Mariah & Whitney Singles Rate - THE RESULTS

22nd. Make It Happen
Average score 9 (Nine 10s)



Mariah's most personal song at that point was the third and final single off the 'Emotions' album in 1992. The debut album had sold 14 million copies but despite the title track hitting #1, the sales of the follow-up had stalled and Sony released this to bump up sales. It peaked at #5, her lowest position to that point, and was a Top 20 hit in the UK. It's since become a live staple, featuring in almost all her tours.

21. My Love Is Your Love
Average score 9.08



CLAP YOUR HANDS Y'ALL, IT'S ALRIGHT

The title track from Whitney's 4th album was the song of the summer back in 1999, hitting the chart at #2 and staying there for months until, eventually, Arista deleted the single in order to release another track. The song is notable for featuring vocals from Whitney and Bobbi's daughter, Bobbi Kristina, and being her first foray into reggae style music, a genre she'd return to on her final album on the track 'Like I Never Left'.

That's it for tonight, same time tomorrow for #20 - #11
 
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Queen of the Night is fucking FABULOUS. It probably aged badly in the 90s because that rock-R&B hybrid era lasted about five minutes and I only actually remember two good songs from it (this and Free Your Mind). But time has been kind. It's so ANTHEMIC.

I do love early Mariah dance bops (Someday, Emotions) but I'll always prefer Make It Happen and Now That I Know PERSONALLY. What can i say, I don't always default to the WELL KNOWN HITS
 
Oh and as I speak Make It Happens appears if by magic! I thought it had well gone, had no idea it was popular. Well done Moopy.

That's a stone cold FLOP for MLIYL though. Moopy what were you thinking. My soundtrack to summer 99
 
I did cross my mind. I had planned to reveal on Thursday but there's already the 'Ab Fab' rewatch on.
 
20th. I Learned From The Best
Average score 9.17 (Five 10s)



And so you know the way
It feels to cry
The way that I cried
When you broke my world in two


The fifth and final single from 'My Love Is Your Love' was only modest hit in comparison to it's predecessors but manages to make a Top 20 appearance on the Moopy rankings. Written by Diane Warren and produced by David Foster, the single peaked at #27 in the US and #19 in the UK. It also topped the US Dance Chart with remixes by Hex Hector and Junior Vasquez, the latter remix being a rarity where Whitney re-recorded her vocals.



19th. I Have Nothing
Average score 9.17 (Six 10s)



I don't really need to look very much further
I don't wanna have to go where you don't follow
I won't hold it back again, this passion inside
Can't run from myself, there's nowhere to hide


A reality show staple (it's one of the most performed songs on 'American Idol') and the third single from 'The Bodyguard', this is the highest ranking song off the soundtrack on the rankings. Written by David Foster and then wife Linda Thompson, this was apparently inspired by the theme songs from the James Bond movies. Following on from the success of 'I Will Always Love You' and 'I'm Every Woman', this was another massive hit, peaking in the Top 5 on charts worldwide. It was nominated for an Oscar, along with 'Run To You'. There were some amazing live performances at the time, most notably from the 1993 Billboard Awards and as part of a 10 minute medley at the 1994 American Music Awards, both of which are linked below.



 
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18th. #Beautiful
Average score 9.22 (One 11, eight 10s)

I like
When you run red lights
Don't stop 'til you thrill me
Oh how you thrill me




The youngest song in the Top 20 was the lead single from Mariah's 14th album 'Me. I Am Mariah' back in 2013. A duet with R&B star Miguel, it received good reviews from critics, with the LA Times calling it a 'perfect pop song'. It peaked at #15 on the US Top 100 and #22 in the UK. Despite it's modest peak position in the UK, it had longevity staying in the Top 40 for 13 weeks and eventually being certified silver with 200,000 sales.

17th. Always Be My Baby
Average score 9.22 (One 12, eight 10s)

You'll always be a part of me
I'm part of you indefinitely
Boy, don't you know you can't escape me?
Ooh, darling, 'cause you'll always be my baby




The fourth single (third in the US) from 'Daydream' quickly became Mariah's 11th #1 single, tying her with Madonna and Whitney for most by a female artists. This was the first collaboration between Mariah and Jermaine Dupri, composing and producing the song together. It received a lot of acclaim from critics with some calling it the 'best song on the album'. Chartwise, outside the UK, it wasn't as successful as previous singles from the album but still performed well, peaking at number three in the United Kingdom, number five in New Zealand and number 17 in Australia.
 
