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This article is about the album. For its title track, see Rainbow (Interlude).

Rainbow is the seventh studio album by American singer Mariah Carey, released in the United States on November 2, 1999 by Columbia Records. The album followed the same pattern as Carey's previous two albums, Daydream and Butterfly, in which she began her transition into the urban adult contemporary market. It contains a mix of hip-hop influenced R&B tracks, as well as a variety of slow ballads. It is a collaboration-heavy album which found Carey working with a wide range of producers and artists that dominated the music scene of the late 1990s. Rolling Stone called the album "a sterling chronicle of accessible hip-hop balladeering at the close of 1999".

It debuted at number two on the U.S. Billboard 200 chart with 323,000 copies sold in its first week, stayed in the top twenty for ten weeks and on the chart for thirty-five (making one re-entry). The album's weekly sales peaked at 369,000 copies in its eighth week (when it was at number nine), and it was eventually certified three times platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). While a commercial success, it was Carey's first studio album since Emotions (1991) not to reach number one in the U.S. and her lowest-selling up to that point; as of 2005, it had sold 2.9 million copies in the U.S. (according to Nielsen SoundScan) and ten million worldwide.[1] [2]

Rainbow yielded two number-one hits on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100: "Heartbreaker" and "Thank God I Found You". A re-recorded version of "Against All Odds (Take a Look at Me Now)" (a cover of the Phil Collins song) featuring Irish boyband Westlife was released in the UK and became Carey's second number-one single there, but the double A-side "Can't Take That Away (Mariah's Theme)"/"Crybaby" became her first single to miss the U.S. top twenty.

Promotion[]

Following the release of "Heartbreaker," the album's lead single, Carey embarked on a short promotional tour through Europe, where she performed the song on several television and award shows, such as Top of the Pops in the UK on October 6, 1999 (aired on November 5, 1999), the Gouden Televizier-Ring Gala in the Netherlands on October 8, 1999, Sen kväll med Luuk in Sweden on October 9, 1999 (aired on November 27, 1999) and La Gala de la Hispanidad in Spain on November 12, 1999, where she also performed "Against All Odds (Take a Look at Me Now)." Carey was also interviewed by European press outlets about her then-upcoming album.

As Rainbow's release week became imminent, Carey returned to the United States and taped Mariah Carey's Homecoming Special on October 30, 1999, a special concert at her old high school in Huntington, New York, aired on Fox on December 21, 1999, and performed "Heartbreaker," "Can't Take That Away (Mariah's Theme)," "Hero" and "Against All Odds (Take a Look at Me Now)" (not aired) at Rockefeller Center for The Today Show on the eve of the album's release date. Later that day, Carey made a special appearance at the 15th anniversary celebration of New York's Radio 106.7 at Madison Square Garden, where she introduced Phil Collins. On the album's release day, Carey was interviewed and performed "Can't Take That Away (Mariah's Theme)" and "Against All Odds (Take a Look at Me Now)" on The View, appeared on Charlie Rose,[3] taped a second television special, Mariah TV, as part of MTV's Spankin' New Music Week, and hosted an autograph session at Coconuts Records in New York City. The following day saw Carey travelling to Chicago for an appearance at The Oprah Winfrey Show, where she performed the "Heartbreaker" remix with Da Brat and Missy Elliott and "Can't Take That Away (Mariah's Theme)" (aired on December 7, 1999), and another autograph session at the Virgin Megastore. A third autograph session was held at Tower Records in Los Angeles on November 4, 1999.

