Rainbow (Mariah Carey album)

Rainbow
Studio album by 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
Professional reviews
All Music Guide link Rolling Stone link
Mariah Carey chronology
#1's (1998) Rainbow (1999) Valentines (2000) Singles from Rainbow "Heartbreaker" "Thank God I Found You" "Crybaby"/"Can't Take That Away (Mariah's Theme)" "Against All Odds (Take a Look at Me Now)"

Rainbow is the ninth album and seventh 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.

Description

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."^[1] 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. Many felt the album was a natural continuation of the R&B and hip hop sounds Carey had explored on the album Butterfly (1997).

Rainbow is often considered one of Carey's more personal albums alongside Butterfly and Charmbracelet. The message from Carey in the insert reads,

"This album chronicles my emotional roller coaster ride of the past year. If you listen closely, there's a story here with a very happy ending. After every storm — if you look hard enough — a rainbow appears."

The review of the album by Entertainment Weekly asserts that "Against All Odds (Take a Look at me Now)" refers to her relationship with Derek Jeter. "Petals" makes several obscure references to a "dandelion", siblings, and a "Valentine". Many conjecture that "Valentine" refers to Carey's ex-husband, Tommy Mottola, who at one time had the stage name of "T.D. Valentine".^[2] Some speculate that the "siblings" refer to Mottola's children and the "dandelion" refers to Carey's sister Allison, a prostitute.

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.^[3] In its debut week was knock-off the top spot by Rage Against The Machine's Battle of Los Angeles. The second week Rainbow stay again 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 three million copies in the U.S.according to Nielsen SoundScan,^[4] with an additional 0.5 million sold at Columbia House outlets and 0.44 million at BMG Music Clubs,^[5] and 10 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

1. "Heartbreaker" – 4:46
   • performed by Mariah Carey & Jay-Z
2. "Can't Take That Away (Mariah's Theme)" – 4:33
3. "Bliss" – 5:44
4. "How Much" – 3:31
   • performed by Mariah Carey & Usher
5. "After Tonight" – 4:16
6. "X-Girlfriend" – 3:58
7. "Heartbreaker" (Remix) – 4:32
   • performed by Mariah Carey, Da Brat, & Missy Elliott
8. "Vulnerability (Interlude)" – 1:12
9. "Against All Odds (Take a Look at Me Now)" (solo version) – 3:25
10. "Crybaby" – 5:20
    • performed by Mariah Carey & Snoop Dogg
11. "Did I Do That?" – 4:16
    • performed by Mariah Carey, Mystikal, & Master P
12. "Petals" – 4:23
13. "Rainbow (Interlude)" – 1:32
14. "Thank God I Found You" – 4:17
    • performed by Mariah Carey, Joe, & 98 Degrees

French Edition

1. "Do You Know Where You're Going To (Theme From Mahogany)" - 3:47

Special edition

1. "Against All Odds (Take a Look at Me Now)" featuring Westlife – 3:25

Charts, sales and certification