On this day in 2005, Mariah Carey’s ‘Don’t Forget About Us’ was released. The track was initially intended to appear on the follow-up of the multi-Platinum #1 album ‘The Emancipation of Mimi’, however L.A. Reid loved it so much when he heard it, he was eager to release it as soon as possible. Rather than waiting for a new collection of songs to be readied, it was added, along with another 3 tracks, to a re-issue of the already widely successful album.
The song became Mariah’s 17th #1 single in the US, spending two weeks in the top spot. At the time, this tied her with Elvis as the solo artists with the most #1 singles, however Mariah surpassed this in 2008 with ‘Touch My Body’ putting her in the lead, and further extended the record in 2019 with ‘All I Want For Christmas Is You’. ‘Don’t Forget About Us’ also topped Billboard’s Dance Club Songs and Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs charts. It has been certified Platinum by the RIAA, and the ringtone has been certified Gold.
Internationally, the song topped the charts in Belgium and Finland, and was a Top 20 hit in numerous countries including Italy, Hungary, Australia, New Zealand and the UK.
The music video was directed by Paul Hunter, who had previously worked on Mariah’s iconic ‘Honey’ video in 1997. Parts of the video paid homage to one of Mariah’s idols, Marilyn Monroe, who she has drawn inspiration from on a number of occasions.
A music video with studio footage also exists for the Desert Storm Remix featuring Fabolous & Styles P, which appeared on DJ Clue’s mixtape, ‘Fidel Cashflow 2006: The New Regime’.
In January 2021, a 12-track ‘Don’t Forget About Us’ EP was released digitally, featuring remixes, and the music video was remastered in HD.
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