Loverboy (song)

Infobox Single
Name = Loverboy


Artist = Mariah Carey featuring Cameo & Ludacris
Album = Glitter
Released = July 16 2001 (UK)
July 17, 2001 (U.S.)
Format = CD single, CD maxi single, 7" single, 12" single
Recorded =
Genre = Pop, R&B, hip pop
Length = 3:49 (Album/Single Version)
4:33 (Remix featuring Da Brat and Ludacris)
Label = Virgin
Writer = Mariah Carey, Larry Blackmon, Thomas Jenkins
Producer = Mariah Carey, Clark Kent
Misc = Extra chronology
Artist = Mariah Carey
Type = singles
Last single =
This single = "Loverboy"
(2001)
Next single =
Misc = Extra chronology
Artist = Mariah Carey
Type = singles
Last single = "Against All Odds"
(2000)
This single = "Loverboy"
(2001)
Next single = "Never Too Far"
(2001)Extra track listing
Album = Glitter
Type = soundtrack
prev_track =
prev_no =
this_track = "Loverboy (remix)"
track_no = 1
next_track = "Lead the Way"
next_no = 2Extra track listing
Album = Glitter
Type = soundtrack
prev_track = "Twister"
prev_no = 11
this_track = "Loverboy"
track_no = 12
next_track =
next_no = Extra track listing
Album = The Remixes (CD #2)
Type = remix
prev_track = "Honey (So So Def Mix)"
prev_no = 6
this_track = "Loverboy (remix)"
track_no = 7
next_track = "Heartbreaker (Remix)"
next_no = 8Extra album cover 2
Upper caption = Alternate cover
Type = studio


Lower caption = U.S Maxi single

"Loverboy" is a song written by American singer Mariah Carey, using a song sample originally written by Larry Blackmon and Thomas Jenkins, and produced by Carey and Clark Kent for Carey's tenth album "Glitter" (2001). It is built over the sample of "Candy" by Cameo, who are featured artists on the song. The song's protagonist fantasizes about her "loverboy", and it was released as the album's first single in 2001 (see 2001 in music).

Chart performance

"Loverboy" was Carey's last top forty hit as a lead artist in the U.S. until the release of her fourteenth album, "The Emancipation of Mimi", in 2005. As she was the only artist to have a number-one single every year on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 in the 1990s (and since the start of her career), pressure was put on her to continue this streak. Carey and her new label Virgin Records, prepared a release schedule for "Loverboy" in which competition would be low, and priced the commercial CD singles for the discount price of 49 cents to help it on the charts. This move backfired, however, as many viewed the low pricing of the single as a blatant attempt to get her another hit.

During this period, Sony Music (Carey's previous label) had changed the release date for Destiny's Child's "Bootylicious", placing it in direct competition with "Loverboy". "Loverboy" sold more strongly than "Bootylicious", but the latter single had received much more radio airplay and reached number one. It was believed that the boss, Tommy Mottola (former husband/boss of Mariah Carey) purposely did so, to (as Mariah put it) "sabotage" her career. Upon the commercial release of the song's CD single which was priced at 49 cents, [ [http://www.ew.com/ew/report/0,6115,169035_4%7C7377%7C%7C0_0_,00.html http://www.ew.com/ew/report/0,6115,169035_4%7C7377%7C%7C0_0_,00.html] ] Carey broke a record for having the greatest jump to number two (from number sixty) where it stayed for two weeks. However, many critics believe the single would have flopped had it not been for the extremely low pricing of the single. Because its peak was at #2, it not only ended Mariah Carey's streak of a number one hit for each year since 1990, but it was also the first lead-off single from a studio album of hers to not hit #1. Eventually, "Glitter" would also be the first studio album by Mariah Carey to not have a #1 single (whereas her previous studio albums had at least 2 #1 hits each, with the exception of "Emotions" which only contained 1). The song become certified gold by the RIAA and it remained in the U.S. Hot 100 for fourteen weeks and was ranked eightieth on the Hot 100 2001 year-end charts. It did reach #1 on "Billboard"'s Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles chart, becoming Carey's eighth to reach that summit.

