Underneath the Stars (song)
Encyclopedia
"Underneath the Stars" is a song by American singer-songwriter
Mariah Carey
. The song was written and produced by Carey and Walter Afanasieff
, for her fifth studio album
, Daydream (1995). It was released on April 5, 1996 through Columbia Records
, as the sixth and final single from the album, and as a b-side to "Forever
" in Australia. The R&B
-influenced song, which has been considered by Carey as one of her personal favorites, features a soft melody and retro-style melody, and had music critics drawing comparisons to earlier works from one of her vocal inspirations, Minnie Riperton
.
"Underneath the Stars" received a limited number of pressings in the United States, and failed to chart on the US Billboard Hot 100
. However, the song did manage to chart at number sixty-nine on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs
component chart. Critically, it was considered one of the best songs on Daydream by music reviewers, many of which considered it a highlight on the album. A music video was not commissioned or filmed for "Underneath the Stars", and was performed throughout the Daydream World Tour
. The performance at the Tokyo Dome
was later included on a rare DVD titled "Mariah Carey Live In Japan".
, as well as her husband and CEO of the company, Tommy Mottola
. Carey's previous effort, Emotions (1991), drew influence from 1950s, 60s, and 70s balladry, gospel
, R&B
and soul music
, and failed to achieve the same success matched by her debut album. Following its tepid commercial performance, Columbia aimed for Music Box to be a vehicle for very commercial singles that could garner strong radio airplay. The album was formed as a a pop record, and more mainstream than anything on Emotions. Music Box went on to sell over 32 million copies worldwide, and earned its place among the best-selling albums of all time. Due to the album's success, Columbia allowed Carey more control over the music she recorded for Daydream (1995).
Before Carey knew or began searching for the direction she wanted the album to follow, Carey already had the idea and melody for "Underneath the Stars", and felt that it would fit into the album no matter what the eventual sound would be. As such, it became the first song Carey wrote and recorded for the album, and served as a sort of tribute to the music which she grew up listening to, as well as one of her main vocal inspirations, Minnie Riperton
. "Underneath the Stars" was the first song Carey recorded for her fifth studio album, Daydream (1995). The song was eventually chosen as the sixth and final single from the album, and was released on April 5, 1996 through Columbia Records
. In Australia, the song was released as a b-side to Carey's previous single, "Forever
" (1996).
. The album, alongside "Underneath the Stars" and "Breakdown", led to a publicized conflict with Columbia Records
. Carey wanted to include the two songs on the album, and felt that a greatest hits record should reflect on her most personal and favorite songs, not her most commercial. Sony on the other hand, wanted to release an album that featured her US number one singles, void of any new material. To accompany her thirteen number ones, Carey recorded four new songs. She felt that not including any new material would result in cheating her fans. While compromised, Carey often expressed distaste towards the album's song selection, expressing her disappointment in the omission of her "favorite songs."
For this reason, Sony titled the album #1's, as Carey felt the need to express the album's true content, a collection of her number one hits. In December 2001, Columbia released the album Greatest Hits
, which featured Carey's number one singles alongside songs she said "needed to be really heard", such as "Underneath the Stars" and "Forever
." In an interview with MTV
, Carey made the following statement regarding the album. "There's a lot of songs that I'm happy are gonna see the light of day. I think people are going to like this Greatest Hits because there are songs on it that were not necessarily singles."
, who was one of Carey's biggest vocal influences growing up. According to author Chris Nickson, the song has a soft sound, and "allot of texture" and bass, showing a more creative side to Carey. While reviewing Daydream, Stephen Holden
from The New York Times
described the song's double voice, as well as its lyrical content: "'Underneath the Stars', in which all the voices are Ms. Carey's, achieves the same dissolving synergy between a lyric and entwining vocal lines as she sings: "Beautifully and bittersweetly/ You were fading into me."
called the song one of Carey's best compositions, and wrote "it easily evokes a languid dreamy sensuality with its throbbing bass-line and synthetic record scratches." Writer and journalist Christopher John Farley
from the Time
described "Underneath the Stars" as "cool and blissfully nostalgic," while Cheo H. Coker called it "dynamic but subtle." Though a music video was never filmed, the song received a limited number of pressings in the United States
, where it charted weakly on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs
, peaking at number sixty-nine.
(1996). During the shows in Japan, Carey featured the song as the tenth track on the set-list. Appearing on stage wearing a long black evening gown, Carey discussed the song's composition and development with the audience, prior to its recital. The live performance from the Tokyo Dome
on March 7, 1996 was recorded and released on a rare DVD titled "Mariah Carey Live In Japan".
Singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriters are musicians who write, compose and sing their own musical material including lyrics and melodies. As opposed to contemporary popular music singers who write their own songs, the term singer-songwriter describes a distinct form of artistry, closely associated with the...
