"We Belong Together" by Mariah Carey // Song Review

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"We Belong Together" by Mariah Carey was released in 2005 as the second single of her tenth album, The Emancipation of Mimi. It is widely credited with reviving her career in the new decade, following her chart dominance throughout the 1990s. It now serves as a testament to her strength artistry that she turned such a challenging period into a story of redemption and perseverance. 

It also served as a significant new chapter in Mariah's career, following the release of two commercial failures with Glitter in 2001 and Charmbracelet in 2002. These records were released at a particularly low point in her personal and professional life, which was highly publicized at the time and she has since opened up about through the years. Despite these struggles, Mariah's resilience through that difficult period of her life shined through so brightly in her 2005 comeback album The Emancipation of Mimi. This album fully represented a rebirth of Mariah as an artist at this point and is among the best of her entire career. 

"We Belong Together" is such a stellar moment of The Emancipation of Mimi. It is a true masterclass in vocals and songwriting, showcasing Mariah's incredible level of talent and artistry. She makes it seem so effortless as she moves through the intricate vocal runs of this song, while still incorporating so much emotion into every note. The storytelling of this song is also so impactful as well. It's a universal story of love, longing, and heartbreak, with these complicated emotions portrayed so eloquently. The fusion of pop and R&B creates such a gorgeous harmony in this ballad.

Upon its release, "We Belong Together" became her 16th song to reach No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and remained at the top of the charts for fourteen nonconsecutive weeks - the most of any song that year and among the highest in chart history. In a 2006 interview with Billboard, Mariah talked about the process of writing this song with frequent collaborator Jermaine Dupri and knowing from the earliest stages of its creation that it was going to be something special. She said, "I had the chills. I had a great feeling about it when we finished writing the song, and I was flying back from Atlanta at some crazy hour of the morning... But we were listening to it on the plane ride on the way home, and even from the demo version, I really felt something very special."

During this recording session, they wrote both "We Belong Together" and the album's lead single "Shake If Off" very quickly, which were also the last two songs to be added to the record before its completion. "The records that I made are very melodic records, regardless of their hip-hop influence," Dupri said in a 2006 interview with MTV. "I think that's what she was missing."

This song has gone on to be highly influential in the years that followed it's release. Most notably, Billboard announced in December 2009 that "We Belong Together" was the best song of the decade. It is also widely regarded to be one of Mariah's most iconic and impactful songs of her entire career, one that has transcended generations and is just as fresh as it was in 2005. So much of Mariah's music has such a timeless quality to it, which has always set her apart from many of her peers in the industry and has given her the longevity she's had as an artist. 


Thanks for reading! This week marks the 20th anniversary since the release of this song, making it the perfect opportunity to delve into its history as this week's song review. Check out more from my song of the week series here, plus my recent anniversary review of Mariah Carey's iconic Merry Christmas album. Many more are coming soon!
-Melissa ♡


Photo Credit: Mariah Carey, Def Jam


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