We Belong Together

“We Belong Together”
Single by Mariah Carey
from the album The Emancipation of Mimi
Released May 17, 2005
(see release history)
Genre Pop, R&B
Length 3:23 (Album/Single Version)
Label Island
Writer(s) Mariah Carey, Jermaine Dupri, Manuel Seal, Johnta Austin, Kenneth Edmonds, Darnell Bristol, Sid Johnson, Bobby Womack, Patrick Moten, Sandra Sully
Producer Mariah Carey, Jermaine Dupri, Manuel Seal
Certification Platinum (RIAA, ARIA)
Gold (RIANZ)
Mariah Carey singles chronology
"It's like That"
(2005)
"We Belong Together"
(2005)
"Shake It Off"
(2005)
Audio sample
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"We Belong Together" is a song recorded by Mariah Carey for her tenth studio album The Emancipation of Mimi (2005) and released as the album's second single in 2005. Written and produced by Carey, Jermaine Dupri, Manuel Seal, and Johnta Austin, the song was inspired by 1980s R&B and soul. Its arrangement is built on simple piano chords and an understated back beat, and its lyrics chronicle a woman's desperation for her former lover to return after their separation.

Following a career-decline between 2001 and 2003, Carey achieved major worldwide success with "We Belong Together" as the song topped the charts in many countries, including Australia, Brazil, Croatia, Israel, Philippines, South Africa, and the United States Billboard Hot 100 for fourteen non-consecutive weeks.

In the U.S., the song also repeatedly broke many BDS Airplay records and was warmly received by critics. It won Carey a number of industry awards, including two Grammy Awards in 2006.[1] Billboard listed "We Belong Together" ninth on The Billboard Hot 100 All-Time Top Songs.[2]

Contents

Background and writing

Further information: The Emancipation of Mimi

"We Belong Together" was not composed until late into the production of The Emancipation of Mimi.[3] Following an unsuccessful career period between 2001 and 2003, Carey began production on the album in 2004. By November of that year she had considered the album complete, but some of what became its more popular tracks had yet to be written.[3] Antonio "L.A." Reid, the chairman of Island Def Jam Records, encouraged Carey to attempt additional studio sessions with producer Jermaine Dupri. "L.A. was like, 'You and Jermaine Dupri make magic together, why aren't you in the studio with him?'" she recalled. "'I said, 'I love Jermaine, is he free? I know he's doing a million things.' [...] But Jermaine said, 'Come on down.'"[3]

Carey flew to Dupri's Atlanta studio and after two days, they composed two tracks for The Emancipation of Mimi ("Shake It Off" and "Get Your Number") and she returned to New York City; however, at this point "We Belong Together" was still not written. Reid was impressed with the album's new material and decided that Carey should return to Atlanta to compose more tracks.[3]

In another two-day studio stint Carey, Dupri, Seal and Austin produced the album's first single "It's like That" as well as "We Belong Together". The composers discussed the song's melody at length, and subsequently simplified the arrangement in order to accentuate Carey's vocals.

Music and structure

"We Belong Together" is a pop ballad that exhibits strong influences from hip hop and R&B. The song is propelled by a programmed Roland TR-808-styled kick and hi-hat, which is prominently utilized in hip hop music.[4]

Carey adopts a reserved, rap-flavored singing style, which garnered approval from the critics who admonish her ornate, melismatic singing style.[5] Reviewer Jennifer Vineyard comments that Carey's spare and understated singing approach gives the song more power, which would not have been achieved if Carey had belted.[3] Besides hip hop, the song incorporates 1980s retro-soul music by "cleverly" referencing Bobby Womack's "If You Think You're Lonely Now" (1981) and The Deele's "Two Occasions" (1987, with Babyface).[6] In the second verse of "We Belong Together," Carey sings: "Bobby Womack's on the radio/ Singing to me, 'If you think you're lonely now'." She then flips across a radio dial: "So I turn the dial, tryin’ to catch a break/ And then I hear Babyface/ 'I only think of you...'."[7] Due to the inclusion of the lyrics from both songs, the songwriters were given co-writing credits on "We Belong Together".

