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I Don't Wanna Cry
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Wikipedia article
"'I Don't Wanna Cry'" is a song by American singer-songwriter Mariah Carey from her debut album, 'Mariah Carey' (1990). Written by Carey and Narada Michael Walden, and produced by the latter, the song was released as the album's fourth single on March 19, 1991, by Columbia Records.
It received praise from critics as a highlight from the album. The song became Carey's fourth US number-one single on the 'Billboard' Hot 100. "I Don't Wanna Cry" was subsequently included on many of Carey's compilation albums and greatest hits releases, including '#1's' (1998), 'Greatest Hits' (2001), 'The Essential Mariah Carey' (2011) and '#1 to Infinity' (2015). Her live performance of the song at the Tokyo Dome in 1996 was also included on 'The Rarities' (2020).
Background and release
In 1988, singer Brenda K. Starr took an 18-year-old Mariah Carey to a record industry gala with hope of convincing a record executive to listen to Carey's demo. Jerry L. Greenberg, the president of Atlantic Records, was interested in Carey; as she handed him the tape, Columbia Records executive Tommy Mottola grabbed it from him, and said that he would tend to "the project". Mottola left the event later that evening, and got into his limousine and listened to the tape. He quickly realized that he had found a talented vocalist, turned the car around and returned to the party to find Carey, but she had already left. After a week of tracking her down through Starr's management, Mottola got in touch with Carey and invited her to go to Columbia, where she was signed in December 1988.
As production for her debut studio album began, Carey worked with Narada Michael Walden in New York, where they composed "I Don't Wanna Cry", with Walden producing it. While Walden described Carey as "very shy," he noted how professional she was for someone her age.
In the United States, Columbia released "I Don't Wanna Cry" in March 1991 as 'Mariah Carey's fourth single. Cassettes and 7-inch vinyls were issued commercially while a promotional CD included a radio edit."I Don't Wanna Cry" (CD). Mariah Carey. Columbia Records. 1991. CSK 73743. The song was released in Japan on May 2, 1991, as a mini CD single.
Composition and lyrics
"I Don't Wanna Cry" is a pop and R&B breakup song in the form of a ballad.
Critical reception
Larry Flick from 'Billboard' described the song as dramatic and felt Walden's "grand production suits her acrobatic vocal style." 'Entertainment Weekly' called it as a "weeper" and a "rallying cry for the love-starved and lonely." While comparing Carey's 'Emotions' album to her debut album, Rob Tannenbaum of 'Rolling Stone' wrote, "'I Don't Wanna Cry' was the best track on Carey's debut because her downcast whispers animated the song's luxurious sorrow; at full speed her range is so superhuman that each excessive note erodes the believability of the lyric she is singing." Stephen Holden of 'The New York Times' said Carey belts the song with bravura. David Hinckley of the New York 'Daily News' said the song "allows Carey's voice to cover a lot of ground as does the production, ranging from a lush keyboard carpet to an acoustic guitar".
Commercial performance
In the United States, "I Don't Wanna Cry" debuted at number 50 on the 'Billboard' Hot 100 chart dated April 6, 1991. It rose from number eight to number one on the chart dated May 25, 1991, replacing "I Like the Way (The Kissing Game)" by Hi-Five. Its jump to number one was the biggest of any song since Meco's "Star Wars Theme/Cantina Band" in 1977. "I Don't Wanna Cry" became Carey's fourth consecutive number one on the Hot 100, making her the second act after The Jackson 5 in 1970 to have their first four singles reach number one. It spent nineteen weeks on the chart, with two at the top position. "I Don't Wanna Cry" is her 11th-best performing song on the Hot 100 as of July 2018. As of 2022, it is Carey's sole number-one song yet to receive a certification from the Recording Industry Association of America.
Elsewhere, the song reached number two in Canada; number three in Cuba; number ten in Panama; number 13 in New Zealand; and number 49 in Australia.
Music video
Larry Jordan directed the song's music video while Kim Turner and Lexi Godfrey of KRT Productions produced it. It was released in April 1991. It features Carey in a dark Midwest home with an attractive man (Steven Richard Harris) and in maize, brooding over their tainted relationship.
