Vision of Love

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"Vision of Love"

Single by Mariah Carey
from the album Mariah Carey
B-side(s)	"Sent From Up Above"
Released	May 15, 1990 (North America) August 1990 (UK)
Format	CD single, cassette single, 7" single
Genre	Pop/R&B
Length	3:31
Label	Columbia
Writer(s)	Mariah Carey Ben Margulies
Producer(s)	Rhett Lawrence
Chart positions
#1 (Canada, U.S.) #9 (Australia, UK)
Mariah Carey singles chronology
–	"Vision of Love" (1990)	"Love Takes Time" (1990)

"Vision of Love" is a pop/R&B song written by Mariah Carey and Ben Margulies, and produced by Rhett Lawrence for Carey's debut album Mariah Carey (1990). It was released as the album's first single in the second quarter of 1990 in the United States and the third quarter of 1990 elsewhere (see 1990 in music). The song's impact on worldwide charts was very large for a debut single: it topped the U.S. charts and became very successful in several other markets. "Vision of Love" was Carey's first number one single on the Billboard Hot 100.

1 Composition and theme
2 Reception
3 Music videos and other versions
4 Track listings
5 Charts
6 See also
7 Notes
8 External links

[edit] Composition and theme

"Vision of Love" was the first song Carey and Margulies co-wrote after Columbia Records executive Tommy Mottola signed Carey to a recording contract. The final album version of the song was altered from Carey and Margulies' original demo recording, which had a 1950s-style shuffle.^[1] Mottola and other executives at Columbia/Sony Music thought Carey's debut needed a more contemporary sound to ensure commercial success, and they would not give Carey creative leeway at this early stage in her career, particularly in the field of production.^{[citation needed]} Carey and Lawrence began to rework the song in the studio. The tempo of the song was changed, an intro added and new vocals recorded, although some from the original recording were used in the final track on the second verse. Session musicians were brought in to add guitars and bass.

The song's protagonist describes having a "vision of love" and of being eternally grateful not to a lover, but to God; the lyrics are also related to the realisation of Carey's dreams as a singer. Carey told Ebony magazine that the song "represents everything in my life. It is a song from the heart". According to her, its lyrics are based on personal struggles she experienced when was younger, including her parents' divorce, moving frequently and the attitudes of the people in her neighborhoods to her ethnicity. "[J]ust because you are young doesn't mean that you haven't had a hard life", she said. "It's been difficult for me".^[2] "Vision of Love" contains an almost science fiction-like introduction that leads into Carey's vocal performance, finally climaxing with a section at the bridge of the song (which is even more exaggerated to the point of absolute silence in live performances).

Many consider "Vision of Love" Carey's signature song, with critics and reviewers often praising it as one of her better efforts.^[3] Entertainment Weekly wrote, "from those opening sci-fi-esque synths to that signature dog-whistle high note, Mariah's very first single is inspired".^[4] The New Yorker named the song "the Magna Carta of melisma", and R&B singer Beyoncé Knowles said she began doing vocal "runs" after listening to it for the first time. ^[5]

[edit] Reception

"Vision of Love" was a successful start to Carey's career as it topped the U.S. Billboard Hot 100, becoming the first of Carey's numerous U.S. number one singles. It was mildly popular in other countries, but did not gain her a large worldwide fanbase. By far the most successful single from Mariah Carey, it was responsible for making her a huge star in the U.S.

The song first became popular on U.S. radio, with its airplay slowly climbing from its release in late May onwards. Its commercial release was on June 2; nine weeks later, it had climbed to number one on the Hot 100, where it remained for four weeks from July 29 to August 25, 1990. It replaced "She Ain't Worth It" by Glenn Medeiros and Bobby Brown, and was replaced by Sweet Sensation's "If Wishes Came True". It spent a total of sixteen weeks in the top forty and was ranked sixth on the Hot 100 year-end charts, and it made Carey one of the biggest music stars of the year. It was one of the most popular songs of 1990 on radio stations across the U.S., and strong sales led the RIAA to certify it gold. The single became a crossover success on other Billboard charts: it reached number one on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks chart and was popular with an older audience, topping the Adult Contemporary chart. Carey expressed surprise at the song's success: "it isn't hip-hop music, it isn't house music, and it isn't rap. But I am so glad and thankful".^[2]

"Vision of Love" was successful in other major markets and topped the charts in Canada, helping to establish a strong Carey fanbase there. It peaked within the top ten in both Australia and the United Kingdom, and it went to number-one in New Zealand, where it was the sixth biggest-selling single of 1990, and Brazil, where it was popular on radio. It was ranked first on the year-end charts, making it the biggest single of the year there. Its success across continental Europe, however, was limited. Mariah Carey achieved considerable success on the charts in Japan and went platinum, but "Vision of Love" was not a huge hit there.

