One Sweet Day

"One Sweet Day" is a song by American singer-songwriter Mariah Carey and American R&B boy band Boyz II Men. The song was released on November 14, 1995, as the second single from the former's fifth studio album, Daydream (1995) by Columbia Records. The artists co-wrote the song with Walter Afanasieff, who co-produced it with Carey. Lyrically, the song speaks about the death of a loved one and misses them, and finally about seeing the person in heaven. The artists wrote the song about specific people in their lives, being inspired by sufferers of the AIDS epidemic, which was a topic at the time.

Music video
The music video for "One Sweet Day" was filmed in February 1995, and features snippets of Carey and Boyz II Men in the studio and recording the song. The busy schedule of both Carey and Boyz II Men did not allow time for them to shoot a proper video.

 Chart performance 
"One Sweet Day" debuted at number one on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart dated December 2, 1995, with sales of 204,000 units. Columbia distributed free copies to stores, where it was sold for as low as 49 cents. It became Carey's tenth number one single on the Billboard chart and Boyz II Men's fourth number one. he song remained at the peak for a record-breaking 16 consecutive weeks, from December 2, 1995, to March 16, 1996. It became a record for being the only song to stay at number one on the chart for 16 weeks until 2017, when the record was tied by Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee's "Despacito", featuring Justin Bieber. The record would remain until Lil Nas X's "Old Town Road", featuring Billy Ray Cyrus, broke the record in 2019, spending nineteen weeks on top the Billboard Hot 100. It still remains the only number one debut to spend sixteen continual weeks at number one.

 Track listing and formats 

 Worldwide Cassette CD single
 "One Sweet Day" (Album Version) – 4:41
 "One Sweet Day" (Live Version form Fantasy: Mariah Carey at Madison Square Garden) – 5:08

 Japanese CD maxi-single
 "One Sweet Day" (Album Version) – 4:42
 "One Sweet Day" (Live Version from Fantasy: Mariah Carey at Madison Square Garden) – 5:10
 "Open Arms" – 3:30

 UK CD maxi-single #1
 "One Sweet Day" (Album Version) – 4:41
 "One Sweet Day" (Sweet A Cappella) – 4:52
 "One Sweet Day" (A Cappella) – 4:48
 "One Sweet Day" (Chucky's Remix) – 4:51
 "One Sweet Day" (Live Version from Fantasy: Mariah Carey at Madison Square Garden) – 5:08

 UK CD maxi-single #2
 "One Sweet Day" (Album Version) – 4:44
 "Fantasy" (Def Drums Mix) – 4:01
 "Joy to the World" (Celebration Mix) – 7:58
 "Joy to the World" (Club Mix) – 7:35

 US CD maxi-single
 "One Sweet Day" (Album Version) – 4:41
 "One Sweet Day" (Sweet A Cappella) – 4:52
 "One Sweet Day" (A Cappella) – 4:48
 "One Sweet Day" (Chucky's Remix) – 4:51
 "One Sweet Day" (Live Version) – 5:08
 "Fantasy" (Def Drums Mix) – 4:00

 One Sweet Day EP
 "One Sweet Day" (Chucky's Remix) – 4:51
 "One Sweet Day" (Sweet A Cappella) – 4:52
 "One Sweet Day" (A Cappella) – 4:49
 "One Sweet Day" (Live at Madison Square Garden - October 1995) – 5:09

 Credits and personnel 
Credits adapted from the Daydream liner notes.
 Mariah Carey – co-production, songwriting (music and lyrics), vocals
 Walter Afanasieff – co-production, songwriting (music)
 Nathan Morris – songwriting (lyrics), vocals
 Wanya Morris – songwriting (lyrics), vocals
 Shawn Stockman – songwriting (lyrics), vocals
 Michael McCary – songwriting (lyrics), vocals

 Charts 

 Weekly charts 
Chart (1995–1996)PeakpositionBenelux Airplay (Music & Media)3Brazil (ABPD)2British Isles Airplay (Music & Media)3Canada Retail Singles (The Record)2Canada Contemporary Hit Radio (The Record)1Canada  (The Record)3DACH Airplay (Music & Media)6Denmark (Tracklisten)5European Hot 100 Singles (Music & Media)6Europe Adult Contemporary (Music & Media)2European Hit Radio (Music & Media)2France Airplay (Music & Media)1Germany (Official German Charts)25Hungary Airplay ()9Iceland (Íslenski Listinn Topp 40)20Italy (Musica e Dischi) Set "Tipo" on "Singoli". Then, in the "Artista" field, search "Mariah Carey".23Italy Airplay (Music & Media)4Japan (Oricon)87Lithuania (M-1) See LW column.24Netherlands Airplay (BDS)3Panama (UPI)9Poland Airplay (Music & Media)10Scandinavia Airplay (Music & Media)2Spain Airplay (Music & Media)3UK Airplay (BDS)8US Cash Box Top 100 Pop Singles1US Cash Box Top 100 Urban Singles1US Adult Contemporary (Radio & Records)1US CHR/Pop (Radio & Records)1US CHR/Rhythmic (Radio & Records)1US Hot AC (Radio & Records)1US Urban (Radio & Records)2US Urban AC (Radio & Records)1 Zimbabwe (ZIMA)* Zimbabwe. Kimberley, C. Zimbabwe: singles chart book. Harare: C. Kimberley, 2000 3
Chart (2002)Peak position US Hot Singles Sales (Billboard)35

 Year-end charts 
Chart (1995)PositionAustralia (ARIA)32Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)178Netherlands (Single Top 100)87New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)23Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)92UK Singles (OCC)60US Adult Contemporary (Radio & Records)68US CHR/Rhythmic (Radio & Records)61US Hot AC (Radio & Records)82
Chart (1996)PositionAustralia (ARIA)40Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)83Belgium (Ultratop 50 Wallonia)48Canada Top Singles (RPM)12Canada Adult Contemporary (RPM)14European Hot 100 Singles (Music & Media)28France (SNEP)59Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)37Netherlands (Single Top 100)34New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)32Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)86Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)49US Billboard Hot 1002US Adult Contemporary (Billboard)3US Adult Top 40 (Billboard)17US Dance Singles Sales (Billboard) 28US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (Billboard)15US Mainstream Top 40 (Billboard)10US Rhythmic (Billboard)11US Adult Contemporary (Radio & Records)4US CHR/Pop (Radio & Records)19US CHR/Rhythmic (Radio & Records)15US Hot AC (Radio & Records)17US Urban (Radio & Records)49US Urban AC (Radio & Records)18

 Decade-end charts 
Chart (1990–1999)PositionUS Billboard Hot 100Hot 100 Singles of the '90s". Billboard. Vol. 111 no. 52. December 25, 1999. p. YE-20. Retrieved May 29, 2020 1

 All-time charts 
ChartPositionUS Billboard Hot 10043

 Certifications and sales 

Release history
+ Release dates and formats for "One Sweet Day" Region Date Format Label  United States November 14, 1995 CD maxi single   United Kingdom November 27, 1995   Japan November 30, 1995 Mini CD single Sony Music Japan 

 References 

 Further reading 




Category:1995 songs
Category:Mariah Carey songs
Category:Boyz II Men songs
Category:R&B songs
Category:R&B ballads
Category:Billboard Hot 100 number one songs