)". It spent twenty-six weeks in the top forty and was ranked number three on the Hot 100 1993 year-end charts, making it one of the biggest hits of the year. The song topped eight other Billboard charts, and was Carey's first single to be certified platinum by the RIAA.

The single was a success outside the U.S., becoming Carey's fourth consecutive number-one single in Canada and another top ten hit for her in the United Kingdom and Australia. It was moderately successful across Continental Europe, making the top twenty in most markets, but failed to reach the top forty in France or Germany.

[edit] Music video and remixes

The single's video, directed by Diane Martel, was one of the first over which Carey was given more creative control. It shows her frolicking around fields in upstate New York on a summer day with her dog Jack (who would appear in some of her later videos), before boarding a hot air balloon as a legion of half-naked male hip hop dancers dance on.

"Dreamlover" marked the first time Carey was given control over remixes of her songs. She enlisted David Morales to create the "Dreamlover (Def Club mix)", and was the first of Carey's remixes to use re-recorded vocals. The success of the remix contributed to Morales' career as a remixer, aided in bridging the gap between pop and house music, and also started a trend of having renowned remixers create new versions of pop singles. The "Def Club" mix of "Dreamlover" is considered a breakthrough record in the house music industry.

Besides the dubs, edits, and other variations of the "Def Club" mix, other remixes using the original vocals from the song's original album version also exist, as created by Brian Morgan of Bam Jam Productions: "Dreamlover (Theo's Club Joint mix)" and "Dreamlover (Bam Jam Soul)". An officially-released live version of "Dreamlover", derived from the television special Here Is Mariah Carey (1994), is also available.

[edit] Track listings

U.S. CD single (cassette single/7" single)

"Dreamlover" (album version)
"Do You Think of Me" (album version)

U.S. CD maxi single (cassette maxi single)

"Dreamlover" (album version)
"Dreamlover" (Def club mix)
"Dreamlover" (Def instrumental)
"Dreamlover" (USA Love dub)
"Dreamlover" (Eclipse dub)
"Dreamlover" (Def tribal mix)

UK cassette single

"Dreamlover" (album version)
"Do You Think of Me" (album version)

UK CD maxi single (12" vinyl single)

"Dreamlover" (Def club mix)
"Dreamlover" (Def instrumental)
"Dreamlover" (USA Love dub)
"Dreamlover" (Eclipse dub)
"Dreamlover" (Def tribal mix)

[edit] Charts

Chart (1993)	Peak position
U.S. Billboard Hot 100	1 (8 weeks)
U.S. Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks	2
U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Music/Club Play	1 (1 week)
U.S. Billboard Mainstream Top 40	1 (8 weeks)
U.S. Billboard Rhythmic Top 40	1 (6 weeks)
U.S. Billboard Adult Contemporary	2
U.S. ARC Weekly Top 40	1 (8 weeks)
Canadian Singles Chart	1 (3 weeks)
Australian ARIA Singles Chart	7
UK Singles Chart	9
Switzerland Top 100 Singles	13
Germany Singles Chart	42
France Top 100 Singles	49

Preceded by: "Can't Help Falling in Love" by UB40	Billboard Hot 100 number-one single September 11, 1993	Succeeded by: "I'd Do Anything for Love (but I Won't Do That)" by Meat Loaf