Daydream (Mariah Carey album)
Daydream is the fifth studio album by American singer-songwriter Mariah Carey, released on September 26, 1995, by Columbia Records. The follow-up to her internationally successful studio album Music Box (1993), and the holiday album Merry Christmas (1994), Daydream differed from her previous releases by leaning increasingly towards urban music. Throughout the project, Carey collaborated with Walter Afanasieff, with whom she wrote and produced most of her previous albums. With Daydream, Carey took more control over the musical direction as well as the album's composition. Carey considered the album to be the beginning of her musical and vocal transition, a change that would become more evident in her sixth studio album Butterfly (1997). During the album's production, Carey endured many creative differences with her label and then-husband Tommy Mottola. On Daydream, Carey collaborated with Jermaine Dupri, Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds, and R&B group Boyz II Men. With Afanasieff's assistance and the addition of a few contemporary producers, she was able to make a subtle transition into the contemporary R&B market, after previously only pursuing pop, adult contemporary and traditional R&B music.
Carey and Boyz II Men performing "One Sweet Day" at Madison Square Garden
Carey and her dancers performing the lead single "Fantasy" on The Adventures of Mimi tour in 2006.
Mariah Carey is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and actress. An influential figure in popular music, she is known for her five-octave vocal range, melismatic singing style, and signature use of the whistle register. Carey is also credited with influencing vocal styles, merging hip-hop with pop through her collaborations, popularizing remixes, and helping break down racial barriers for multiracial Americans in popular culture. Referred to as the "Songbird Supreme" by Guinness World Records, she was ranked as the fifth greatest singer of all time by Rolling Stone in 2023, and has been dubbed the "Queen of Christmas" for the enduring popularity of her Christmas music, particularly the 1994 song "All I Want for Christmas Is You", which is the best-selling holiday song by a female artist.
Carey exiting Shepherd's Bush Empire after promoting her single "Vision of Love" on Wogan in 1990
Carey performing "One Sweet Day" with Boyz II Men at Madison Square Garden in October 1995
Carey performing "Hero" during her Charmbracelet World Tour in September 2003
Carey, pictured with former Island Records head L.A. Reid, at the release party for The Emancipation of Mimi in 2005