On this day in 1991, Mariah Carey released her second studio album, ‘Emotions‘, which went on to sell over eight million copies.
The album charted within the Top 10 in Australia, Canada, Japan, the UK, the US, and New Zealand.
As with her debut album, Mariah co-wrote every song, however ‘Emotions’ marked the first album where Mariah also produced or co-produced every track.
The lead single, ‘Emotions’, became Mariah’s fifth consecutive #1 single in the US. Mariah still holds the record for being the first and only artist to have their first five singles all peak at #1. The single, which is famous for Mariah’s use of the whistle register, also topped Billboard’s R&B and Dance charts, and was a hit internationally.
‘Can’t Let Go’ ended the consecutive streak of #1 singles, peaking at an impressive #2 despite Sony Music pulling the physical single from the shelves to focus sales on the album instead. The song became her fourth #1 on the Adult Contemporary chart.
The final single from the album, ‘Make It Happen’, peaked at #5 in the US and was a Top 20 hit in Canada and the UK.
Carole King initially approached Mariah to cover ‘(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman’, which had originally been recorded by Aretha Franklin, however Mariah preferred to work with her on an original composition, and the result was the powerful ‘If It’s Over’.
A live version of ‘If It’s Over’ was later released from Mariah’s 1992 MTV Unplugged EP, and another song from the album, ‘And You Don’t Remember’, was used in a Sony MiniDisc television commercial.
Interestingly, the album was originally intended to be titled ‘The Wind’, and the lead single was going to be ‘You’re So Cold’.
In July 2020, digital EPs were released for both ‘Emotions‘ and ‘Make It Happen‘ with classic remixes and live performances, and the related music videos were remastered in HD. Later that year, ‘The Rarities‘ compilation was released and included a never-before heard track from the 1991 ‘Emotions’ recording sessions titled ‘Can You Hear Me’.
In addition to the already available black and ‘Transparent Tan With Black Smoke’ vinyls, an exclusive limited edition ‘pink vinyl‘ was released in 2021 for National Album Day in the UK.
Watch the music videos: