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Glitter is the soundtrack album to the film of the same name, and the eighth studio album by American singer-songwriter Mariah Carey, released on September 11, 2001 by Virgin Records. The album was a complete musical departure from any of Carey's previous releases, focusing heavily on recreating a 1980s disco era to accompany the film, set in 1982. Through covering or heavily sampling several older tunes and songs, Carey crafted Glitter as an album that would help viewers connect with the film, as well as incorporating newly written ballads that would "stand on their own as songs from a Mariah Carey album." Throughout the project, Carey reprised collaborations with Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis and DJ Clue, with whom she produced most of the album.

Musically, the album became one of Carey's most diverse bodies of work, structured to be a retro-influenced album, and more dance-oriented than any of her previous releases. On several songs, critics noted Carey to be more sexually suggestive lyrically than before, in part due to the inclusion of several guest hip hop musicians. Aside from the album's predominant feature of dance tracks, Glitter incorporated several lyrically meaningful and vocal ballads. On "Reflections (Care Enough)", Carey describes an abandoned girl, who in desperation, lashes out to her mother in song, while on "Twister", paying homage to a friend who had committed suicide. On Glitter, several musical talents were featured, such as Eric Benét, Ludacris, Busta Rhymes, Fabolous and Ja Rule.

Glitter and its accompanying film were met with generally mixed reviews from music critics, who while complimenting the album's ballads, felt Carey was over-whelmed by the amount of guest appearances, as well as the failed 1980s theme. Universally, Glitter was viewed as a critical and commercial failure, leading to the annulment of Carey's unprecedented $100 million five-album contract with Virgin. The album debuted at number seven on the US Billboard 200, with the lowest-first week sales of Carey's career. Although it peaked outside the top-ten in many countries, Glitter debuted atop the album's chart in Japan, and achieved sales of over one million units. To date, Glitter remains one of Carey's lowest selling albums, and has sold over three million copies worldwide.

Several singles were officially released, although following their weak charting, Virgin halted promotion of Glitter. "Loverboy" served as the first single from the project, and quickly became Carey's lowest charting lead single throughout many countries globally. Although reaching number two on the US Billboard Hot 100 following the single's price reduction, "Loverboy" was unable to garner sufficient airplay to stay within the top-ten. Internationally, the song peaked outside the top-twenty in most music markets, while failing to achieve a long chart run. "Never Too Far", the album's second release, reached #81 in the United States, and performed weakly throughout Europe and Asia. Subsequent singles failed to make much of an impact on prominent global charts.

Background and development

Since her debut in 1990, Carey's career had been heavily calculated and controlled by her husband and head of her label Sony Music Entertainment, Tommy Mottola. For years, Carey's albums had consisted of slow and meaningful ballads, devoid of any guest appearances or hip-hop. In January 1995, as she recorded Daydream, Carey had already began taking more control over her musical style and genre influences. In 1993, Carey's previous release, Music Box became one of the best-selling albums of all time, with sales of over 32 million units. As a result, Carey was given more creative control on Daydream (1995), including being able to choose which song-writers and producers she wanted to collaborate with. She enrolled the production and rap-styles of Ol' Dirty Bastard, who was featured on the remix to her song "Fantasy". While he was hesitant at first, Carey's more commanding position on the album "paid off". It became an international chart topper, with critics calling their joint performance one of the pioneering songs of pop and R&B musical collaborations. During the recording and production of Carey's Butterfly in 1997, the couple separated, leaving Carey an extended amount of control over her yet unfinished album. Following their separation, she began working with younger hip-hop and R&B producers and song-writers, aside from her usual work with balladeers Walter Afanasieff and Kenneth Edmonds. While the album incorporated several different genres and components that were not present in Carey's previous releases, Butterfly maintained a steady balance of her classic ballads and newer R&B infused tracks. However, while Sony accepted Carey's new-found collaborations with writers and producers such as P. Diddy and Bone Thugs-n-Harmony, they still attempted to only allow the ballads to shine. After Carey's "Honey", the debut single from Butterfly, was released in September 1997, Sony halted the release of the succeeding R&B influenced tracks, only fully releasing a second worldwide single, "My All".