"We Belong Together" comprises a very simple and understated musical arrangement: it is set in C major and is composed in 4/4 time.[8] It follows the common verse-chorus form and is structured into three sections that portray the protagonist in a range of emotions; from doleful and resigned in the first section, to desperate and agitated in the second. In the last section the song climaxes with an octave raise, which not only emphasizes the protagonist's heightened desperation, but her determination to be with her lover.[9]

Remixes and other versions

Carey has often recorded remixes for some of her more popular songs, some of which have become more successful than their original counterparts. For "We Belong Together," she recorded the DJ Clue remix, which was produced by DJ Clue and features rappers Jadakiss and Styles P, and the Peter Rauhofer Reconstruction Mix/Atlantic Soul Vocal Mix. The remixes are fundamentally different from the album version and contain more distinct elements of hip hop music. The Atlantic Soul Vocal Mix, for example, features a synthetic bass line, a piano and guitar line, and distinctive hi-hats that produce a more up-tempo, hard-hitting beat.[10]

Both remixes were offered as downloads in May 2005, and achieved success: the Atlantic Soul Mix reached number one on the U.S. Hot Dance Music and Club Play chart, while the DJ Clue version peaked at number five on the Hot Digital Songs chart.

"We Belong Together" is included in The Best of Now That's What I Call Music! 10th Anniversary.[11]

Music video

The song's music video was directed by Brett Ratner and filmed in Los Angeles, California.[12] It serves as the sequel to the video for "It's like That", the first single released from The Emancipation of Mimi.[13] Beginning with the "It's like That" video, the protagonist is at her bachelorette party, where one of the guests reveals himself as a former lover (played by Wentworth Miller). The video for "We Belong Together" begins the following morning, when the protagonist remembers her former boyfriend, as she is preparing for her wedding. As she marches down the aisle, the protagonist debates whether she belongs with her former boyfriend or her fiance (played by Eric Roberts). Once she reaches the altar, she catches sight of her former lover who is watching the wedding from a distance. She runs from the ceremony and into his arms, shocking everyone at the wedding.[14] The video is noted for the fact that Carey wore the same Vera Wang wedding dress that she wore at her wedding to Tommy Mottola in 1993.[15] She said it's nothing deep but there was no way she was finding a Vera Wang wedding dress that fit her in two days.[16]

The video reached number-one on several video-chart countdowns, including BET's 106 & Park, MTV's TRL (where it retired after it remained on the countdown for fifty days)[17], MuchMusic's Countdown, and VH1's Top 20 Video Countdown. VH1 named the song #1 on its "Top 40 Videos Of 2005" in December of that year.[18] By July 25, 2005 it was LAUNCHcast's most-watched video of the year, with 7.5 million streamed performances.[19] The video was nominated for "Best R&B Video" and "Best Female Video" at the 2005 MTV Video Music Awards.[20]

Reception

"We Belong Together" became a "career re-defining"[21] song for Mariah Carey at a point when many fans and critics had considered her career over. Not only did it become one of the most successful pop singles of all time,[22] it also became one of her most critically acclaimed singles.

Critical response

Unlike most of Carey's more recent singles, "We Belong Together" received generally positive reviews from critics, most of whom hail the song as a "return to form," following reviews of Charmbracelet (2002) that suggested Carey had lost her signature vocal range and power.[23][24] A review for Slant magazine writes, "the...diva [keeps] cool with breathy, rapid-fire verses until the final full strong-voiced climax that... proves that 'The Voice' has indeed returned."[25] Other critics commended Carey on her novel singing style which, according to Kelefa Sanneh of New York Times, gives the song its propulsion.[6] Similarly, Billboard magazine and Johnny Loftus of Metrotimes characterized the song as "perfect," "classy," and "sublime,"[9][26] while Pitchfork Media gave it four stars and a half.[27] Billboard listed "We Belong Together" ninth on The Billboard Hot 100 All-Time Top Songs[2] and second on Top Billboard Hot 100 R&B/Hip-Hop Songs.[28] Blender magazine ranked it fifteenth on its 100 Greatest Songs of 2005 list.[29]