The song was nominated for three 1991 Grammy Awards, winning only for "Best Female Pop Vocal Performance". Its other nominations were "Song of the Year", which Carey lost to "From a Distance" written by Julie Gold, and "Record of the Year", which went to "Another Day in Paradise" by Phil Collins. Carey accepted an invitation to perform at the awards ceremony, where she sang "Vision of Love" accompanied by Rhett Lawrence. The song received many other awards, including the Soul Train Music Award for Best R&B/Soul Single, Female (her only single to do so until "We Belong Together", 2005), as well as a BMI Pop Award, which many of her singles have received.

[edit] Music videos and other versions

Carey in a scene from the single's music video.

The making of the single's video was accompanied by several minor disputes. Carey had wanted to wear a bikini for it, but producers and executives vetoed her idea.^{[citation needed]} Once the video was complete, producers requested that a new video be filmed, as they felt the original was not satisfactory and knew that a single's music video can be crucial to record sales. The resulting video, directed by Bojan Bazelli, features Carey on a darkly-lit stage against a background of moving clouds and a staircase. Carey has declared her hatred for the video, as she did not like its tone or her hairstyle.^{[citation needed]} In one shot, she can even be seen snapping off her own hair accidentally. Sources indicate that the total cost of both the videos came to around US$450,000 (very large for a debut single), but label executive Don Ienner stated: "If we're gonna take the time and effort that we did with Mariah, on every level, then we're going to image her the right way. If it costs a few extra dollars to make a splash in terms of the right imaging, you go ahead and do it".^[6]

Because "Vision of Love" was Carey's debut single and she had not quite solidified her position as a music star, no remixes of the single were commissioned. However, two live versions of the track have been released as exclusive live performance bonus tracks on non-U.S. releases of the single. The first live version was culled from the EP MTV Unplugged (1992). The live version released on the single is not the same as the version found on the MTV Unplugged album; it has been edited and the intro and outro were faded to reflect this. This version of the song is most often found on the UK single of "I'll Be There" (1992). The other live performance is taken from Carey's DVD Fantasy: Mariah Carey at Madison Square Garden (1996), and can be found on most European singles of "Open Arms" (1996).

[edit] Track listings

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

"Vision of Love"
Medley featuring excerpts from Mariah Carey: "Prisoner"/"All in Your Mind"/"Someday"

UK CD 5" single

"Vision of Love"
"Sent up from Above"
Medley featuring excerpts from Mariah Carey: "Prisoner"/"All in Your Mind"/"Someday"

[edit] Charts

Chart (1990)	Peak position
U.S. Billboard Hot 100	1 (4 weeks)
U.S. Billboard Adult Contemporary	1 (3 weeks)
U.S. Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks	1 (2 weeks)
U.S. ARC Weekly Top 40	1 (3 weeks)
Brazilian Singles Chart	1 (2 weeks)
Canadian Singles Chart	1 (2 weeks)
New Zealand RIANZ Singles Chart	1 (2 weeks)
Australian ARIA Singles Chart	9
UK Singles Chart	9
German Singles Chart	17
Swiss Singles Chart	24
Israel Singles Chart	1 (4 weeks)
French Singles Chart	25

[edit] See also

Hot 100 number-one hits of 1990 (USA)

Preceded by "She Ain't Worth It" by Glenn Medeiros and Bobby Brown	Billboard Hot 100 number-one single August 4, 1990	Succeeded by "If Wishes Came True" by Sweet Sensation
Preceded by "Can't Stop" by After 7	Billboard's Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs number one single August 11, 1990	Succeeded by "Jerk Out" by The Time