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16th. So Emotional
Average score 9.42



I've been hearing your heartbeat inside of me
I keepp your photo right beside my bed
Livin' in a world of fantasies
I can't get you out of my head


Single #3 from 'Whitney' was another smash, the uptempo track hitting #1 in the US (her sixth in a row) and the Top 5 in the UK. Composed by 80s powerhouse duo Billy Steinberg and Tom Kelly (Madonna's 'Like A Virgin', Heart's 'Alone' & Cyndi Lauper's 'True Colors'), the song received middling praise from critics. The video showed Whitney getting ready preparing and performing a show and was filmed in Pennsylvania between dates on the 'Moment Of Truth' tour.

15th. I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me)
Average score 9.42 (Two 12s)



I need a man who'll take a chance
On a love that burns hot enough to last
So when the night falls
My lonely heart calls


The summer smash of 1987 and the launch single from 'Whitney' was a massive worldwide hit, getting to #1 in 13 countries. It was written by George Merrill and Shannon Rubicam of Boy Meets Girl and was composed for Whitney after her label declined to use 'Waiting For A Star To Fall'. It initially got mixed reviews from critics with some calling it a rehash of her earlier hit 'How Will I Know' but overtime has grown in stature. Slant magazine included it in their 2006 100 Greatest Dance Songs. It was initially going to be much higher in the rankings here until a last minute low score knocked it down a few places.
 
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31st. I Will Always Love You
Average score 8.75 (One 12)



The lead single from 'The Bodyguard', Whitney's biggest hit and arguably her signature song. This was absolutely unavoidable everywhere back in late 1992/early 1993. It held the #1 spot in the UK for 10 weeks and 14 weeks in the US.

I don't know if anyone heard of this, the most obvious case of chart fixing EVER: The Letter, a song by Wayne Newton (who? exactly) climbed the singles chart in Cash Box, the second most important music magazine compiling charts back in the day, after Billboard, and managed to reach number one in December 1992, knocking out Whitney's IWALY. The song never charted in any Billboard chart. It's insane, specially given we are talking about this:



An article about it:

https://thjkoc.net/2008/12/12/mystery-letter/
 
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That is great for Beautiful, I really think it is a magnificent song
 
14th. We Belong Together
Average score 9.44 (One 12, two 11s)



When you left I lost a part of me
It's still so hard to believe
Come back baby, please
'Cause we belong together


There's always a comeback single with every diva and this was Mariah's back in 2005. The song broke chart records in the United States and became Mariah's sixteenth chart-topper. After staying at number one for fourteen consecutive weeks, it joined four other songs in a tie as the third longest running number one song in US chart history. Billboard listed it as the "song of the decade" and the eleventh most popular song of all time. Now that's what you call a comeback.

13th. My All
Average score 9.44 (One 12, three 11s)



Baby can you feel me
Imagining I'm looking in your eyes
I can see you clearly
Vividly emblazoned in my mind


This Latin-influenced hit by Mariah from the 'Butterfly' album was released as the fifth single in 1998. It would be one of the last songs Mariah wrote with frequent collaborator Walter Afanasieff. It debuted on the charts in the US at #2 behind Next's 'Too Close' and went on to be her 13th #1. In the UK it peaked and debuted at #4. Remixes were done by Jermaine Dupri 'My All/Stay Awhile' and David Morales 'Classic Club Mix' which was regularly performed live as a medley with the original during many of her live shows. Mariah performed the song on the first VHI Divas Live concert, the video of which is linked below.

 
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Oh too many great songs

I imagine this to be 80s/90s heavy from now on, so wonderful to see #Beautiful so high. If the charts had been better managed and if Mariah still carried as much favour as previous years, this would have been a massive hit.
 
So Emotional much higher than expected, I’ve grown to love it but it’s not one of my ultimate faves.
 
Wow, We Belong Together and I Wanna Dance are LOW :o I was expecting both to be Top 5.

I don’t love WBT as much as most but I do really like it, and I recognise that it’s a Mount Rushmore moment of the noughties.

IWDWS deserves a lot of credit for remaining popular and enjoyable despite being a staple of every drunken party singalong ever. You’d think it would have gotten old by now but no.
 
12th. Honey
Average score 9.5 (One 12)



Oh, I can't be elusive with you honey
'Cause it's blatant that I'm feeling you
And it's too hard for me to leave abruptly
You're the only thing I want to do


Karen's all over the world were left dumbfounded when Mariah released the lead single from 'Butterfly' back in 1997. Her most blatant R&B/Hip-Hop track to date, Mariah worked on the song with Q-Tip before turning it over to Puff Daddy for production duties. It was her 3rd single to debut in the US at #1 and a Top 10 hit around the world. Much speculation was made of the video which saw the singer being held captive in a large mansion before escaping.