While proving to be popular with fans and critics alike, "We Belong Together" also received less enthusiastic reviews from Helen Duong of UKMusic, who dismissed the song as "bearable,"[30] and a critic from Virgin.net found the song boring, cliched and uninspired.[31]

Commercial reception

Between 2001 and 2003, Carey's popularity had substantially declined and many had considered her career over.[32] However, after being released to North American radio on March 26, 2005, "We Belong Together" became the biggest success of Carey's career and for her label.[33] The song spent fourteen non-consecutive weeks at number one on both the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 — after making its debut at number eighty-one — and on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks chart. It had major cross-over success, becoming the first song to simultaneously occupy the number-one position on nine Billboard charts on the week ending August 6, 2005: the Hot 100, Hot 100 Airplay, Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks, Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay, Pop 100 Airplay, the Mainstream Top 40, Rhythmic Top 40, Hot Dance Music/Club Play, and the Hot Ringtones charts. One week earlier, it had become the first song to top eight charts concurrently.[34][35] According to Mediabase and Nielsen BDS, "We Belong Together" broke several airplay records in the United States: it gathered both the largest one-day and one-week audience total in BDS history, reaching 32.8 million and 223 million impressions respectively.[36] To date, "We Belong Together" has been listened to more than 8 billion times in the U.S alone.[37] It was certified platinum by the RIAA.[38] On Billboard Hot 100 Year-end Chart of 2005, the song was declared the number-one song, a career first for Carey.[39] It's also ended at two on Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs Year-end chart of 2005.[40]

"We Belong Together" achieved success in several major non-U.S. markets. It debuted at the top of the Australian chart, where it remained for two weeks,[41] and also topped the chart in Brazil, Croatia, Israel, Philippines and South Africa. it reached a peak position of number two for three weeks in New Zealand[42] and on the Canadian BDS Airplay chart. Promotion for the song was strongest in the UK, where it debuted at number two behind Tupac Shakur's "Ghetto Gospel", selling 39,436 copies, only missing the top spot by 392 physical and digital sales. Across Continental Europe the song was a moderate success. It reached the top five in Spain, Ireland, Netherlands, Denmark and Switzerland, top ten in Norway, and top twenty in France, Belgium, Sweden, Italy and Germany. On the Australia's ARIA Top 100 singles end of the year chart of 2005, "We Belong Together" was ranked seventeen there[43] and ten on the Urban singles end of the year chart.[44] It was certified platinum in Australia by ARIA[45] and gold in New Zealand by RIANZ.[46]

Awards

Main article: List of Mariah Carey awards

2005

Carey performing We Belong Together/Fly Like a Bird at the Grammy Awards in 2006

2006

Formats and track listings

These are the formats and track listings of major single releases of "We Belong Together".

  • UK CD maxi single[51]
  1. "We Belong Together" (album version)
  2. "We Belong Together" (Reconstruction radio mix)
  3. "We Belong Together" (Reconstruction club mix)
  4. "We Belong Together" (Atlantic Soul vocal)
  5. "We Belong Together" (Atlantic Soul instrumental)
  1. "We Belong Together" (album version)
  2. "We Belong Together" (Remix feat. Jadakiss and Styles P)
  • Australian/European CD single[54]
  1. "We Belong Together" (album version)
  2. "We Belong Together" (DJ Clue remix)
  • German CD single[55]
  1. "We Belong Together" (album version)
  2. "We Belong Together" (ultra album version)
  • European CD single[56]
  1. "We Belong Together" (album version)
  2. "We Belong Together" (Reconstruction Radio Mix)
  3. "It's like That" (Remix feat. Fat Joe)
  4. "We Belong Together" (music video)
  1. "We Belong Together" (album version)
  2. "We Belong Together" (instrumental)

Credits and personnel

Release history

Region Date Label Format Catalog
United States[59] May 17, 2005 Island CD single 000516211
Japan[60] June 16, 2005 Universal CD single UICL-5019
Australia[61] June 20, 2005 Island CD single 9883428
Canada[62] July 4, 2005 Universal CD single B0009V2CRE
United Kingdom[52] Universal CD single B0009WXGD2
Germany[63] July 11, 2005 Def Jam CD single B0009V2CRE
Austria[64] Def Jam CD single B0009V2CRE
France[65] July 12, 2005 Universal CD single B0009V2CRE

