Don't Forget About Us

“Don't Forget About Us”
Single by Mariah Carey from the album The Emancipation of Mimi (Ultra Platinum Edition)
Released	December 12, 2005 (2005-12-12) (see Release history)
Format	Digital download
Recorded	Japan and New York City; 2005
Genre	Pop, R&B
Length	3:53 (Album/Single Version)
Label	Island
Writer(s)	Mariah Carey, Jermaine Dupri, Johnta Austin, Bryan-Michael Cox
Producer	Mariah Carey, Jermaine Dupri, Johnta Austin, G Daoud
Certification	Gold (RIAA)
Mariah Carey singles chronology
"Get Your Number" (2005) "Don't Forget About Us" (2005) "So Lonely" (2006)
The Emancipation of Mimi (Ultra Platinum Edition) track listing
"Fly like a Bird" (14) "Don't Forget About Us" (15) "Makin' It Last All Night (What It Do)" (16)

"Don't Forget About Us" is a song co-written by Mariah Carey, Jermaine Dupri, Johnta Austin and Bryan-Michael Cox, and recorded by Carey for the re-release of her tenth studio album The Emancipation of Mimi (2005). It was co-produced by Carey, Dupri and Austin and released as the album's fifth single (fourth in North America) in late 2005 (see 2005 in music). The song reached number one in Finland and the U.S., and the top forty elsewhere. It was nominated for two awards at the 49th Annual Grammy Awards.

About the record

The song is a midtempo jam that harkens back to 1990s-styled R&B, and its protagonist regrets a failed relationship that never had a proper conclusion. Unlike "We Belong Together", another song from The Emancipation of Mimi, she is not very despondent, and has accepted that her ex-lover is now seeing someone else. However, she does not want him to forget what they had when they were together: "Nothing can compare to your first true love, so I hope this will remind you, when it's for real it's forever, so don't forget about us". She also reminds her ex-lover that no matter who his new girl is, "I bet she can't do like me, she'll never be MC".

Carey has been accused of repeating formulas for her singles if they are successful. For instance, in the past, she was called out for making songs such as "Heartbreaker" (1999) and "Loverboy" (2001) too similar to other up-tempos like "Dreamlover" (1993) and "Fantasy" (1995). Several music critics have drawn parallels between "Don't Forget About Us" and "We Belong Together", the second and most successful single from The Emancipation of Mimi. Chuck Taylor of Billboard magazine called the song "little more than a continuation of the previous hit ... On its own, "Forget" is a soulful, satisfying track, but it suggests that Carey has hit a creative wall".^[1] Bill Lamb of About.com, in a more positive summary of the song, wrote "It doesn't mess with the brilliant formula of "We Belong Together" ... [but] those wanting variety from Mariah Carey need to look elsewhere".^[2]

"Don't Forget About Us" was nominated at the 2006 BET Awards in the BET.com "Viewers' Choice" category. It was nominated for the 2007 Grammy Awards for "Best Female R&B Vocal Performance" and "Best R&B Song".

Chart performance

"Don't Forget About Us" officially impacted U.S. radio on October 11, 2005, but had already been added to many radio station playlists before that. It premiered on the radio and the internet in late September. It reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 in its eleventh week and spent two weeks at the top, from December 25 to January 8. It replaced "Run It!" by Chris Brown, and was replaced by D4L's "Laffy Taffy". "Don't Forget About Us" stayed in the top forty for eighteen weeks and it also reached number one on several other Billboard charts, including the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles and Tracks. It then tied Carey with Elvis Presley for the most number-one singles in the U.S. by a solo artist with seventeen, she has since surpassed this record and is now behind only The Beatles, who hold the record with twenty.

The song's successful start to its U.S. chart performance was because of its strong radio airplay, but it advanced more slowly on the Hot 100 than Carey's previous two singles because of the lack of digital downloads. The album cut and several remixes were released to digital retailers on December 13, 2005 when the song was already number two on the Hot 100, and it replaced Carey's perennially popular holiday single "All I Want for Christmas Is You" (1994) at number one on the iTunes Music Store, giving Carey the distinction of being the first recording artist to replace herself at number one. The RIAA later certified "Don't Forget About Us" gold. In Billboard's 2006 recap the single ended at number fifty on the top 100 singles list.