"Loverboy" performed more moderately outside the U.S. It reached the top ten in Canada, Australia and on the United World Chart. It also reached the top twenty in the United Kingdom and Italy, but failed to reach the top forty in Japan and most of Continental Europe.

ampling, music videos, and remixes

The sample of Cameo's "Candy" that Carey had used for the song was not her first choice: she had originally wanted to use a sample of the song "Firecracker", originally performed by Martin Denny but popularized by the Yellow Magic Orchestra. Producers of Sony Music artist Jennifer Lopez's song "I'm Real" had used the sample in her song, and because Lopez' album was released first, Carey discarded the "Firecracker" sample. She later used an interpolation of the melody of "Firecracker" in the main remix of "Loverboy". Small snippets of the original version of "Loverboy" featuring the "Firecracker" sample are heard in some advance trailers for the film "Glitter", for which the album "Glitter" served as a soundtrack. In the film, "Loverboy" is the first major hit single by Billie Frank (played by Carey).

According to "Firecracker"'s music publisher, Lopez called to license a sample of the song a month after Carey had. Sony denied reports that record executive and Carey's ex-husband Tommy Mottola shared information about "Loverboy" with Lopez, while "The Inc"'s Irv Gotti said that Mottola contacted him with instructions to create a song that sounded exactly like another Glitter track he produced called "If We" featuring rappers Ja Rule and Nate Dogg. [ [http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,49437,00.html http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,49437,00.html] "Foxnews.com" ]

The single's video, directed by David LaChapelle, uses the album version of the song and features appearances from both Carey and Cameo. Cameo can be seen driving all over a racetrack (Los Angeles County Raceway) and vocalizing as Carey, dressed in revealing clothing, is shown singing in various "car girl" positions at the track on a hot summer day. She flags down cars as the "flag girl" and dances as a "tire girl" in a kaleidoscope-inspired sequence, before jumping out of a cake to the roars of the crowd below.

The song's main remix, titled "Loverboy (remix)", uses the same sample as the album version and retains all of Carey's original vocals. It has a different introduction, the singing and spoken parts of Cameo are greatly reduced (and are not credited), and additional raps are included by Da Brat, Ludacris, Shawnna, and Twenty II. A video was also made for the remix and retains most of the shots of the original. In it, Ludacris and Shawnna can be seen rapping together as they ride in an old car, while Da Brat and Twenty II rap together in a more modern car without a hood. The "Firecracker" version of the song was rumored to feature Da Brat, and the remix of the "Firecracker" version featured Lil' Kim. Neither have ever surfaced.

David Morales created some club remixes of the song that contain re-recorded vocals, including "Loverboy (Club of Love remix)". Two-Step producer MJ Cole produced remixes which retain the original vocals of the song, but involve restructuring.

Track listings

*U.S. CD single (cassette single/7" single)
#"Loverboy" (album version)
#"Loverboy" (remix)

*U.S. CD maxi single
#"Loverboy" (album version)
#"Loverboy" (remix)
#"Loverboy" (MJ Cole remix)
#"Loverboy" (MJ Cole instrumental)
#"Loverboy" (MJ Cole London dub mix)
#"Loverboy" (Club of Love remix)
#"Loverboy" (Dub Love remix)
#"Loverboy" (Drums of Love)

*International CD maxi single
#"Loverboy" (album version) (3.50)
#"Loverboy" (remix) (4.32)
#"Loverboy" (Club of Love remix) (9.05)
#"Loverboy" (MJ Cole remix) (5.50)
#"Loverboy" (Dub Love remix) (8.13)
#"Loverboy" (Video) (3.48)

Charts

References

* [http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,49437,00.html]

ee also

*R&B number-one hits of 2001 (USA)