Charts

Chart (2005)[66][67] Peak
position
U.S. Billboard Hot 100[68] 1
U.S. Billboard Pop 100[68] 1
U.S. Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs[68] 1
U.S. Billboard Mainstream Top 40[68] 1
U.S. Billboard Rhythmic Top 40[68] 1
U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Club Play[68] 1
Australian ARIA Singles Chart[41] 1
Austria Singles Chart 38
Belgium Singles Chart[69] 12
Brazil Singles Chart 1
Canadian BDS Airplay Chart 2
China Singles Chart[66] 2
Croatia Singles Chart 1
Denmark Singles Chart[69] 3
Dutch Singles Chart[69] 2
European Hot 100[70] 4
Philippines Singles Chart 1
South Africa Singles Chart 1
French Singles Chart[69] 12
German Singles Chart[69] 11
Irish Singles Chart[69] 3
Israeli Singles Chart 1
Italian Singles Chart[69] 20
New Zealand RIANZ Singles Chart[42] 2
Norwegian VG-lista Singles Chart[69] 9
Spain PROMUSICAE Singles Chart[71] 3
Swedish Singles Chart[69] 11
Swiss Singles Chart[69] 4
UK Singles Chart[69] 2
Preceded by
"Hollaback Girl" by Gwen Stefani
Billboard Hot 100 number-one single (first run)
June 4, 2005 - June 25, 2005
Succeeded by
"Inside Your Heaven" by Carrie Underwood
Preceded by
"Inside Your Heaven" by Carrie Underwood
Billboard Hot 100 number-one single (second run)
July 9, 2005 - September 10, 2005
Succeeded by
"Gold Digger" by Kanye West featuring Jamie Foxx
Preceded by
"Incomplete" by Backstreet Boys
Australia ARIA Singles Chart number-one single
June 26, 2005 - July 3, 2005
Succeeded by
"Lonely" by Akon
Preceded by
"Slow Down" by Bobby Valentino
Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs number one single
June 4, 2005- September 3, 2005
Succeeded by
"Like You" by Bow Wow featuring Ciara
Preceded by
"Inside Your Heaven" by Bo Bice
Billboard Pop 100 number-one single
July 16, 2005 - July 30, 2005
Succeeded by
"Don't Cha" by Pussycat Dolls featuring Busta Rhymes
Preceded by
"Don't Cha" by Pussycat Dolls featuring Busta Rhymes (First run)
Billboard Hot Dance Airplay number-one single
August 6, 2005 - August 15, 2005
Preceded by
"Yeah!" by Usher featuring Lil' Jon and Ludacris
Billboard Hot 100 Number one single of the year
2005
Succeeded by
"Bad Day" by Daniel Powter