Carey returned to Europe and taped performances of "Heartbreaker," "Thank God I Found You" with Joe and "Against All Odds (Take a Look at Me Now)" in France on November 10, 1999 for Hit Machine (aired on November 20, 1999, "Heartbreaker" only), Vivement Dimanche (aired on November 21, 1999, "Heartbreaker" only) and Tapis Rouge ("Heartbreaker" aired on November 27, 1999, "Thank God I Found You" and "Against All Odds (Take a Look at Me Now" aired on January 8, 2000) and performed the "Heartbreaker" remix, also with Da Brat and Elliott, at the MTV Europe Music Awards in Dublin on November 11, 1999 (that same night, Carey reprised the performance at MTV's EMAs after party hosted by The Lick with Trevor Nelson). Carey also performed "Heartbreaker" and "Thank God I Found You" with Joe on the German version of Top of the Pops on November 12, 1999 ("Heartbreaker" aired the following day, "Thank God I Found You" aired on February 19, 2000 in Germany and March 10, 2000 in the UK) and performed "Heartbreaker" on Italy's Carràmba! Che Fortuna on November 13, 1999 (aired the following day). Carey then went back to the UK to perform "Against All Odds (Take a Look at Me Now)" at the National Lottery Draw on November 17, 1999. Following the release of "Thank God I Found You" as the album's second single, Carey performed it live with Joe on CD:UK on February 18, 1999 (interview aired on November 20, 1999, performance aired on November 27, 1999) and on Friday Night's All Wright on November 19, 1999, where she also performed "Against All Odds (Take a Look at Me Now)."

Carey then flew to Asia and held autograph sessions for Rainbow at the HMV stores in Hong Kong on November 21, 1999 and Tokyo on November 23, 1999. While in Tokyo, Carey taped a third television special for Rainbow, Music Fair: Mariah Carey Special, this time for Japanese TV channel Fuji TV, aired on January 9, 2000. The special featured an interview with Carey as well as four live performances.

Carey visited South America for the first time during the Rainbow promotional tour and was interviewed by Xuxa in Brazil for both her own television show Planeta Xuxa, as well as Fantástico on November 28, 1999. That same day, Carey performed "Heartbreaker," "Against All Odds (Take a Look at Me Now)" and "I Still Believe" on Domingão do Faustão. The following day, Carey reprised her set at Hebe, although "I Still Believe" was replaced by "My All," and held an autograph session at the Saraiva Mega Store in São Paulo. Carey's South American promotional tour also visited Argentina, where Carey was interviewed and performed "Against All Odds (Take a Look at Me Now)" and "Can't Take That Away (Mariah's Theme)" for Causa Común, and taped a fourth television special, an episode of TeleShow dedicated to Rainbow called TeleShow: Mariah Carey en Argentina, on November 30, 1999. Three days later, an autograph session for the album was held in Buenos Aires. Carey then traveled to Venezuela, where she gave interviews to local news outlets.

On December 8, 1999, Carey made a special appearance at the 1999 Billboard Music Awards, where she was honored with the Artist of the Decade award. That same night, Carey flew to Mexico City for an autograph session at the Mixup Music Store two days later. On January 17, 2000 Carey, alongside Joe and Nas, opened the 27th American Music Awards with a performance of both original and remix versions of "Thank God I Found You," and held a press conference the following day, where the singer announced the Rainbow World Tour.

Before going on tour, Carey embarked on a third promotional trek through Europe and performed "Thank God I Found You" with Joe at the NRJ Music Awards in France on January 22, 2000, held an autograph session at the Fame music megastore in Amsterdam, Netherlands, and performed both "Thank God I Found You" and "Against All Odds (Take a Look at Me Now)" at the European Golden Shoe ceremony in Belgium on January 26, 2000 and Música sí in Spain on January 27, 2000 ("Thank God I Found You" aired two days later, "Against All Odds (Take a Look at Me Now)" aired on February 26, 2000). The singer also stopped by TFI Friday in the UK to promote the Rainbow World Tour on January 28, 2000. Carey and Joe also performed the song at Wetten, dass..? in Germany on January 29, 2000 and on Quelli che il Calcio in Italy the next day ("Against All Odds (Take a Look at Me Now)" was also performed), and gave autographs at the Ricordi Megastore in Milan. Before the start of the tour, Carey appeared on The Rosie O'Donnell Show, where she was interviewed and performed a medley of "Petals" and "Rainbow (Interlude)."

