Butterfly (Mariah Carey album)

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Butterfly
Butterfly cover
Studio album by Mariah Carey
Released September 11, 1997 (U.K.)
September 16, 1997 (U.S.)
Recorded 1996-1997
Genre R&B, Pop
Length 57:10
Label Columbia
Producer Mariah Carey, Walter Afanasieff, Puff Daddy, Q-Tip, Stevie J, The Trackmasters, Cory Rooney, David Morales
Professional reviews
Mariah Carey chronology
Daydream
(1995)		 Butterfly
(1997)		 #1's
(1998)
Singles from Butterfly
  1. "Honey"
    Released: August 26, 1997
  2. "Butterfly"
  3. "Breakdown"
  4. "The Roof (Back in Time)"
  5. "My All"
    Released: April 21, 1998
  6. "Whenever You Call"

Butterfly is the seventh album and fifth studio album by United States R&B/pop singer Mariah Carey, released on September 16, 1997 (see 1997 in music) in the US on Columbia Records.

Contents

[edit] Description

The album was Carey's first to be released following the ending of her marriage to Sony Music executive Tommy Mottola, and it includes contributions from producers such as The Trackmasters, Puff Daddy, Stevie J and Walter Afanasieff.

The title track, "Butterfly", was written by Walter Afanasieff and Carey herself. She referred to Butterfly in a 1997 MTV televised interview as one of her closest albums, because it was the first to really begin to express her personality. When asked which among her albums is her favorite, Carey insists that Butterfly would be at the top of the list.[1]

[edit] Reception

Rolling Stone described Butterfly as "a transitional album" for Carey, who placed herself firmly in the "milieu of hip-hop-inflected R&B" and give it three stars, while the All Music Guide gave it four stars, stating that "it is one of her best albums, illustrating that Carey continues to improve and refine her music which makes her a rarity among her '90s peers".[2]

Butterfly debuted at number one on the U.S. Billboard 200 chart with 236,000 copies sold in its first week; it remained there for one week, in the top twenty for twenty-one weeks and on the chart for fifty-five weeks (making one re-entry). The album sold more in both its fourteenth week and fifteenth week of release than in its opening week, peaking at 283,000 copies in its fifteenth (when it was at number eight). It has been certified five times platinum by the RIAA and produced two number-one singles on the Billboard Hot 100: "Honey" and "My All". "Honey" became the sixth single (and the third by Carey) to debut at number one on the Hot 100. The album also yielded the airplay-only singles "Butterfly" and "Breakdown". "The Roof" and "Whenever You Call" received limited release in some countries.

"Honey" was nominated for the 1998 Grammy Awards for "Best Female R&B Vocal Performance" and "Best R&B Song", while "Butterfly" was nominated for "Best Female Pop Vocal Performance". The album won International Pop Album of the Year at the Gold Disc Awards in Japan, and also won at the IFPI Platinum Europe Awards. For Butterfly, Carey won the "Favorite Female Artist, Soul/R&B" award at the American Music Awards of 1998. The album also helped Carey win the BMI Pop Awards for "Songwriter of the Year" and the "Songwriter" awards for "Honey", "Butterfly" and "My All". Additionally, Carey won the Top Female Artist Blockbuster Entertainment Award.

In Asia, it is the only album of Carey to have released six singles, four of which went to number one, with the two other singles reaching the Top 20. This is the most successful album in terms of single release, as the songs went to maintain in the charts for a long period, from late 1997 until mid-1998.

[edit] Track listing

 Audio samples:
U.S. editions
  1. "Honey" 1 (Mariah Carey, Sean Combs, Kamaal Fareed, Steven Jordan, Stephen Hague, Bobby Robinson, Ronald Larkins, Larry Price, Malcolm McLaren) – 5:00
  2. "Butterfly" (Carey, Walter Afanasieff) – 4:35
  3. "My All" (Carey, Afanasieff) – 3:52
  4. "The Roof" (Carey, Jean Claude Oliver, Samuel Barnes, Cory Rooney, Albert Johnson, Kejuan Waliek Muchita) – 5:14
  5. "Fourth of July" (Carey, Afanasieff) – 4:22
  6. "Breakdown" (Carey, Anthony Henderson, Charles Scruggs, Stevie J.) – 4:44
  7. "Babydoll" (Carey, Missy Elliott, Rooney, Stevie J.) – 5:07
  8. "Close My Eyes" (Carey, Afanasieff) – 4:21
  9. "Whenever You Call" (Carey, Afanasieff) – 4:21
  10. "Fly Away (Butterfly Reprise)" (Carey,David Morales) – 3:49
  11. "The Beautiful Ones" featuring Dru Hill (Prince) – 6:59
  12. "Outside" (Carey, Afanasieff) – 4:46
Non-U.S. editions
13. "Honey" (So So Def radio remix) (Carey, Robinson, Hague, Larkins, Price, McLaren, Freddie Perren, Alphonzo Mizell, Berry Gordy, Dennis Lussier) featuring Da Brat & JD - 3:59
14. "Honey" (Def Club mix) (Carey, Robinson) - 6:17
15. "Mi Todo" ("My All" in Spanish) - 3:52


[edit] Charts, sales and certification

Country Chart[3] Peak
position[3]		 Certification[3] Sales[3]
Worldwide 15,000,000
U.S. Billboard 200 1 (1 week) 5x Platinum 5,500,0001[4]
Japan RIAJ 1 (1 week) 8x Platinum 1,600,000
Europe IFPI Platinum 5,000,000
Brazil Platinum 105,000
South Korea RIAK 3x Platinum 300,000
France IFOP 6 2x Gold 225,000
Canada CRIA 1 (1 week) 2x Platinum 200,000
Australia ARIA 1 2x Platinum 140,000
Italy FIMI 2 Platinum 100,000
Spain EIM 5 Platinum 80,000
UK BPI 2 Gold 250,000[5]
Hong Kong IFPI Hong Kong 4x Platinum 80,000
Mexico AMPROFON Gold 100,000
Singapore RIAS 4x Platinum 60,000
Netherlands NVPI 1 (2 week) Gold 40,000
Belgium IFPI Belgium Gold 25,000
Switzerland Hit Parade 3 Gold 25,000
New Zealand RIANZ 4 Platinum 15,000
Country Peak[3]
Sweden 4
Austria 5
Norway 5
Germany 7
Hungary[6] 25
Finland 12

1 This figure only includes Soundscan sales.

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ http://www.mariahcarey.com Mariahcarey.com
  2. ^ http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:8c881va1zzpa~T1 Allmusic.com
  3. ^ a b c d e MariahJournal
  4. ^ http://www.mariahjournal.com/infozone/charts/archives/mariahsoundscan123106.html Mariahjournal.com
  5. ^ MariahJournal.com | Infozone
  6. ^ mahasz.hu Top 40 Albums; archive
Preceded by
You Light Up My Life — Inspirational Songs
by LeAnn Rimes		 Billboard 200 number-one album
October 4 - October 10, 1997		 Succeeded by
Evolution by Boyz II Men
Preceded by
Be Here Now by Oasis		 Australian ARIA Albums Chart number-one album
September 28 - October 4, 1997		 Succeeded by
Anthology 1: Greatest Hits 1987-1997 by John Farnham
v • d • e
Mariah Carey
Studio albums
Compilations
Live
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