Mariah Carey
Mariah Carey
Mariah Carey is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, and actress. She made her recording debut with the release of her eponymous studio album in 1990, under the guidance of Columbia Records executive Tommy Mottola, whom she later married in 1993...
. The song was written and produced by Carey and Walter Afanasieff
Walter Afanasieff
Walter Afanasieff is a multiple Grammy-award-winning record producer and songwriter. He is best known for his long association with Mariah Carey, for whom he was producer and co-writer for several years, beginning in 1990...
, for her fifth studio album
Studio album
A studio album is an album made up of tracks recorded in the controlled environment of a recording studio. A studio album contains newly written and recorded or previously unreleased or remixed material, distinguishing itself from a compilation or reissue album of previously recorded material, or...
, Daydream (1995). It was released on April 5, 1996 through Columbia Records
Columbia Records
Columbia Records is an American record label, owned by Japan's Sony Music Entertainment, operating under the Columbia Music Group with Aware Records. It was founded in 1888, evolving from an earlier enterprise, the American Graphophone Company — successor to the Volta Graphophone Company...
, as the sixth and final single from the album, and as a b-side to "Forever
Forever (Mariah Carey song)
"Forever" is a song by American singer-songwriter Mariah Carey from her fifth studio album, Daydream. It was released by Columbia Records on March 10, 1996, as an airplay-only single from the album. The song was written and produced by Carey and Walter Afanasieff, and was composed throughout 1995...
" in Australia. The R&B
Contemporary R&B
Contemporary R&B is a music genre that combines elements of hip hop, soul, R&B and funk.Although the abbreviation “R&B” originates from traditional rhythm and blues music, today the term R&B is most often used to describe a style of African American music originating after the demise of disco in...
-influenced song, which has been considered by Carey as one of her personal favorites, features a soft melody and retro-style melody, and had music critics drawing comparisons to earlier works from one of her vocal inspirations, Minnie Riperton
Minnie Riperton
Minnie Julia Riperton was an American singer-songwriter best known for her 1975 single "Lovin' You". She was married to songwriter and music producer Richard Rudolph from 1972 until her death in the summer of 1979. They had two children - music engineer Marc Rudolph and actress/comedienne Maya...
.
"Underneath the Stars" received a limited number of pressings in the United States, and failed to chart on the US Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
. However, the song did manage to chart at number sixty-nine on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs
Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs
Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, is a chart released weekly by Billboard in the United States.The chart, initiated in 1942, is used to track the success of popular music songs in urban, or primarily African American, venues. Dominated over the years at various times by jazz, rhythm and blues, doo-wop, soul,...
component chart. Critically, it was considered one of the best songs on Daydream by music reviewers, many of which considered it a highlight on the album. A music video was not commissioned or filmed for "Underneath the Stars", and was performed throughout the Daydream World Tour
Daydream World Tour
The Daydream World Tour is a series of concerts by American R&B singer Mariah Carey. The tour took place during early to mid-1996, and kicked-off at the Tokyo Dome in Tokyo, Japan, and ended at London, England's Wembley Arena.-History:...
. The performance at the Tokyo Dome
Tokyo Dome
Tokyo Dome is a 55,000-seat baseball stadium located in Bunkyo Ward of Tokyo, Japan.The stadium opened for business on March 17, 1988. It was built on the site of the Velodrome which was next door to the site of the predecessor ballpark, Kōrakuen Stadium...
was later included on a rare DVD titled "Mariah Carey Live In Japan".
Background
Throughout 1993, Carey began conceptualizing Music Box (1993), which became the highest selling album of Carey's career. For her past two albums, Carey's creative choices were heavily controlled by her label Columbia RecordsColumbia Records
Columbia Records is an American record label, owned by Japan's Sony Music Entertainment, operating under the Columbia Music Group with Aware Records. It was founded in 1888, evolving from an earlier enterprise, the American Graphophone Company — successor to the Volta Graphophone Company...
, as well as her husband and CEO of the company, Tommy Mottola
Tommy Mottola
Thomas Daniel "Tommy" Mottola is an American music executive, co-owner of Casablanca Records in a joint venture with the Universal Music Group. He is the ex-husband of Mariah Carey and is married to Mexican singer Thalía...
. Carey's previous effort, Emotions (1991), drew influence from 1950s, 60s, and 70s balladry, gospel
Gospel music
Gospel music is music that is written to express either personal, spiritual or a communal belief regarding Christian life, as well as to give a Christian alternative to mainstream secular music....
, R&B
Contemporary R&B
Contemporary R&B is a music genre that combines elements of hip hop, soul, R&B and funk.Although the abbreviation “R&B” originates from traditional rhythm and blues music, today the term R&B is most often used to describe a style of African American music originating after the demise of disco in...
and soul music
Soul music
Soul music is a music genre originating in the United States combining elements of gospel music and rhythm and blues. According to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, soul is "music that arose out of the black experience in America through the transmutation of gospel and rhythm & blues into a form of...
