Still love #Beautiful, so lush and the chemistry between them both here is seamless.

 

It was a nice surprise as I'd been under the impression she had fallen off at that point.

WOW Beautiful is high, completely forgot this was still to come

Persuade me to relinquish my love

6. Heartbreaker (ft Jay Z) | 9.166 Highest Scores: 11: (JackTheeStallion, elgornio, rafik4u, AaronTM), 10: (Nina West, Jade, Jay), Lowest Scores: 7: (dandy*, Qween)


At #6 and heading into the 9 averages now with Heartbreaker, featuring American rapper Jay Z & was released in August 1999 as the lead single from Mariah's 7th studio album Rainbow. The song was written by Mariah & Jay Z, along with production by Mariah herself and DJ Clue, with additional writers being credited for the hook being built around a sample from "Attack of the Name Game" by Stacy Lattisaw. This was her second commercial single to feature a rapper & again pushed the artist even further into the R&B and hip hop market. Originally the song was intended to be apart of her movie 'Glitter' soundtrack, however after the film's delay, it was included on her 'Rainbow' album instead. Upon release the song received mixed reviews from music critics, but became a massive commercial success by becoming her 14th chart topper in the USA. Elsewhere it was also successful by topping the charts in Canada & New Zealand, as well as top 5 peaks in Croatia, France, Poland, Spain and in the UK.

Another fun bop by Mariah which continued her growing embrace of hip-hop and R&B, opening with an effervescent sample, before the bouncy mid-tempo beats kicks in & an irresistible chorus which instantly hooks you in, thanks to the perfect blend of dreamy vocal layers and catchy late 90's hip-hop bass. Even Jay Z's added verse sounds great & really keeps the momentum of the song going and bringing it to a whole other level. Despite the song being about a cheating spouse, Mariah manages to make it sound light and happy, thanks to the song's slick production and her playful vocals which spans from note to note throughout, showing how diverse of a vocalist she can be. The song is simply fantastic and yet another firm highlight in Mariah's discography & Buzzjack agrees, given the amazing scores it got.

We are down to the final 5 now & they consist of =

All I Want For Christmas is You
Fantasy
Always Be My Baby
My All
We Belong Together



Thoughts, Predictions, feel free to share...

never ever in my wildest dreams I would have predicted this top 5

My All as her #1 ballad <3

 

Maybe I wouldn’t have predicted My All ending up as high as Top 5, but the other four for sure!

I honestly can't call how this could go, 'My All' would probably be my choice of winner but I can't see past that finishing in 5th place. I feel like any of the other 4 could easily win it!

Rooting for Always Be My Baby :wub:

Here's a re-cap of the results 6-10:

06. Heartbreaker (ft Jay Z) – 9.166
07. #Beautiful (ft Miguel) – 8.952
08. Emotions – 8.88
09. Vision of Love – 8.857
10. It’s Like That – 8.833

Time can't erase a feeling this strong

5. Always Be My Baby | 9.476 Highest Scores: 11: (Nina West, JackTheeStallion, Josh), 10: (Davidson, Simon, elgornio, vibe, JosephStyles, dandy*, Jay, AaronTM), Lowest Scores: 7: (Bjork, rafik4u)


At the #5 spot is my personal favourite Mariah song - Always Be My Baby, released in February 1996 as the 4th single from Mariah's 5th studio album Daydream. The song was written and produced by Mariah, Jermaine Dupri and Manuel Seal and would mark the first of several collaborations between Mariah & Jermaine. Upon release the song received critical acclaim from music critics and became a commercial success, by becoming her 11th chart topper on the Billboard Hot 100, tying her with Madonna and Whitney Houston for most number-one singles by a female artist at the time. Elsewhere it performed well by topping the Canadian charts & hit top 5 peaks in UK, Panama & New Zealand, top 10 in Ireland as well as a top 20 peak in Australia. In that same year the song would receive a Grammy nomination for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance. In 2017 it was voted as the 5th greatest Mariah song by the readers of the Rolling Stone & was ranked 2nd by Entertainment Weekly poll, as well as ranking 49th on Pitchfork's Top 250 Best Songs of the 1990's

Like I've already said that this is my all-time fave Mariah song & so glad that it managed to get such a high average on here with 9.4. From one perspective the song can be seen as very sweet, pretty and almost effortless, but if you actually take notice you can see that Mariah's taking a risk beyond her comfort zone by showing off a more diverse vocal style by combining her higher & lower registers and twirling them around and letting them flow effectively against the breezy mid-tempo beats. The production is simply flawless aided by bright piano chord sequences, acoustic guitars, mellow harmonies & catchy beats, which gives this a care-free yet almost dreamlike quality. All of which creates a simple yet a refreshing number that stands the test of time, aging like a fine wine. YES I simply LOVE this track.