11th. Vision Of Love
Average score 9.5 (Two 12s)



Prayed through the nights
Felt so alone
Suffered through alienation
Carried the weight on my own


Back to 1990 now and Mariah's debut single. This was one of the songs on Mariah's demo tape that got her a record deal at Columbia. Composed with Ben Marguiles, it was reworked for the album and released as her first single in May 1990. It debuted on the charts at #73 and climbed to #1 over the next nine weeks. It wasn't as successful on this side of the Atlantic, peaking at #9 in the UK and being her only Top 10 hit there until 'I'll Be There' two years later. The song was universally acclaimed by critics who praised the lyrics and the vocals. It was nominated for 3 Grammys, winning one for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance and has been called influential by other artists such as Beyoncé, Rihanna and Christina Aguilera.
 
Honey was one of those tracks that was never off The Box when it came out.
 
Are you gonna give us a spoiler of how many tracks they each have in the top ten? I’m guessing 6-4 to Whitney...?
 
Vision of Love is CELESTIAL. When the climax approaches and she unleashes that whistle...DEAD
 
Ahead of the Top 10 reveal, here's a look back at #50 - #11

50 Without You
49 Touch My Body
48 Exhale (Shoop Shoop)
47 Almost Home
46 When You Believe
45 Can't Take That Away (Mariah's Theme)
43 Love Takes Time/Hero
42 Butterfly
41 I Look To You
39 Heartbreaker/Obsessed
38 One Moment In Time
37 Same Script, Different Cast
36 Didn't We Almost Have It All
35 Higher Love
34 The Greatest Love Of All
33 Saving All My Love For You
32 Run To You
31 I Will Always Love You
30 I'm Every Woman
29 Million Dollar Bill
28 Someday
27 Can't Let Go
26 Queen Of The Night
25 Breakdown
24 Heartbreak Hotel
23 Emotions
22 Make It Happen
21 My Love Is Your Love
20 I Learned From The Best
19 I Have Nothing
18 #Beautiful
17 Always Be My Baby
16 So Emotional
15 I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me)
14 We Belong Together
13 My All
12 Honey
11 Vision of Love
 
From Mariah we've got Fantasy, Anytime You Need a Friend, All I Want for Christmas Is You and The Roof?
 
Ooh lord now, I didn't know the Best trivia. A blatant re-write of EV's Too Gone, Too Long:



Which hate crime Diane Warren would write for a 3rd time on their own next single No Fool No More (from the same soundtrack as Mel B and DC's best single Get on the Bus no less).

That Vasquez remix is very Thunderpuss actually, but doesn't go off really (a classy, but ultimately tame affair).
 
#Beautiful and the song for me it recaptured Always Be My Baby are ultimate Mariah thrills. I know they don't sound alike, but for care-free Summer jams they put on quite the spread. Mariah as a pop queen is an almost untapped ability.
 
My All is Mariah's most timeless and the stunning video kind of looks like some of her old artwork. Honey quite possibly her most iconic. The piano, the gay fantasy she's having in the video, and Puff or generic white man to choose from whilst your non ability to dance doesn't hinder your allure all makes it quite divine. Vision of Love is not a song I often go for, but it really does showcase the voice and its then basic functions.
 
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Sorry for the delay this evening, just home after doing a 120km round trip but I'm determined to get this finished tonight. Bear with me.
 
And now for the TOP 10




***Drum Roll*




10th. I'm Your Baby Tonight
Average score 9.58





I'll be your angel, I'm ready and able
Whatever you want is fine
Whenever you're ready, just call on your lady
And I'll be your baby tonight


Whitney's first two albums had been full of syrupy ballads and perky dance-pop which, while massive sellers, ended up making black audiences feel like she had sold out. Things came to a head at the 1989 Soul Train Awards when she was booed as the video for 'Where Do Broken Hearts Go' was played and audiences referred to her as 'Whitey'. Deciding to turn things around, Whitney got more control over the material for her third album and collaborated with L.A. Reid & Babyface, Luther Vandross and Stevie Wonder.

The lead single from the album, released in October 1990 (JFC it's 30 years old :o), was written and produced by the aforementioned team of L.A. Reid and Babyface. While their mix version was released in the US, Europe was treated to a mix by Yvonne Turner. It was another huge hit, if maybe a bit disappointing compared to the lead single from her previous album, hitting #1 in the US and cracking the Top 10 around the world. The video is notable for Whitney playing homage to different eras of music that had influenced her - the Harlem Renaissance where she appeared in Marlene Dietrich costumer, Motown (most notably The Supremes as she uses cloning imagery to create two clones of herself) and Hollywood's Golden Age where she dressed as Audrey Hepburn in 'Funny Face'.
 
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Wow a lot higher than I expected for this!
That’s two from that album in the top ten then... not such a (relative) flop after all then
 
...and honestly, how did the lesbian rumours not reach fever pitch when she looked so comfortable in that WHITE PANTSUIT?

Simpler times I guess...
 
I love that song, I performed it in drag a few years back
 
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God, watching the video for the first time in years, the lesbian coding really is OFF THE SCALE :D

*mounts motorbike*
 

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