"Don't Forget About Us" was successful outside the U.S.: it topped the charts in Finland and reached the top twenty in the United Kingdom, Canada and Australia. However, it performed moderately in continental Europe.

Music video

Carey alludes to Monroe's Something's Got to Give (1962) in "Don't Forget About Us".

The single's video reunited Carey with Paul Hunter, director of the video for "Honey" (1997), and it jumps between two different time frames. The first of these involves a tearful Carey in the present, while the second invokes memories of a relationship with a former lover (played by Dolce & Gabbana model Christian Monzon). The video pays homage to actress Marilyn Monroe, whom Carey dressed up as in the music video for "I Still Believe" (1998): the shot in which Carey is in the pool with her leg protruding out of the water emulates an identical shot from Monroe's unfinished film Something's Got to Give (1962) in which she struck a similar pose.

The video was officially released promotionally on November 1 2005, but was premiered by surprise on October 29 on MTV's Spanking New series. It reached number one on Total Request Live, where it eventually retired, on BET's 106 & Park countdown (for twenty-one non-consecutive countdowns), and on VH1's Top 20 Video Countdown. The video's cosy, warm feeling, as well as the song's satisfying theme, likely contributed to the single's success in the holiday season, as the song peaked at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 on the issue dated on Christmas Day.

Remixes

The main remix of "Don't Forget About Us" was produced by Jermaine Dupri and is known as the "Mr. Dupri mix". It features guest appearances from rappers Juelz Santana, Krayzie Bone & Layzie Bone, and Carey's parts are greatly reduced. It premiered on Chicago's B-96 FM on November 29, 2005. The "Mr. Dupri mix" later was added to iTunes Music Store for download, while several dance remixes (by Ralphi Rosario & Craig J., Quentin Harris and Tony Moran & Warren Rigg) were produced and made available for sale at other download retailers. The Mr. Dupri mix sold well enough to help "Don't Forget About Us" top Billboard's Hot Digital Songs chart, whereas the album cut reached only number two on the Hot Digital Tracks chart.

In January 2007 a new remix titled the "Desert Storm" remix, produced by DJ Clue (who also remixed "We Belong Together" and "Shake It Off") and featuring Fabolous and Styles P., was released to radio. It was originally supposed to be recorded with Cam'ron and Da Brat, but their recording session was cancelled after Cam'ron was injured during a shooting. On this version of the song, Carey's verses remain the same but although the chorus is altered, it keeps its original message and can be heard in its original lyrics once near the end of the song. The "Desert Storm" remix appeared on DJ Clue's album The Professional, Pt. 3. A video was also helmed for the "Desert Storm" mix. It can be found on Clue's official MySpace page and has shots of Carey, DJ Clue and Fabulous in the studio and out having fun.

Official Remixes and Versions^[3]

• Album Version 3:53
• Desert Storm Remix Ft. Fabolous & Styles P 4:51
• Instrumental 3:38
• Quentin Harris - Radio Mix 4:40
• Quentin Harris Re-Production Shelter Anthem 12:24
• Ralphi Rosario & Craig J. Anthemic Radio Mix 3:45
• Ralphi Rosario & Craig J. Anthomic Vocal 9:56
• Ralphi Rosario & Craig J. Martini At Xo Vocal Edit 3:41
• Ralphi Rosario & Craig J. Martini At Xo Vocal Mix 7:42
• Ralphi Rosario 'N' Jody DB Anthomic Dub 11:44
• So So Def Remix Ft. Juelz Santana & Bone Thugs-N-Harmony 3:32
• Tony & Warren's Percussion Dub 9:44
• Tony Moran & Warren Rigg Dancefloor Anthem 9:34
• Tony Moran Radio Edit 4:17

Release history

Charts

¹ Remix.

See also

• Hot 100 number-one hits of 2005 (USA)
• Hot 100 number-one hits of 2006 (USA)
• R&B number-one hits of 2005 (USA)

Notes

1. ↑ Taylor, Chuck. "Billboard Single Reviews". Billboard. Retrieved October 30, 2005.
2. ↑ Lamb, Bill. "Don't Forget About Us — Mariah Carey". About.com. Retrieved October 30, 2005.
3. ↑ The Mariah Carey Archives
4. ↑ http://acharts.us/song/945
5. ↑ http://top40-charts.com/songs/full.php?sid=15408&sort=chartid
6. ↑ Finnishcharts.com
7. ↑ italiancharts.com