The single Always Be My Baby was Mariah's 11th number one on the Billboard Charts.
Single:
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Always Be My Baby was released in 1996 as the third single of Daydream album. Daydream was already announcing changes of Mariah’s style, though she never changed that much. For the first time she worked with urban - rap artists for some of the songs on Daydream. Always Be My Baby hit #1 spot on May 4, 1996, becoming her 11th number 1 hit and putting her in a tie with Madonna and Whitney Houston. All together at that time Mariah has been on top Hot 100 for 53 weeks. The single was not as successful as Fantasy or One Sweet Day, but it stayed on the top for 2 full weeks.
The original is featuring a beautiful song, which is already moving away from the ballad kind. It talks about devotion and understanding of freedom. The song was than also remixed in different music styles: reggae, rap, dance... Mariah of course wrote the lyrics and the music was created with the help of Jermaine Dupri and Manuel Seal.
The single was released in many different versions all around the world.
Mariah also invited few guests to be on her CD single: Da Brat, Lil’ Vicious and the girl group Xscape (they are more popular in US than on other places). She also worked with the producer Jermaine Dupri (JD), who created a couple of great remixes. Here is what Mariah said about her single:
‘I'd been a fan of Jermaine Dupri's work for ages - he did Kris Kross and Xscape. I like to work with young producers because it adds freshness. Jermaine, myself and his writing partner, Manual Seal, wrote this.’
US (Columbia; 38 78276):
1. Always Be My Baby
2. Long Ago
US (Columbia; 44K 78277), UK, OZ:
1. ABMB (Mr Dupri No Rap Radio Mix) (feat. Xscape)
2. ABMB (Mr Dupri Mix) (feat. Da Brat, Xscape)
3. ABMB (Mr Dupri Extended Mix) (feat. Da Brat, Xscape)
4. ABMB (Reggae Soul Mix) (feat. Lil' Vicious)
5. ABMB (Album Version)
US, OZ, CD #2- remixes maxisingle:
1. ABMB (Def Classic Radio Version)
2. ABMB (Always Club)
3. ABMB (Groove A Pella)
4. ABMB (ST Dub)
US (Columbia; 44 78277):
1. Always Be My Baby (Reggae Soul Dub)
2. Always Be My Baby (Mr. Dupri Extended Mix)
3. Always Be My Baby (Reggae Soul A Capella)
4. Always Be My Baby (Album Version)
The video:
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The music video for Always Be My Baby was Mariah’s fourth video for Daydream. This was also her second directing job (first was for Fantasy). Mariah wanted to do something special, so the video is happening in the nature at night. There are some people sitting beside the fire near a small lake and a full moon is shining and reflecting over the entire place around the lake.
Mariah is dressed in dark blue jeans (her pants) and a blue shirt. She tied up her shirt at the bottom, so that she is showing her belly button (she looks very cute). Her hair is kinda reddish and lightly curled at the end. She looks really beautiful... We can see her singing infront of the fire and all the people behind are singing and having fun too... Later Mariah is also on the rope swing, which tied on the tree and hanging over the lake.
There are some beautiful shots of Mariah and the full moon behind her. The whole video is very romantic.
Mariah has also directed the video for the remix featuring Da Brat and Xscape. The video is in black&white. Mariah is dressed in black, wearing this cute cap. It is showing her in the studio and there are also some candid video clips of Mariah talking to her music friends.