Edited August 25, 20231 yr by Nina West

Ohhhh that’s a bit of a shock! :( Not that 5th is bad obviously!! I saw it as a winning contender though. Interesting!

 

One of her absolute best songs. Its quality could easily have made it a lead single, so it’s pretty crazy that it was sat on until being selected as the 4th single, internationally!

'Heartbreaker' might have actually received my 11! 'Always Be My Baby' would've been 2nd for me though and I honestly thought ABMB was the one to beat - even including AIWFCIY!

Santa Claus won't make me happy
With a toy on Christmas Day

4. All I Want For Christmas Is You | 9.5 Highest Scores: 11: (gooddelta, Simon, Liam.k., JosephStyles, Jay), 10: (Nina West, Bjork, Lukuzz, Jord, vibe, rafik4u, Qween, AaronTM), Lowest Scores: 6: (JackTheeStallion)


At #4 is Mariah's record-breaking X-Mas classic All I Want For Christmas Is You, released as the lead single from Mariah's 4th studio album & first holiday album Merry Christmas. Written and produced by Mariah & Walter Afanasieff. The idea of recording a Christmas album came from her management at Columbia Records - including her ex-husband Tommy Mottola, but there was hesitation due to such albums were typically released towards when artists' careers are waning. After much pesistance Mariah & Walter started writing & composing songs for the album, with this being recorded in August 1994 & written and composed in 15 minutes. Upon release the song received critical acclaim & became a global success by topping the charts in over 25 countries including Australia, Canada, France & Germany. In 2019 it finally topped the US Billboard charts for the first time 25 years after it was released, therefore breaking several records & became her 19th #1 there. The following year it also topped the UK charts for the first time, spending 69 weeks in the top 40 prior to reaching #1 there. To date the song has sold over 16 Million copies worldwide, making this the best-selling holiday song by a female artist of all-time. The song has become a Christmas standard and continues to surge in popularity each holiday season. By 2022 it has been reported that it has earned $80 Million in royalties. In 2023 the song was selected by Library of Congress for inclusion in the National Recording Registry.

To say that this is a modern day festive classic is an understatement, as its probably the last true Holiday standard, no Christmas song since has made this kind of cultural impact, even after 29 years. Even after nearly 30 years the song still feels fresh and yet at the same time cozy, jubilant and familiar , thanks to its whimsical production, the gorgeous strings & chimes, the addictive melodies, catchy as hell chorus & the overall upbeat joyful tone, all of which creates the ultimate festive classic. Everything about this gives you that Christmas spirit and giving Mariah the reigning Queen of Christmas with this X-Mas anthem the quintessential Christmas song of our lifetime.

Another two amazing songs, Love AIWFCIY but glad it didn’t win

Fantasy VS My All VS We Belong Together

 

Who will WIN, stay tuned?

Adore AIWFCIY, one of the greatest Christmas songs ever for sure. Love Always Be My Baby too.

 

Rooting hard for We Belong Together. My All is very good but not a personal huge favourite. Fantasy would be a very worthy winner too.

Pleasantly surprised that 'My All' has made it to the top 3, one of her very best ballads. Rooting for 'Fantasy' overall though!

We belong together for the win. I’m surprised My All is so high, not a fan of it

I will never be bored of All I Want for Christmas Is You, it makes me feel joyful and festive every time without fail!

 

So very surprised about My All being Top 3! It's a stunning song, I just wasn't expecting this. A dark horse!

WBT is by far the worst of the three. The two other are quite good pop songs. I think Hero would have been my number one. And I do have a soft spot for When You Believe.