Vision of Love
"Vision of Love" is the debut single by American singer-songwriter Mariah Carey for her eponymous debut studio album (1990). It was written by Carey and Ben Margulies. After being featured on Carey's demo tape for Columbia Records, the song was re-recorded and produced by Rhett Lawrence and Narada Michael Walden. The song features a slow-dance theme tempo and backing vocals sung by Carey herself, and introduces her usage of the whistle register. The lyric of the song represents her past life filled with "alienation" and how she had dreamt of achieving her triumph over adversity up to the moment when it finally came to fruition as the "vision of love" that she had always believed in, despite everything that she has had to deal with in life. This was Carey's debut record and was released as the lead single from Mariah Carey on May 15, 1990, by Columbia Records.
"Vision of Love"
- "Sent from Up Above"
- "Prisoner"/"All in Your Mind"/"Someday" Medley
May 15, 1990
1989
Skyline (New York City)
3:29
"Vision of Love" received universal acclaim from the music critics. While the song's production was typical of late 1980s pop, the vocals were not, being much more showy and expressing a wider range than artists popular at the time such as Paula Abdul and Debbie Gibson. It has been credited with popularizing the use of melisma in contemporary popular music and for inspiring several artists to pursue a music career. The New Yorker named "Vision of Love" the "Magna Carta of melisma" for its and Carey's influence on pop and R&B singers and American Idol contestants.[5] Additionally, Rolling Stone said that "the fluttering strings of notes that decorate songs like "Vision of Love," inspired the entire American Idol vocal school, for better or worse, and virtually every other female R&B singer since the nineties."[6] The song topped the singles charts in Canada, New Zealand, and the United States, where it spent four weeks atop the chart.
The accompanying music video for "Vision of Love" was filmed in April 1990. It features Carey in a large cathedral, where she meditates and sings by a large picture window. "Vision of Love" was performed on several television and award show ceremonies, such as The Arsenio Hall Show, Good Morning America, Saturday Night Live, and the 33rd Annual Grammy Awards. It has been performed at almost every one of Carey's concerts and tours, and is featured on Carey's live album MTV Unplugged (1992) and on many of her compilation albums including #1's (1998), Greatest Hits (2001) and The Ballads (2008).
Commercial performance[edit]
In the United States, "Vision of Love" entered the US Billboard Hot 100 at number 73 during the week of June 2, 1990, and reached the chart's summit nine weeks later. The song remained atop the chart for four consecutive weeks, and was ranked sixth on the Billboard Hot 100 year-end chart. After four weeks at number one, it fell to number eight, and spent seven weeks lingering within the top ten. It also topped the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs for two weeks and Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks for three weeks. In October 2019, the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) certified the song platinum, denoting shipments of one million units. In Canada, "Vision of Love" entered the Canadian RPM Singles Chart at number 75, during the week of July 7, 1990.[29] In its eighth week on the chart, the song reached number one,[30] and remained on the chart for a total of 17 weeks.[31] It finished eighth on the RPM year-end chart.[32]
"Vision of Love" entered the Australian Singles Chart at number 67 during the week of August 5, 1990.[33] It peaked at number nine, and spent a total of 19 weeks within the top 100.[34] The Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) certified the single gold, denoting shipments of over 35,000 units.[34] In New Zealand, the song spent two consecutive weeks atop the singles chart. After fluctuating within the chart for 24 weeks, it was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of New Zealand (RIANZ), denoting shipments of over 7,500 units.[35][36]
In the Netherlands, "Vision of Love" entered the Dutch Single Top 100 at number 99, during the week of July 14. It spent a total of 17 weeks on the chart, spending two weeks at its peak position of number eight.[37] The song entered the French Singles Chart at number 39 on November 11. It peaked at number 25, spending two weeks at the position and a total of 14 on the chart.[38] In Ireland, the song peaked at number ten, and spent six weeks charting.[39] In the United Kingdom, the song entered the UK Singles Chart at number 74, during the week of August 4, 1990.[40] It peaked at number nine in its seventh week, and spent a total of 12 weeks on the chart.[41] According to the Official Charts Company (OCC), the single has sold over 198,000 units in the UK.[42]
Music video[edit]
Background[edit]
After completing the album, Sony hired Bojan Bazelli to direct the song's music video.[43] After filming the video's first version, record label executives felt the result was sub-par in comparison to the quality of the music. They scrapped the first video and re-filmed it with director Andy Morahan,[44] changing the plot, scenery and imagery.[43] After word got out of the two videos, a Sony employee spoke to the press about Carey, saying how "the special treatment really upset" him.[43] He felt they treated Carey differently from how they would another artist signed to the label, and that they viewed her as a higher priority. He also claimed that Carey was the reason they re-filmed, "they spend $200,000 on a video and Mariah doesn't like it. No big deal."[43] Another employee estimated the figure of both videos at over $450,000. After the reports were made, Don Ienner, the president of Sony, refuted the claims, calling them "total bullshit" although admitting, "If we're going to 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."[43]
Synopsis[edit]
The video takes place in a large cathedral-like room, with large winding staircases on each side. Throughout the video, the scenery changes several times from a cloudy and sunny day, to a glowing sunset. These time shifts are seen through a large carved window in the cathedral. The video begins with Carey's hair in long golden curls, and her wearing a skin-tight black jumper. She sits on the large ledge by the window, staring into the different colors in the sky. As the video progresses, Carey is joined by a small black cat, which accompanies her as she meditates on the large stairwell. After the song's second verse, a large microphone is seen in the middle of the room, where scenes of Carey singing and standing on the window's ledge interchange. The last scenes show Carey staring out into the meadow, smiling. According to author Chris Nickson, during the scenes of Carey by the large window, it is "obvious" that she is praying to God and connecting to her creator. He felt that alongside the song's lyrics of faith and prayer, the video's moments of meditation truly went "hand in hand."[43]
Credits adapted from the Mariah Carey liner notes.[70]