, and failed to achieve the same success matched by her debut album. Following its tepid commercial performance, Columbia aimed for Music Box to be a vehicle for very commercial singles that could garner strong radio airplay. The album was formed as a a pop record, and more mainstream than anything on Emotions. Music Box went on to sell over 32 million copies worldwide, and earned its place among the best-selling albums of all time. Due to the album's success, Columbia allowed Carey more control over the music she recorded for Daydream (1995).
Before Carey knew or began searching for the direction she wanted the album to follow, Carey already had the idea and melody for "Underneath the Stars", and felt that it would fit into the album no matter what the eventual sound would be. As such, it became the first song Carey wrote and recorded for the album, and served as a sort of tribute to the music which she grew up listening to, as well as one of her main vocal inspirations, Minnie Riperton
Minnie Riperton
Minnie Julia Riperton was an American singer-songwriter best known for her 1975 single "Lovin' You". She was married to songwriter and music producer Richard Rudolph from 1972 until her death in the summer of 1979. They had two children - music engineer Marc Rudolph and actress/comedienne Maya...
. "Underneath the Stars" was the first song Carey recorded for her fifth studio album, Daydream (1995). The song was eventually chosen as the sixth and final single from the album, and was released on April 5, 1996 through Columbia Records
Columbia Records
Columbia Records is an American record label, owned by Japan's Sony Music Entertainment, operating under the Columbia Music Group with Aware Records. It was founded in 1888, evolving from an earlier enterprise, the American Graphophone Company — successor to the Volta Graphophone Company...
. In Australia, the song was released as a b-side to Carey's previous single, "Forever
Forever (Mariah Carey song)
"Forever" is a song by American singer-songwriter Mariah Carey from her fifth studio album, Daydream. It was released by Columbia Records on March 10, 1996, as an airplay-only single from the album. The song was written and produced by Carey and Walter Afanasieff, and was composed throughout 1995...
" (1996).
Controversy
Throughout 1998, Carey was compiling songs for her first compilation album, Number 1'sNumber 1's (Mariah Carey album)
#1's is the first compilation album by American singer-songwriter Mariah Carey, released by Columbia Records on November 17, 1998. The album contained Carey's thirteen number one singles on the Billboard Hot 100, as well as four new songs. In Japan, #1's also included her popular single "All I Want...
. The album, alongside "Underneath the Stars" and "Breakdown", led to a publicized conflict with Columbia Records
Columbia Records
Columbia Records is an American record label, owned by Japan's Sony Music Entertainment, operating under the Columbia Music Group with Aware Records. It was founded in 1888, evolving from an earlier enterprise, the American Graphophone Company — successor to the Volta Graphophone Company...
. Carey wanted to include the two songs on the album, and felt that a greatest hits record should reflect on her most personal and favorite songs, not her most commercial. Sony on the other hand, wanted to release an album that featured her US number one singles, void of any new material. To accompany her thirteen number ones, Carey recorded four new songs. She felt that not including any new material would result in cheating her fans. While compromised, Carey often expressed distaste towards the album's song selection, expressing her disappointment in the omission of her "favorite songs."
For this reason, Sony titled the album #1's, as Carey felt the need to express the album's true content, a collection of her number one hits. In December 2001, Columbia released the album Greatest Hits
Greatest Hits (Mariah Carey album)
Greatest Hits is the eleventh album by American singer Mariah Carey, released in the United States on December 4, 2001 by Columbia Records. It is a greatest hits double album: CD 1 is primarily a collection of Carey's hits from 1990 to 1995, while CD 2 is primarily a collection of hits from 1996 to...
, which featured Carey's number one singles alongside songs she said "needed to be really heard", such as "Underneath the Stars" and "Forever
Forever (Mariah Carey song)
"Forever" is a song by American singer-songwriter Mariah Carey from her fifth studio album, Daydream. It was released by Columbia Records on March 10, 1996, as an airplay-only single from the album. The song was written and produced by Carey and Walter Afanasieff, and was composed throughout 1995...
." In an interview with MTV
MTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
, Carey made the following statement regarding the album. "There's a lot of songs that I'm happy are gonna see the light of day. I think people are going to like this Greatest Hits because there are songs on it that were not necessarily singles."
Composition
"Underneath the Stars" features a "'70s soul vibe" as well as synthetic record scratches, in order to the give the song an authentic aged sound. The song also incorporates Carey's usage of double voice, in which she sings the verses in a lower octave, and then sings the crescendo and climax in a higher register over it. Carey felt the additions were simple steps taken to further display a contemporary R&B groove, and pay homage to the style of Minnie RipertonMinnie Riperton
Minnie Julia Riperton was an American singer-songwriter best known for her 1975 single "Lovin' You". She was married to songwriter and music producer Richard Rudolph from 1972 until her death in the summer of 1979. They had two children - music engineer Marc Rudolph and actress/comedienne Maya...