On April 9, 2000, Carey interrupted the tour to star on VH1 Divas 2000: A Tribute to Diana Ross. She performed a mashup of "Heartbreaker" and Ross' 1976 hit "Love Hangover," "Can't Take That Away (Mariah's Theme)," a medley of "Baby Love" and "Stop! In the Name of Love" and "Ain't No Mountain High Enough" with the rest of the cast. The show aired two days later. On April 17, 2000, "Can't Take That Away (Mariah's Theme)" was sent to adult contemporary and hot adult contemporary radio as the album's third single, with "Crybaby" being sent to rhythmic contemporary radio a day later as the fourth single from Rainbow. For their commercial release, the songs were put together as a double A-side in the US.

After the end of the tour, Carey performed "Can't Take That Away (Mariah's Theme)," her then-current single, at the 5th Blockbuster Entertainment Awards on May 9, 2000 and later than month, on May 25, 2000, Carey taped two performances of "Against All Odds (Take a Look at Me Now)" in Germany for both British and German versions of Top of the Pops (the first performance aired on June 10, 2000, while the second aired on July 1, 2000 in Germany. In the UK, only the second performance was broadcast, on October 6, 2000). While in Germany, Carey taped an appearance at The Dome on May 26, 2000, where she performed "Against All Odds (Take a Look at Me Now)" and "Thank God I Found You," this time with Trey Lorenz. The next day, Carey performed "Against All Odds (Take a Look at Me Now)" at Festivalbar in Italy. Two days later, the song was issued as the fourth single from Rainbow in Europe (fifth overall).

On September 15, 2000, "Against All Odds (Take a Look at Me Now)" was re-released as a single in Europe and Japan, this time as a duet with Westlife.

Singles[]

Track listing[]

Standard Edition
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."Heartbreaker" (featuring Jay-Z)Carey, Shawn Carter, Shirley Elliston, Lincoln Chase, Narada Michael Walden, Jeffrey CohenCarey, DJ Clue?, Duro4:46
2."Can't Take That Away (Mariah's Theme)"Carey, Diane WarrenCarey, Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis4:32
3."Bliss"Carey, James Harris III, Lewis, James WrightCarey, Jam, Lewis, Wright5:44
4."How Much" (featuring Usher)Carey, Bryan-Michael Cox, Jermaine Dupri, Tupac Shakur, Darryl Harper, Tyrone Wrice, Ricky RouseCarey, Dupri, Cox3:30
5."After Tonight"Carey, Warren, David FosterCarey, Foster4:15
6."X-Girlfriend"Carey, Kandi Burruss, Kevin BriggsCarey, She'kspere3:58
7."Heartbreaker" (featuring Da Brat & Missy Elliott) (Remix)Carey, Shawntae Harris, Melissa Elliott, Ricardo Brown, Calvin Broadus Jr., Warren Griffin III, Andre Young, Nathaniel HaleCarey, DJ Clue?, Duro4:36
8."Vulnerability" (Interlude)Carey 1:12
9."Against All Odds (Take a Look at Me Now)"Phil CollinsCarey, Jam, Lewis3:25
10."Crybaby" (featuring Snoop Dogg)Carey, Howie Hersh, Broadus, Lloyd Smith, Timothy Gatling, Gene Griffin, Aaron Hall III, Teddy RileyCarey, Damizza5:19
11."Did I Do That?"Carey, Craig Bazile, Tracey Waples, Joseph Johnson Jr., Wardell Joseph QuezergueCarey, Craig B, Master P4:15
12."Petals"Carey, Harris, Lewis, WrightCarey, Jam, Lewis4:23
13."Rainbow" (Interlude)Carey, Harris, LewisCarey, Jam, Lewis1:32
14."Thank God I Found You" (featuring Joe & 98º)Carey, Harris, LewisCarey, Jam, Lewis4:17
Total length:55:44
French Hidden Track
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
15."Do You Know Where You're Going To (Theme from Mahogany)"Michael Masser, Gerry GoffinCarey, Stevie J3:47
2000 Reissue Bonus Track
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
15."Against All Odds" (with Westlife)CollinsSteve Mac3:31

Gallery[]

References[]

  1. [1]
  2. [2]
  3. Charlie Rose. (1999, November 2). Mariah Carey [Video]. Retrieved June 27, 2024.

