"Forever" is a song written and produced by American singer Mariah Carey and Walter Afanasieff for Carey's fourth studio album, Daydream. The protagonist of this 1950s-inspired romantic ballad knows that her relationship is over, but that the boy will be hers forever in her mind. It was released as the album's fifth single in 1996 (see 1996 in music) in most markets outside the U.S. (excluding the United Kingdom) and was not intended to chart on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100, as Billboard magazine rules at that time stipulated that a song must have a commercial release to be eligible for inclusion on the Hot 100. "Forever" was still a major radio airplay hit in the U.S., reaching the top ten on the Hot 100 Airplay chart and the top five of Billboard's Adult Contemporary chart. It also reached the top twenty in Canada and the top forty in Australia. The single's video, put together by Carey herself, is made up of scenes of her performing the song live in Japan at the Tokyo Dome intercut with black-and-white sequences in which she explores Japan. The track listings for the song's major CD single releases include its album version and a live recording, the album cut of the Daydream track "Underneath the Stars", and a live version of "Make It Happen" (1992).