Cover versions

Notes and references

Notes

  1. "The Grammys". GRAMMY Winners Search: We Belong Together. Retrieved on February 16, 2005.
  2. 2.0 2.1 "Billboard". Billboard Hot 100 Chart 50th Anniversary - All-Time Top Songs. Retrieved on September 11, 2008.
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 "MTV". Road To The Grammys: The Story Behind Mariah Carey's "We Belong Together". Retrieved on January 30, 2006.
  4. "Vibe.com". Mariah Carey - The Emancipation of Mimi (Island) : Vibe.com. Retrieved on April 24, 2005.
  5. Farber, Jim. "More like a screaming 'Mimi'". New York Daily News. April 12, 2005. Retrieved March 10, 2006.
  6. 6.0 6.1 "New York Times". The Summer Buzz: Cicadas and Mariah Carey. Retrieved on November 5, 2005.
  7. The line "If you think you're lonely now" is from the song of the same name and "I only think of you" is from the chorus of "Two Occasions". In the remix she also says "I only think of you/ On two occasions/ That's day and night..."
  8. "Music Notes". "We Belong Together". Retrieved on February 4, 2006.
  9. 9.0 9.1 "Metrotimes". Radio fever- Sussing out a summer jam for ’05. Retrieved on November 5, 2005.
  10. "Explodingplastic". Mariah Carey - We Belong Together" (Atlantic Soul Mix - Craig C.). Retrieved on May 11, 2006.
  11. "Amazon.com". Amazon.com: The Best Of NOW That's What I Call Music - 10th Anniversary Edition: Various Artists: Music. Retrieved on November 11, 2008.
  12. "The Mariah Carey Archives". Quick news on Mariah Carey - MTV News. Retrieved on July 9, 2005.
  13. "The Mariah Carey archives". Ratner Films Two Music Videos. Retrieved on September 14, 2006.
  14. "The Mariah Carey archives". 25 Greatest Video Cameos: No. 11. Retrieved on September 14, 2006.
  15. "PopEater". 25 Greatest Video Cameos: No. 11 - PopEater Music Blog.
  16. "The Mariah Carey Archives". Mariah on Access Hollywood - The Mariah Carey Archives. Retrieved on February 12, 2005.
  17. "The Mariah Carey Archives". We Belong Together retires at #1 on TRL - Mariahcarey.com. Retrieved on July 9, 2005.
  18. "VH1". Shows: Top 40 of 2005 countdown - VH1. Retrieved on December 2, 2005.
  19. Yahoo! Music. "Mariah Carey will 'Shake It Off', exclusively for Yahoo! Music; North American Online Premiere kicks off 8pm (PDT), July 27th". Top40-charts.com. July 27, 2005. Retrieved February 12, 2005.
  20. "MTV VMA 2005". MTV Video Music Awards. Retrieved on September 1, 2005.
  21. "Virgin Recors". Virgin Urban Music President Jremaine Dupri and So So Def/Virgin Artist Johnta Austin Win R&B Song Honor. Retrieved on September 12, 2006.
  22. "About.com". Predictions Of Winners Billboard Music Awards 2005. Retrieved on September 12, 2006.
  23. Anderman, Joan. "For Carey, the Glory's Gone but the Glitter Lives On". Boston Globe. pg. D.4, September 10, 2003 [THIRD Edition].
  24. Walters, Barry. "Charmbracelet". Rolling Stone. New York: pg. 93, December 12, 2002, iss. 911.
  25. "Slant Magazine". 2005: Year in Rewind. Retrieved on January 30, 2006.
  26. "Billboard.com". Billboard Singles Review — "We Belong Together". Retrieved on January 30, 2006.
  27. David Raposa. Mariah Carey: "We Belong Together". Pitchfork Media. Monday June 20, 2005.
  28. "Billboard". Billboard Hot 100 Chart 50th Anniversary - Top Rhythm and Blues Hip Hop Songs. Retrieved on September 11, 2008.
  29. The 100 Greatest Songs of 2005 Article on Blender :: The Ultimate Guide to Music and More
  30. "UKmusic". Reviews: Hip Hop and RnB- Mariah Carey We Belong Together. Retrieved on November 10, 2005.
  31. "Virgin.net". Mariah Carey — We Belong Together. Retrieved on November 10, 2005.
  32. Gardner, Elysa. Mariah Carey, 'standing again'. USA Today. November 28, 2002. Retrieved August 19, 2005.
  33. "About.com". New York Girl Makes Good With The Emancipation of Mimi. Retrieved on February 17, 2005.
