Music Box (Mariah Carey Album) - Background

Background

"Mariah and Dave did this loop thing, and it was new to us pop producers at the time. Their version of 'Dreamlover' was missing a lot of stuff. The spirit of the song was up but it wasn't hitting hard enough. put a whole different shade of colors into it."

—Afanasieff on "Dreamlover" before and after he worked on it.

In 1988, Carey was discovered by Tommy Mottola, CEO of Columbia Records, and was promptly signed to the label. Carey's self-titled debut studio album, released the following year, focused on re-recording and mastering several songs she had already written in high school alongside classmate, Ben Margulies. Aside from the seven songs taken from Carey's demo tape, four other tracks were written and produced by the former and an array of famed record producers. The album was complimented by critics, who called it a mature debut, full of various genre influences ranging from pop, R&B and soul. The album became a commercial success, selling over fifteen million units globally. While making a strong impact on pop music, Carey became interested in altering her sound, and deviating from pop music for her second studio effort, Emotions (1991). Following the success of her debut, Columbia allowed her to take more control over her musical departure, enabling her to change her genre infusions, melodies and production. During the album's recording, Carey worked with several different musicians and producers, aside from Walter Afanasieff, the only hold over from her debut.

Emotions contained influences from mostly 1950s, 1960s and 1970s balladry and gospel, as well as her continued work of R&B and soul. The album, while praised by some as more mature and raw, failed to reach the critical or commercial heights of her debut effort, while selling far less and failed to introduce Carey into a different market. Following these events, Columbia decided to try to market Carey in a similar fashion to her debut, only having her produce a more commercial and radio-friendly album. Their plans were to tone down Carey's vocals, and soften the album's production, leaving a more contemporary pop/R&B record. Agreeing to the change, Carey and Afanasieff began writing and recording material for her third studio effort, Music Box. On the album's first track "Dreamlover", Carey worked with Dave Hall throughout the song's entire production. In order to help with some of the song's arrangements, Mottola enrolled the help of Walter Afanasieff, who took on the completed track and transformed it into a more commercial hit.