Rainbow (Mariah Carey album)

Infobox Album
Name = Rainbow
Type = studio
Artist = Mariah Carey


Released = November 2 1999 (U.S.)
Recorded = 1998-1999
Genre = Pop, R&B
Length = 55:49
Label = Columbia
CK-63800
Producer = Mariah Carey, Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, James Wright, DJ Clue, Duro, Damizza, David Foster, Jermaine Dupri, Bryan Michael Cox, She'kspere, Master P, Craig B
Reviews = *Allmusic Rating|3|5 [http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:by8m962ohepo link]
*"Rolling Stone" Rating|3|5 [http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/mariahcarey/albums/album/94565/review/5946092/rainbow link]
Last album = "#1's"
(1998)
This album = "Rainbow"
(1999)
Next album = "Valentines"
(2000)Singles
Name = Rainbow
Type = studio
single 1 = Heartbreaker
single 1 date = September 21, 1999
single 2 = Thank God I Found You
single 2 date = January 25, 2000
single 3 = Crybaby"/"Can't Take That Away (Mariah's Theme)
single 4 = Against All Odds (Take a Look at Me Now)

"Rainbow" is the ninth album and sixth studio album by American pop/R&B singer Mariah Carey, released in the United States on November 2 1999 (see 1999 in music) by Columbia Records. "Rainbow" went on to sell 4 million copies in the U.S [ [http://www.mariahdaily.com/corantofiles/news-archive-1-2006.shtml Mariah Daily | 2007 ] ] and over 10 million units globally.

Album information

"Rainbow" is a collaboration-heavy album on which Carey worked with a wide range of producers and artists that dominated the music scene of the late 1990s; "Rolling Stone" called the album "a sterling chronicle of accessible hip-hop balladeering at the close of 1999." [Berger, Arion. [http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/mariahcarey/albums/album/94565/review/5946092/rainbow "Mariah Carey - Rainbow"] . "Rolling Stone". November 25 1999. Retrieved January 25 2007.] Carey herself said of the album "I made it in three months, like "Get me off this label!" I couldn't take it." [ [http://www.mariahdaily.com/infozone/magazines/2007/interview/index.shtml "Mariah Carey - Interview"] . Interview Magazine. September 2007.] Guest artists included rappers Jay-Z, Da Brat, Missy Elliott, Snoop Dogg, Mystikal and Master P, singers Usher and Joe, and boy band 98 Degrees. The album was the first since Carey's debut to not be co-produced heavily by Walter Afanasieff, her long-time collaborator who co-produced most of her signature ballads. In his place, Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis were enlisted. The album was promoted with several short clips shown on MTV showcasing Carey's feuds with her alter-ego from the "Heartbreaker" videos, Bianca, played by Carey. This was one of Carey's first public attempts at acting, and many agree the humor of these videos showcase Carey's playful side and her true acting ability. Some of these videos have been uploaded to YouTube, such as when Bianca interviews Mariah, dissing her and mocking Da Brat's lyrics from the "Heartbreaker (Remix)" (which she assumes are Carey's), mispronouncing her name and not caring, and making fun of her album titles. Whenever such a "diss" is said, a quick shot of Bianca is shown from the Heartbreaker (Remix) video along with a snippet of Missy Elliott's She's a Bitch. That particular video has racked up nearly 10,000 views on YouTube. Another video shows Bianca sabotaging Carey's autograph signing, knocking her out cold and replacing her "Rainbow" posters with posters of her album, appropriately titled "Storm". She gets angry when a fan insists he's here to see Mariah and she tells them all to go home. That video has nearly 17,000 views on YouTube. Carey stated in an MTV Special highlighting her Rainbow World Tour that because there were leftover videos, they were integrated into her show.

Chart performance

"Rainbow" debuted at number two on the U.S. "Billboard" 200 chart with 323,000 copies sold, the highest first-week sales of Carey's career at that time. [Jenison, David. [http://music.yahoo.com/read/news/18473558 "Mariah Massacres 50 Cent"] . E! Online. April 20 2005. Retrieved January 25 2007.] In its debut week it was kept out of the top spot by Rage Against The Machine's "Battle of Los Angeles". The second week "Rainbow" stayed at #2, this time blocked by Faith Hill's "Breathe". The album stayed in the top twenty for ten weeks and on the chart for thirty-five, making one re-entry. The album's weekly sales peaked at 369,000 copies in its eighth week (when it was at number nine), and it was eventually certified three times platinum by the RIAA. Although a commercial success, it was Carey's first studio album since "Emotions" (1991) not to reach number one in the U.S. and her lowest-peaking since that album's release. "Rainbow" was a worldwide top ten hit, also hitting number one in France and on the United World Chart (for its two first weeks). As of 2005, the album had sold 3 million copies in the U.S.according to Nielsen SoundScan, [ [http://www.mariahdaily.com/corantofiles/news-archive-1-2006.shtml Mariah Daily | 2007 ] ] with an additional 0.5 million sold at Columbia House outlets and 0.44 million at BMG Music Clubs, [ [http://64.233.179.104/search?q=cache:2imhVBtlmSEJ:lovepetcn.w5.zhaomu.com/bbs/read.php%3Ftid=1861 U.S. BMG Music Club and Columbia House sales as of February 2005] ] and 8.5 million units worldwide.

"Rainbow" produced two number-one hits on the U.S. "Billboard" Hot 100: "Heartbreaker" and "Thank God I Found You". A cover version of the Phil Collins song "Against All Odds (Take a Look at Me Now)" featuring the Irish boy band Westlife was released in the UK and became Carey's second number-one single there, but the double A-side "Can't Take That Away (Mariah's Theme)"/"Crybaby" became her first single to miss the U.S. top twenty.

Track listing

# "Heartbreaker" performed by Mariah Carey & Jay-Z – 4:46
# "Can't Take That Away (Mariah's Theme)" – 4:33
# "Bliss" – 5:44
# "How Much" performed by Mariah Carey & Usher – 3:31
# "After Tonight" – 4:16
# "X-Girlfriend" – 3:58
# "Heartbreaker" (Remix) performed by Mariah Carey, Da Brat, & Missy Elliott – 4:32
# "Vulnerability (Interlude)" – 1:12
# "Against All Odds (Take a Look at Me Now)" (solo version) – 3:25
# "Crybaby" performed by Mariah Carey & Snoop Dogg – 5:20
# "Did I Do That?" performed by Mariah Carey, Mystikal, & Master P – 4:16
# "Petals" – 4:23
# "Rainbow (Interlude)" – 1:32
# "Thank God I Found You" performed by Mariah Carey, Joe, & 98 Degrees – 4:17
# "Do You Know Where You're Going To (Theme From Mahogany)" - 3:47 (French Edition - Hidden Track)
# "Against All Odds (Take a Look at Me Now)" featuring Westlife – 3:25 (UK Bonus Track)

Charts, sales and certification

¹ This figure includes only Nielsen SoundScan and BMG record club sales.

Notes