Vision of Love
"
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 the first song Carey and Margulies had co-written after
Columbia Records executive
Tommy Mottola had signed her to a contract. The final album version of the song was altered from Carey and Margulies' original version, which had a 1950s-style
shuffle. Mottola and other executives at Columbia/
Sony Music thought that 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. Carey and Lawrence began to rework the song in the studio. The
tempo of the song was changed, an intro was 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 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). Its 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. Many consider "Vision of Love" one of Carey's
signature songs, with critics and reviewers often praising it as one of her better efforts.
[[1]] Entertainment Weekly wrote, "from those opening sci-fi-esque synths to that signature dog-whistle high note, Mariah's very first single is inspired".
[[2]]"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 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 also successful with an older audience, topping the
Adult Contemporary chart.
"Vision of Love" was successful in some 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 also
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 included "
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"), as well as a
BMI Pop Award, which many of her singles have received.
|
Carey in a scene from the song'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. 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. 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".
[[3]]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).
*
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"
| 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 |
| French Singles Chart | 25 |
*
Hot 100 number-one hits of 1990 (USA)*Hogan, Ed.
"Vision of Love".
All Music Guide.
*
Lyrics for the album version
