I Don't Wanna Cry
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| “I Don't Wanna Cry” | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Single by Mariah Carey from the album Mariah Carey |
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| B-side | "You Need Me" | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Released | April 25, 1991 (U.S.) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Format | CD single, cassette single, 7" single | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Genre | Pop, R&B | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Length | 4:49 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Label | Columbia | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Writer(s) | Mariah Carey, Narada Michael Walden | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Producer | Narada Michael Walden | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Mariah Carey singles chronology | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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"I Don't Wanna Cry" is a song written by Mariah Carey and Narada Michael Walden, and produced by Walden for Carey's debut album, Mariah Carey (1990). The ballad was released as the album's fourth single in the second quarter of 1991 (see 1991 in music). It became another U.S. number-one single for Carey, but elsewhere was a major commercial disappointment. Like the previous singles released from Mariah Carey, the song received a BMI Pop Award.
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[edit] Composition and recording
"I Don't Wanna Cry" was Carey's first single that she did not co-write with Ben Margulies. When she and Walden first wrote the song, she was excited because it sounded like something that would be played on the radio. Because of bad experiences during its production and because she feels it "doesn't have a message", Carey stated in an MTV interview that she dislikes the song and tries to sing it as rarely as possible.[citation needed] Carey had lobbied to co-produce the song, but was denied permission by Sony/Columbia, her record label at the time. She often fought with Walden in the studio concerning the song's production, and as a result Walden became her least favorite among the producers who worked on her debut album. Walden's protégé at the time, Walter Afanasieff, later said that he co-wrote and produced the song, and that in return for giving Afanasieff the work, Walden took the credit.[1]
[edit] Chart performance
"I Don't Wanna Cry" became Carey's fourth number-one hit on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100, making her only the second act (and first female and first solo artist) after The Jackson 5 to have their first four singles reach number one on the Hot 100. It also made Mariah Carey a record-breaking album: every single released from it was a chart-topper in the U.S. "I Don't Wanna Cry" reached number one in its eighth week and spent two weeks at the top, from May 19 to June 1, 1991. It replaced "I Like the Way (the Kissing Game)" by Hi-Five, and was replaced by Extreme's "More Than Words". The single became Carey's third number-one single on the Adult Contemporary chart. It remained in the top forty on the Hot 100 for thirteen weeks and was one of four Carey singles on the chart's 1991 year-end chart, ranking twenty-sixth.
Outside the U.S., it was one of the least successful of the singles released from Mariah Carey. Like "Someday", it failed to make the Australian top forty and became her first single in Canada to miss the top five, although it made the top ten. "There's Got to Be a Way" was released as the album's fourth single in the UK instead of "I Don't Wanna Cry".
[edit] Music video
The single's video, directed by Larry Jordan, features Carey, in a dark midwestern home and in cornfields, brooding over her 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. The 1991 version had a few sepia-toned sequences that were eliminated and replaced for the DVD release. It was the only video from Carey's debut album to be included on #1's, because she was ashamed of the three previous music videos.
[edit] Track listings
- U.S. CD single (cassette single/7" single)
- "I Don't Wanna Cry" (album version)
- "You Need Me" (album version)
[edit] Charts
| Chart (1991) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australian ARIA Singles Chart | 49 |
| Canadian Singles Chart | 7 |
| Israeli Singles Chart | 11 |
| U.S. ARC Weekly Top 40 | 1 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot 100 | 1 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks | 2 |
| U.S. Billboard Adult Contemporary | 1 |
[edit] See also
[edit] Notes
- ^ Levitin, Daniel. "Walter Afanasieff". McGill University Department of Psychology. 1998.
| Preceded by "I Like the Way (The Kissing Game)" by Hi-Five |
Billboard Hot 100 number-one single May 25, 1991 – June 1, 1991 |
Succeeded by "More Than Words" by Extreme |