  34. "MariahDaily". Mariah Carey. Retrieved on February 12, 2006.
  35. "MC Archives". We Belong Together sets another record at Billboard. Retrieved on February 12, 2006.
  36. "USA Today". Carey sets a record. Retrieved on February 14, 2006.
  37. "Mediabase". Mediabase - Quick Cut Info. Retrieved on September 21, 2008.
  38. "Billboard". Billboard.com offers Entertainment New for Music Executive and Fans. Retrieved on August 8, 2008.
  39. "Billboard". Billboard.com - Year End Charts - Year-end Single - The Billboard Hot 100.
  40. "Billboard". Billboard.com - Year End Charts - Year-end Single - Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs.
  41. 41.0 41.1 "Australian Singles Top 50". Australian Singles Top 50 week 27/2005 - Music Charts. Retrieved on July 4, 2005.
  42. 42.0 42.1 "New Zealand Top 40". New Zealand Top 40 week 33/2005 - Music Charts. Retrieved on August 15, 2005.
  43. "ARIA Charts". ARIA Charts - End of Year Charts - Top 100 Singles of 2005.
  44. "ARIA Charts". ARIA Charts - End of Year Charts - Urban Singles of 2005.
  45. "ARIA.com". ARIA Charts - Accreditations - 2005 Single.
  46. "ImageShack.us". A picture of RIANZ chart proves the certification. Retrieved on August 22, 2005.
  47. 47.0 47.1 47.2 47.3 47.4 47.5 47.6 47.7 47.8 "MariahCarey.com". Mariahcarey.com news.awards.
  48. "About.com". Grammy Award Nominations 2006 - Pop, Rock and R&B. Retrieved on February 23, 2006.
  49. "The Mariah Carey Archives". 50 Cent named Songwriter of the year. Retrieved on May 23, 2006.
  50. "The Mariah Carey Archives". Mariah wins six Groovevolt Music and Fashion Awards. Retrieved on January 27, 2006.
  51. "Amazon.co.uk". Amazon.co.uk: We Belong Together [CD 2]: Mariah Carey: Music. Retrieved on July 4, 2005.
  52. 52.0 52.1 "Amazon.co.uk". We Belong Together: Mariah Carey: Music: Amazon.co.uk. Retrieved on July 4, 2005.
  53. "Amazon.ca". Amazon.ca: We Belong Together Pt.1: Mariah Carey: Music. Retrieved on July 5, 2005.
  54. "Amazon.fr". We Belong Together: Mariah Carey: Musique: Amazon.fr. Retrieved on October 11, 2005.
  55. "Billboard". Billboad.com - Discography (more) - Mariah Carey - We Belong Together (Germany CD). Retrieved on August 02, 2005.
  56. "Amazon.de". We Belong Together: Mariah Carey: Musik: Amazon.de. Retrieved on July 11, 2005.
  57. "Billboard". Billboad.com - Discography (more) - Mariah Carey - We Belong Together (Japan CD). Retrieved on October 11, 2005.
  58. "CDJapan". Mariah Carey / We Belong Together. Retrieved on June 15, 2005.
  59. "Amazon.ca". Amazon.ca: We Belong Together: Mariah Carey: Music.
  60. "CDJapan". Mariah Carey/We Belong Together. Retrieved on June 16, 2005.
  61. "discogs". Mariah Carey - We Belong Together.
  62. "Amazon.ca". Amazon.ca: We Belong Together: Mariah Carey: Music.
  63. "Amazon.de". We Belong Together: Mariah Carey: Musik: Amazon.de. Retrieved on July 11, 2005.
  64. "Amazon.de". We Belong Together: Mariah Carey: Musik: Amazon.de (Austria). Retrieved on July 11, 2005.
  65. "Amazon.fr". We Belong Together: Mariah Carey: Musique: Amazon.fr. Retrieved on July 12, 2005.
  66. 66.0 66.1 "Top40-Charts.com". Mariah Carey We Belong Together @ Top40-Charts.com.
  67. http://hitparade.ch/showitem.asp?interpret=Mariah+Carey&titel=We+Belong+Together&cat=s
  68. 68.0 68.1 68.2 68.3 68.4 68.5 "Billboard". Billboard.com - Artist Chart History - Mariah Carey.
  69. 69.00 69.01 69.02 69.03 69.04 69.05 69.06 69.07 69.08 69.09 69.10 "We Belong Together peaks". Mariah Carey - We Belong Together - Music Charts.
  70. http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/esearch/chart_display.jsp?cfi=349&cfgn=Singles&cfn=European+Hot+100+Singles&ci=3059961&cdi=8381764&cid=08%2F06%2F2005
  71. "Spanish Chart". MARIAH CAREY - WE BELONG TOGETHER (SONG).

References