, who was one of Carey's biggest vocal influences growing up. According to author Chris Nickson, the song has a soft sound, and "allot of texture" and bass, showing a more creative side to Carey. While reviewing Daydream, Stephen Holden
Stephen Holden
Stephen Holden is an American writer, music critic, film critic, and poet.Holden earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from Yale University in 1963...
from The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
described the song's double voice, as well as its lyrical content: "'Underneath the Stars', in which all the voices are Ms. Carey's, achieves the same dissolving synergy between a lyric and entwining vocal lines as she sings: "Beautifully and bittersweetly/ You were fading into me."
Reception
While not commercially released, "Underneath the Stars" became one of the album's best-received tracks, with music critics complimenting its instrumentation and vocals. Chris Nickson, author of Mariah Carey revisited: her story (1998), said the song was as "strong as any slow jam released in the nineties, and one that would find a lot of flavor late at night with dancers." Chris Dickinson from St. Louis Post-DispatchSt. Louis Post-Dispatch
The St. Louis Post-Dispatch is the major city-wide newspaper in St. Louis, Missouri. Although written to serve Greater St. Louis, the Post-Dispatch is one of the largest newspapers in the Midwestern United States, and is available and read as far west as Kansas City, Missouri, as far south as...
called the song one of Carey's best compositions, and wrote "it easily evokes a languid dreamy sensuality with its throbbing bass-line and synthetic record scratches." Writer and journalist Christopher John Farley
Christopher John Farley
For the late comedian and SNL actor, see Chris Farley.Christopher John Farley is a Jamaican-born American journalist, columnist, and author.-Early life and education:...
from the Time
Time (magazine)
Time is an American news magazine. A European edition is published from London. Time Europe covers the Middle East, Africa and, since 2003, Latin America. An Asian edition is based in Hong Kong...
described "Underneath the Stars" as "cool and blissfully nostalgic," while Cheo H. Coker called it "dynamic but subtle." Though a music video was never filmed, the song received a limited number of pressings in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, where it charted weakly on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs
Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs
Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, is a chart released weekly by Billboard in the United States.The chart, initiated in 1942, is used to track the success of popular music songs in urban, or primarily African American, venues. Dominated over the years at various times by jazz, rhythm and blues, doo-wop, soul,...
, peaking at number sixty-nine.
Live performances
Due to its limited release and chart performance, "Underneath the Stars" was only performed during Carey's Daydream World TourDaydream World Tour
The Daydream World Tour is a series of concerts by American R&B singer Mariah Carey. The tour took place during early to mid-1996, and kicked-off at the Tokyo Dome in Tokyo, Japan, and ended at London, England's Wembley Arena.-History:...
(1996). During the shows in Japan, Carey featured the song as the tenth track on the set-list. Appearing on stage wearing a long black evening gown, Carey discussed the song's composition and development with the audience, prior to its recital. The live performance from the Tokyo Dome
Tokyo Dome
Tokyo Dome is a 55,000-seat baseball stadium located in Bunkyo Ward of Tokyo, Japan.The stadium opened for business on March 17, 1988. It was built on the site of the Velodrome which was next door to the site of the predecessor ballpark, Kōrakuen Stadium...
on March 7, 1996 was recorded and released on a rare DVD titled "Mariah Carey Live In Japan".
Track listing
- CD single and 12" Vinyl
- "Underneath the Stars" — 3:33
- "Underneath the Stars" (Drifiting Re-Mix) — 4:00
- "Underneath the Stars" (Drifiting Re-Mix W/O Rap) — 4:00
- AUS CD single
- "Forever" — 4:01
- "Underneath The Stars" — 3:33
- "Forever" (Live) — 4:12
- "Make It Happen" (Live) — 4:43
Credits and personnel
Credits adapted from the Daydream liner notes.- Mariah Carey – vocals, songwriting, producerRecord producerA record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
- Walter AfanasieffWalter AfanasieffWalter Afanasieff is a multiple Grammy-award-winning record producer and songwriter. He is best known for his long association with Mariah Carey, for whom he was producer and co-writer for several years, beginning in 1990...
– songwriting, producer, mixingAudio mixing (recorded music)In audio recording, audio mixing is the process by which multiple recorded sounds are combined into one or more channels, most commonly two-channel stereo. In the process, the source signals' level, frequency content, dynamics, and panoramic position are manipulated and effects such as reverb may... - Herb Powers – masteringAudio masteringMastering, a form of audio post-production, is the process of preparing and transferring recorded audio from a source containing the final mix to a data storage device ; the source from which all copies will be produced...