25th Anniversary Expanded Edition[]

Rainbow: 25th Anniversary Expanded Edition is an expanded edition of Rainbow featuring remastered audio and bonus tracks. It was announced by Carey on June 14, 2024 and released two days later as part of #Rainbow25, a commemorative campaign celebrating the 25th anniversary of the album.[1] The celebrations were moved up from November, the original album's anniversary, to June to coincide with the LGBT Pride Month, of which Carey has been a vocal supporter since the beginning of her career.

Following the release of Rainbow: 25th Anniversary Expanded Edition, the digital version of the album was updated to include 14 new bonus tracks: two versions of "Rainbow's End," a new take on the original "Rainbow" interlude featuring re-recorded vocals and new lyrics over a new house beat co-produced by David Morales (first performed at LA Pride); a new version of "How Much" remixed by Jermaine Dupri; the remix versions of "Thank God I Found You" and "Against All Odds," as well as a solo version of the former; "There for Me," released digitally for the first time after being exclusive to the "Never Too Far / Hero Medley" US CD single (an a cappella version of the track was also included); two live performances taken from VH1 Divas 2000: A Tribute to Diana Ross; an a cappella version of "Bliss;" and three previously-released dance mixes by Junior Vasquez, Morales and the Pound Boys.

A new rainbow picture disc vinyl version of the album was also released on Carey's Amazon Store. It includes "rare photos from the era" and 6 of the 14 bonus tracks from the digital version of the album.[2]

Promotion[]

To promote the album's re-release, Carey was interviewed by Vogue's Keaton Bell. During the interview, Carey spoke about the conception of "Rainbow's End;" denied rumors about "Crystal Ball," a supposed duet with Lauryn Hill; and stated that she "[has] actually been looking into [Rainbow World Tour footage] recently" after being asked if it would ever be released. Carey also dished on the album and "Heartbreaker" photoshoots, the creation of Bianca, her style evolution compared to the Butterfly era and new music.[3]

Gallery[]

Track listing[]

