Fantasy (Mariah Carey song)
"Fantasy" is a song by the American singer-songwriter Mariah Carey. It was released on August 23, 1995, by Columbia Records as the lead single from her fifth album, Daydream (1995). The track was written and produced by Carey and Dave Hall. It samples Tom Tom Club's 1981 song "Genius of Love". The lyrics describe a woman who is in love with a man, and how every time she sees him she starts fantasizing about an impossible relationship with him. The remix for the song features rap verses from Ol' Dirty Bastard, something Carey arranged to assist in her crossover into the hip-hop market and credited for introducing R&B and hip hop collaboration into mainstream pop culture, and for popularizing rap as a featuring act.
"Fantasy"
"Fantasy" (Bad Boy) featuring O.D.B
August 23, 1995
4:04
- Mariah Carey
- Chris Frantz
- Tina Weymouth
- Mariah Carey
- Dave Hall
"Fantasy" received critical acclaim, with reviewers praising in its production, lyrics, Carey's vocal performance and musical progression. The song became a global success, topping the charts in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the United States, and reaching the top-ten in thirteen countries. In the US, "Fantasy" became the first song by a female artist, and second overall to debut atop the Billboard Hot 100, topping the chart for eight consecutive weeks. Additionally, it became Carey's ninth number one on the chart.
Carey sang "Fantasy" live on several television and award show appearances around the world. She performed the song at the 23rd American Music Awards, held on January 29, 1996. Additionally, it was performed live on British music chart program Top of the Pops and on French television. "Fantasy" was part of the set-lists on several of Carey's succeeding tours, making its debut during the album's accompanying set of concerts, the Daydream World Tour and is featured on her compilation albums, #1's (1998), Greatest Hits (2001), The Remixes (2003), Playlist: The Very Best of Mariah Carey (2010) and #1 to Infinity (2015).
The cover of the single was shot by top fashion photographer Steven Meisel. Its parent album Daydream uses a cropped version of the single cover. Carey directed the music video for "Fantasy", making it her directorial debut. She created the video's concept and chose the filming location. After being disappointed with the final result in many of her previous videos, Carey decided to single-handedly direct the video. The video features her rollerblading through Playland Amusement Park in Rye, New York, singing and enjoying herself. The video concludes with Carey dancing atop the sunroof of a Hummer, with many others present and enjoying the music and celebration.
Composition[edit]
"Fantasy" is an up-tempo song with contemporary R&B and dance-pop genres within its composition, which blends elements of funk music, hip hop, and bubblegum pop.[3][5] "Fantasy" moves at a "moderate dance tempo" of 104 beats per minute.[6] The remix, which features rap verses from O.D.B., also incorporates hip-hop into the bridge. The song uses heavy bass and percussion, as well as a sample from "Genius of Love" by Tom Tom Club.[3] Carey's vocal range spans three octaves from the low note of E3 to the high note of E6.[6] The song contains choral lyrics written by Carey, who also developed the song's melody and original beat. Instrumentation and production was performed by Dave Hall, while co-arranging and producing the track as well.[3] The members of the Tom Tom Club, Tina Weymouth, Chris Frantz, Steven Stanley and Adrian Belew are all credited as writers due to the inclusion of the music sample they wrote.[3]
Chart performance[edit]
"Fantasy" was a massive global success upon its release. The song became Carey's ninth number one single on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart. It became the first single by a female artist to open atop the chart, and only the second single to do so after "You Are Not Alone" by Michael Jackson.[3] It debuted at number one due to strong airplay and sales of 229,000 copies, the highest since Whitney Houston's "I Will Always Love You in January 1993.[15] It spent eight weeks at the top of the chart, from the charts dated September 30 to November 18, 1995, Carey's longest stay at the time alongside "Dreamlover" (1993).[3] It replaced "Gangsta's Paradise" by Coolio, and was replaced by Whitney Houston's "Exhale (Shoop Shoop)", which also debuted atop the Hot 100.[16][17] "Fantasy" spent 23 weeks in the top 40 and was successful on other Billboard formats, including the R&B and dance charts.[3] The song debuted at number 11 on the Mainstream R&B/Hip-Hop chart, setting a record at the time for the charts highest debut which would eventually be surpassed by Drake's "Nice for What" in 2018.[18] Its strong sales led it to be certified sextuple-platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA),[19] Carey's first single to do so. "Fantasy" was the second best-selling single of 1995 in the US, with sales of 1,500,000.[20] It was ranked seventh on the Hot 100 year-end charts for 1995 and 49th on the 1996 year-end charts.[21][22] "Fantasy" ranked at number 15 on the Hot 100 decade-end chart for the 1990s.[23]
In Australia, the song topped the chart and was certified triple-platinum by the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA).[24] In Canada, the song debuted on the RPM Singles Chart at number 95 on the RPM issue dated October 2, 1995,[25] and reached the top of the chart on November 20, 1995.[26] It was present on the chart for a total of 20 weeks,[27] and ranked 18 on the RPM Year-end chart for 1995.[28] "Fantasy" also reached the top 10 in most countries across Europe, and the top 20 on the Oricon chart in Japan.[29] It peaked within the top-five in Belgium (Wallonia), Finland, France and the United Kingdom; and in the top 10 in Belgium (Flanders), The Netherlands, Ireland, Norway and Switzerland. "Fantasy" was certified silver in France and platinum in the United Kingdom, by the Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique (SNEP) and British Phonographic Industry (BPI), respectively.[30] According to the Official Charts Company, the song has sold 400,000 copies in the United Kingdom.[31] The song also topped the charts in New Zealand, where it was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of New Zealand (RIANZ).[32]
Credits adapted from the Daydream liner notes.[66]