Maps of Music

Daydream (1995)

Where the lyrics of Daydream take you, and where it was really made.

Its lead single Fantasy debuted at number one on the Billboard Hot 100, the first song by a woman to do so.

Key places

New York recording room: The Hit Factory (1995)

Recording site The Hit Factory — The Hit Factory in New York City is listed as a recording location for Daydream. The point marks the studio building itself. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Recording in San Rafael: Wallyworld (1995)

Recording site Wallyworld — Wallyworld in San Rafael, California is listed as a recording location for Daydream. The record of this place is limited to the album's listed sessions. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Queens session room: Crave (1995)

Recording site Crave — Crave in Queens, New York is listed as a recording location for Daydream. The point marks the studio building in Queens. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Midtown recording room: Sony Music Studios (1995)

Recording site Sony Music Studios — Sony Music Studios in New York City is listed as a recording location for Daydream. The point marks the studio building. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Queens recording room: Quad (1995)

Recording site Quad — Quad in Queens, New York is listed as a recording location for Daydream. The point marks the studio building in Queens. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

New York recording room: Premier Studios (1995)

Recording site Premier Studios — Premier Studios in New York City is listed as a recording location for Daydream. The point is shown at city-level precision. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• Daydream: fifth studio album by American singer-songwriter Mariah Carey
• Released September 26, 1995 by Columbia Records
• Follow-up to Music Box (1993) and the holiday album Merry Christmas (1994)
• Moved toward urban music more strongly than her earlier works
• Sold over 20 million copies worldwide

Background

• Music Box spent eight non-consecutive weeks atop the US Billboard 200
• Merry Christmas sold 18 million copies worldwide
• By the time Merry Christmas was released, Carey had already written seven songs for the fifth album
• Promoted with five singles, three of which reached number one on the US Billboard Hot 100
• The Daydream World Tour in 1996 promoted the album
• Carey clashed with Columbia Records over the change in direction
• Her marriage to Tommy Mottola, head of Sony Music, deteriorated as her authority over the sound grew

Recording

• Recording began in late 1994
• Co-produced with Walter Afanasieff, Dave Hall, Jermaine Dupri, Manuel Seal, and David Morales
• The first song recorded was Underneath the Stars
• Fantasy samples Tom Tom Club's Genius of Love
• One Sweet Day was written with Boyz II Men as a tribute after the death of David Cole
• Melt Away was the only song Carey produced entirely on her own

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Tracklist

Sources: musicbrainz.org

Artist

Early life

• Born March 27, 1969 in Huntington, New York, on Long Island.
• Youngest of three children of Patricia Hickey, a former opera singer, and Alfred Roy Carey, an aeronautical engineer.
• Began singing at age three; graduated from Harborfields High School in 1987.
• Worked as a demo singer and backup singer, including for Brenda K. Starr.

Career

• Signed to Columbia Records after Tommy Mottola heard her demo tape in December 1988.
• Debut album Mariah Carey (1990) topped the US Billboard 200 and won Best New Artist at the Grammys.
• Became the first artist whose first five singles reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100.
• Music Box (1993), Merry Christmas (1994), and Daydream (1995) achieved major global sales.
• Later albums moved toward hip-hop and R&B, including Butterfly (1997) and Rainbow (1999).
• Comeback album The Emancipation of Mimi (2005) was her fifth number-one album in the US.
• Known as the 'Songbird Supreme' and 'Queen of Christmas'; one of the best-selling artists in history with over 220 million records sold.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Reception

At release

• Stephen Holden of The New York Times wrote that Carey's songwriting had improved dramatically
• Pitchfork wrote that the album expanded the boundaries of Carey's sound, blending genres and styles that had previously been treated as separate
• Ken Tucker of Entertainment Weekly called it Carey's best album since her 1990 self-titled debut, though he panned When I Saw You and I Am Free as overwrought ballads
• People magazine deemed it Carey's best album
• Cheo H. Coker of the Los Angeles Times said the material would silence Carey's critics

Reappraisal

• Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic, in a retrospective review, called it Carey's best record to date
• Arion Berger in The Rolling Stone Album Guide (2004) said the album adheres to the classic radio-friendly diva format, praising the Afanasieff songs and lamenting the cover of Open Arms
• Jamieson Cox of Pitchfork, in a 2017 retrospective review, said Daydream symbolized the end of Carey's innocence
• Billboard staff ranked it the third-best studio album of Carey's career in 2025

Records

• Debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200 with 224,000 copies sold
• Spent six non-consecutive weeks at number one on the Billboard 200
• Nominated for six awards at the 38th Annual Grammy Awards, including Album of the Year, and lost all six
• Topped the charts in ten countries
• Certified 11× platinum by the RIAA
• Sold over 20 million copies worldwide
• Fantasy debuted at number one on the Billboard Hot 100
• One Sweet Day spent sixteen weeks at number one

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• Carey enlisted Ol' Dirty Bastard for the remix of Fantasy, which made label executives nervous about a drastic stylistic shift.
• Carey's friend Clarissa Dane was brought in as the public face of the alternative rock project Someone's Ugly Daughter, with her vocals layered over Carey's recordings.
• Two tracks from the Daydream sessions, Slipping Away and One Night, were released later on the compilation The Rarities (2020).
• In July 2017, the album ranked at number 97 on National Public Radio's list of the 150 greatest female albums of all time.
• Despite its achievements, Carey described Daydream as her "most bittersweet album" in 2022.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

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