Part of an alternative version of the music video was released on the DVD/home video 'The First Vision' (1991), and the original, more familiar version was included on the DVD/home video '#1's' (1999) as a director's cut, being the only video from Carey's debut album to be included on '#1's'. The 1991 version had a few sepia-toned sequences that were eliminated and replaced for the DVD release. According to Carey, the sepia sequences were shot and inserted after the original video shoot had taken place, as Sony executives complained about her dress blowing up and the attractive man being a distracting element. Carey said that the added sequences were not a good look for her, and that she prefers the original director's cut.Archived at [https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211205/tyLFA60cKtA Ghostarchive] and the [https://web.archive.org/web/20211028192505/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tyLFA60cKtA Wayback Machine]:
Track listings
'US promo CD'
# "I Don't Wanna Cry" (radio edit)
# "I Don't Wanna Cry" (album version)
'US cassette single'
# "I Don't Wanna Cry"
# "You Need Me"
'Australian 7-inch single'
# "I Don't Wanna Cry"
# "You Need Me"
'Japanese CD mini-single'
# "I Don't Wanna Cry" (album version)
# "You Need Me"
'Austrian promo CD'
# "I Don't Wanna Cry" (album version)
Credits and personnel
Credits adapted from the liner notes of 'Mariah Carey'.
'Location'
'Personnel'
Charts
{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders"
|+Weekly chart performance
!scope="col"|Chart (1991)
!scope="col"|Peak
position
|-
|-
|-
|-
!scope="row"|Canada Retail Singles ('The Record')
|align="center"|7
|-
!scope="row"|Canada Contemporary Hit Radio ('The Record')
|align="center"|2
|-
!scope="row"|Cuba (UPI)
| style="text-align:center;"|3
|-
|-
!scope="row"|Panama (UPI)
| style="text-align:center;"|10
|-
|-
|-
|-
!scope="row"|US Top 40 Radio Monitor ('Billboard')
|align="center"|4
|-
!scope="row"|US Top 100 Singles ('Cash Box')
|align="center"|1
|-
!scope="row"|US Top R&B Singles ('Cash Box')
|align="center"|4
|-
!scope="row"|US Adult Contemporary ('Gavin Report')
|align="center"|2
|-
!scope="row"|US Top 40 ('Gavin Report')
|align="center"|1
|-
!scope="row"|US Top 40/Urban Crossover ('Gavin Report')
|align="center"|1
|-
!scope="row"|US Urban Contemporary ('Gavin Report')
|align="center"|3
|-
!scope="row"|US Adult Contemporary ('Radio & Records')
|align="center"|1
|-
!scope="row"|US Contemporary Hit Radio ('Radio & Records')
|align="center"|1
|-
!scope="row"|US Urban Contemporary ('Radio & Records')
|align="center"|1
|}
{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders"
|+Year-end chart performance
!scope="col"|Chart (1991)
!scope="col"|Position
|-
!scope="row"|Canada Top Singles ('RPM')
|align="center"|21
|-
!scope="row"|Canada Adult Contemporary ('RPM')
|align="center"|15
|-
!scope="row"|US 'Billboard' Hot 100
|align="center"|26
|-
!scope="row"|US Adult Contemporary ('Billboard')
|align="center"|10
|-
!scope="row"|US Hot R&B Singles ('Billboard')
|align="center"|72
|-
!scope="row"|US Adult Contemporary ('Gavin Report')
|align="center"|15
|-
!scope="row"|US Top 40 ('Gavin Report')
|align="center"|7
|-
!scope="row"|US Urban Contemporary ('Gavin Report')
|align="center"|33
|-
!scope="row"|US Adult Contemporary ('Radio & Records')
|align="center"|8
|-
!scope="row"|US Contemporary Hit Radio ('Radio & Records')
|align="center"|7
|-
!scope="row"|US Urban ('Radio & Records')
|align="center"|31
|}
See also
* List of Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles of 1991
* List of Hot Adult Contemporary number ones of 1991
References
Category:1990s ballads
Category:1991 singles
Category:Mariah Carey songs
Category:Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles
Category:Cashbox number-one singles
Category:Songs written by Mariah Carey
Category:Songs written by Narada Michael Walden
Category:Song recordings produced by Narada Michael Walden
Category:1990 songs
Category:Columbia Records singles
Category:Sony Music singles
Category:Contemporary R&B ballads
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