Can't Take That Away (Mariah's Theme) - Music Videos and Remixes

Music Videos and Remixes

Two music videos were shot for "Can't Take That Away", both directed by Sanaa Hamri in New York City. The creation of the video involved some of Carey's fans: two weeks prior to filming, they were invited via her website to send in video clips of themselves, telling her of the hardships in their lives and how the song had inspired them to look at life differently, and had given them strength. A contest was held, and video clips from five fans were chosen for inclusion in the video. The clips were featured in the video's introduction, where Carey reacts to her fan's struggles which included personal insecurities, the problems of being part of a racial or social minority, and being victimized by verbal harassment.

The original edit of the music video begins with a message to those fans that sent in their videos; "Thank you to all those who chose to share their stories with the world." Subsequently, a personal message left by Carey is shown, reading "After every storm, if you look hard enough, a rainbow appears...". Five testimonials from fans are shown, each telling of their own personal problems and hardships. In her testimonial, the third girl says "I am fourteen years old, I'm a high school student, there is not one day that goes by that people don't make fun of me about my race. Its is about self-confidence, don't be afraid to dream." After the last girl reads her message, Carey is shown lying on a sofa in her living room, watching a television. As she sadly sings, she watched as different empowering messages and events are shown on the screen. Of them, one shows Lance Armstrong riding a bicycle on the Tour de France, reading "Lance Armstrong overcame cancer and won the Tour de France in 1999." After the next scene, Carey is shown sitting on the sofa, with tears in her eyes, as they slowly escape her. During the end of the bridge, where she sing "Certainly the lord will guide me," Carey stands from the floor, and exits onto a large balcony overlooking the city. Rain begins to fall while Carey waves her arms, hands, and body as she cries out. Her depression is resolved when the rain stops and a rainbow forms, prompting her to smile.

The video was quickly pulled after its release because it contained some technical errors. The clips of the people on Carey's television had their struggles captioned in dark text on a dark background, making it difficult to read. There were also continuity errors during the rainy balcony scene, as Carey's shirt would alternate between being soaking wet and dry. Consequently, a new music video was completed, which retained the clips of Carey's fans at the beginning but fixed the captions and replaced most of the interior shots of Carey with new footage. Carey, now in a new and more furnished apartment, does not go out into the rain but instead stays in her living room. She walks over to a large pair of windows aside a mural of large throw pillows and candles, singing and flailing her arms as she completes the song. As with the previous filming of the video, Carey's pain and sadness is resolved with a rainbow, shown at the end of the video. Most remixes of "Can't Take That Away (Mariah's Theme)" were released in the US only, although few were found in certain territories. David Morales produced the Morales club mix, which uses the song's original vocals with similar chord progressions to those of the original, and the Morales Triumphant mix, which contains re-recorded vocals and new lyrics which transform the song into a jazz-like mix with harmonica sections. A spoken introduction was also added, featuring Carey's spoken voice before the first verse.