Daydream (Mariah Carey album)

Daydream is the fifth studio album by American singer-songwriter Mariah Carey, released on October 3, 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 efforts by leaning increasingly towards hip hop and 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 transformation, a change that became more apparent in her sixth 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 R&B market.
Daydream received critical acclaim, with reviewers praising the album's production, its sonic quality, and Carey's musical progression. It became Carey's best reviewed album up to that point and garnered six nominations at the 38th Grammy Awards, including for Album of the Year. Daydream became a global success, topping the charts in nine countries, and reaching the top five in almost every major music market. It was Carey's second album to be certified Diamond by the RIAA. With sales of over 20 million copies worldwide, Daydream is one of the best-selling albums of all time.
Six singles were released from the album. Its lead single "Fantasy" became the first single by a female artist to debut at number one on the US Billboard Hot 100 and went on to top the chart for eight weeks, and became the second best-selling single of 1995 in the country. The second single "One Sweet Day" topped the Billboard Hot 100 for sixteen weeks and became the longest-running number-one single in Billboard's history, holding the record for 23 years. Jointly, the singles from Daydream spent a combined six months at the top of the Hot 100. To promote the album, Carey embarked on the short but successful, Daydream World Tour, visiting Japan and Europe.
Category:CDs