Original Album
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."Heartbreaker" (featuring Jay-Z)Carey, Carter, Elliston, Chase, Walden, CohenCarey, DJ Clue?, Duro4:45
2."Can't Take That Away (Mariah's Theme)"Carey, WarrenCarey, Jam, Lewis4:32
3."Bliss"Carey, Harris, Lewis, WrightCarey, Jam, Lewis, Wright5:44
4."How Much" (featuring Usher)Carey, Cox, Dupri, Shakur, Harper, Wrice, RouseCarey, Dupri, Cox3:30
5."After Tonight"Carey, Warren, FosterCarey, Foster4:15
6."X-Girlfriend"Carey, Burruss, BriggsCarey, She'kspere3:58
7."Heartbreaker" (featuring Da Brat & Missy Elliott) (Remix)Carey, Harris, Elliott, Brown, Broadus, Griffin, Young, HaleCarey, DJ Clue?, Duro4:32
8."Vulnerability" (Interlude)Carey 1:12
9."Against All Odds (Take a Look at Me Now)"CollinsCarey, Jam, Lewis3:25
10."Crybaby" (featuring Snoop Dogg)Carey, Hersh, Broadus, Smith, Gatling, Griffin, Hall, RileyCarey, Damizza5:19
11."Did I Do That?"Carey, Bazile, Waples, Johnson, QuezergueCarey, Craig B, Master P4:15
12."Petals"Carey, Harris, Lewis, WrightCarey, Jam, Lewis4:23
13."Rainbow" (Interlude)Carey, Harris, LewisCarey, Jam, Lewis1:32
14."Thank God I Found You" (featuring Joe & 98º)Carey, Harris, LewisCarey, Jam, Lewis4:17
15."Rainbow's End"Carey, Harris, LewisCarey, Harris, Lewis, David Morales3:40
Total length:59:19
Bonus Tracks (Digital Version)
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."How Much" (featuring Usher) (So So Def Remix)Carey, Cox, Dupri, Shakur, Harper, Wrice, RouseCarey, Dupri, Cox3:28
2."Thank God I Found You" (featuring Joe & Nas) (Make It Last Remix)Carey, Harris, Lewis, Riley, Keith SweatCarey, DJ Clue?, Duro5:08
3."Against All Odds" (with Westlife)CollinsMac3:20
4."There for Me"Carey, Warren, FosterCarey, Foster4:14
5."Thank God I Found You" (Mariah Only Version)Carey, Harris, LewisCarey, Jam, Lewis4:16
6."Love Hangover / Heartbreaker" (Live at VH1 Divas 2000)Pamela Sawyer, Marilyn McLeod, Carey, Carter, Elliston, Chase, Walden, Cohen 5:14
7."Can't Take That Away (Mariah's Theme)" (Live at VH1 Divas 2000)Carey, Warren 4:35
8."Bliss" (Acapella)Carey, Harris, Lewis, WrightCarey, Jam, Lewis, Wright5:27
9."There for Me" (Acapella)Carey, Warren, FosterCarey, Foster3:50
10."Heartbreaker / "If You Should Ever Be Lonely"" (Junior's Club Mix)Carey, Carter, Elliston, Chase, Walden, Cohen, Valaria Young Andrews, Fred JenkinsCarey, DJ Clue?, Duro, Junior Vasquez10:17
11."Can't Take That Away (Mariah's Theme)" (Morales Revival Triumphant Mix)Carey, Warren, MoralesCarey, Jam, Lewis, Morales10:25
12."Against All Odds (Take a Look at Me Now)" (Pound Boys Main Mix)CollinsCarey, Jam, Lewis, Craig C, Leader8:56
13."Rainbow's End" (David Morales Extended Mix)Carey, Harris, LewisCarey, Jam, Lewis, Morales6:19
Total length:1:15:29
Bonus Tracks (Vinyl Version)
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."Thank God I Found You" (featuring Joe & Nas) (Make It Last Remix)Carey, Harris, Lewis, Riley, SweatCarey, DJ Clue?, Duro5:08
2."Against All Odds" (with Westlife)CollinsMac3:20
3."How Much" (featuring Usher) (So So Def Remix)Carey, Cox, Dupri, Shakur, Harper, Wrice, RouseCarey, Dupri, Cox3:28
4."Can't Take That Away (Mariah's Theme)" (Live at VH1 Divas 2000)Carey, Warren 4:35
5."Love Hangover / Heartbreaker" (Live at VH1 Divas 2000)Sawyer, McLeod, Carey, Carter, Elliston, Chase, Walden, Cohen 5:14
Total length:21:45

Sample credits

  • "Thank God I Found You" (Make It Last Remix) contains interpolations from the composition "Make It Last Forever" performed by Keith Sweat.
  • "Love Hangover / Heartbreaker" contains elements from "Love Hangover" performed by Diana Ross.
  • "Heartbreaker / "If You Should Ever Be Lonely"" (Junior's Club Mix) contains interpolations from the composition entitled "If You Should Ever Be Lonely" performed by Val Young.

Trivia[]

  • The 2024 remaster of the album was noted by fans to contain alternate, previously-unheard vocals from the original raw analog recordings, such as new climax adlibs on the "Heartbreaker" remix and "Crybaby." This was done to correct original mixing problems and create a better listening experience for fans.
    • On the other hand, certain vocals were omitted, such as the whistles and "we're gonna do it like this" in the "Heartbreaker" intro. These omissions were later fixed.

References[]

  1. Mariah Carey [@MariahCarey]. (2024, June 12). #Rainbow25 out this Friday! 🌈🌈🌈🌈 [Video]. X. Retrieved June 16, 2024.
  2. Amazon. (June 14, 2024). Rainbow 25th Anniversary. Retrieved June 16, 2024.
  3. Bell, Keaton. (2024, June 14). Mariah Carey Reflects on 25 Years of Rainbow. Vogue. Retrieved June 22, 2024.
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