Following the release of Butterfly, Carey began working on a film and soundtrack project titled, All That Glitters. However, during that period, Columbia Records pressured Carey to release a compilation album, in time for the favorable holiday season in November. Consequently, Carey put All That Glitters on hold, and released Number 1's in November 1998. Following an additional studio album in 1999, titled Rainbow, in which she fully exerted creative control over the album and its sound, Carey then completed her contract with Columbia Records. With Rainbow, Carey pushed her music and image farther into hip-hop and R&B than she had ever attempted. Following its strong commercial success, Carey aimed to complete the film and album project for the summer of 2001. As the first record on her unprecedented $100 million five-album record deal with Virgin Records (EMI Records), Carey was given full conceptual and creative control over the project. She opted to record an album partly mixed with 1980s influenced disco and other similar genres, in order to go hand-in-hand with the film's setting. As the date grew near, the title was changed to simply Glitter. During early 2001, Carey ended her three year relationship with Latin singer Luis Miguel. Aside from the heavy publicized split, Carey had already been filming both Glitter and WiseGirls, as well as recording the soundtrack for the former film. Due to the pressure from the media, her heavy work schedule and the split from Miguel, Carey began posting a series of disturbing messages on her official website, and displayed erratic behavior on several live promotional outings.

Controversy

TRL incident

Following commencement for Glitter and the release of the soundtrack's lead single "Loverboy", Carey embarked on a short promotional campaign for the song and its parent album. On July 19, 2001, Carey made a surprise appearance on the MTV program Total Request Live (TRL). As the show's host Carson Daly began taping following a commercial break, Carey began singing "Loverboy" a capella from behind a curtain. As he questioned the audience, she came out onto the filming stage, pushing an ice cream cart while wearing a large men's shirt. Seemingly anxious and exhilarated, Carey began giving out individual bars of ice cream to fans and guests on the program, while waving to the crowd down below on Times Square, while diverging into a rambling monologue regarding therapy. Carey then walked to Daly's platform and began a striptease, in which she shed her shirt to reveal a tight yellow and green ensemble, leading him to exclaim "Mariah Carey has lost her mind!". While she later revealed that Daly was aware of her presence in the building prior to her appearance, she admitted that he was meant to act surprised in order to provide a more dramatic effect for the program. Carey's appearance on TRL garnered strong media attention, with many critics and newspapers citing her behavior as "troubled" and "erratic".

Hospitalization

In the days following her appearance on TRL, Carey began displaying "erratic behavior" during a public record singing at Tower Records in New York. As the appearance was filmed, she began rambling on several points, leading her to discuss radio-host Howard Stern, and how his form of humor on his program bothered her greatly. At that point, Carey's publicist Cindi Berger grabbed the microphone from her hand, and ordered the cameras to stop filming. Only days later, Carey began posting irregular voice notes and messages on her official website:

I'm trying to understand things in life right now and so I really don't feel that I should be doing music right now. What I'd like to do is just a take a little break or at least get one night of sleep without someone popping up about a video. All I really want is just be me and that's what I should have done in the first place ... I don't say this much but guess what, I don't take care of myself.

Following the quick removal of the messages, Berger commented that Carey had been "obviously exhausted and not thinking clearly" when she posted the letters. Two days later on July 26, she was suddenly hospitalized, citing "extreme exhaustion" and a "physical and emotional breakdown". News websites and programs began reporting how Carey threatened to commit suicide by slitting her wrists the night before, and how Patricia, Carey's mother, hastily called for help. When questioned regarding Carey's suicidal rumor, Berger claimed she had broken dishes out of desperation, and as a result, accidentally cut her hands and feet. Patricia later commented that Carey would never attempt to take her own life away, and that she "respects life way too much." Following her induction at an un-disclosed hospital in Connecticut, Carey remained hospitalized and under doctor's care for two weeks, followed by an extended absence from the public.

Project delay

Following the heavy media coverage surrounding Carey's publicized breakdown and hospitalization, Virgin Records and 20th Century Fox delayed the release of both Glitter, as well as its soundtrack of the same name. The announcement was made on August 9, 2001, that both the soundtrack and the film would be postponed three weeks, respectively from August 21 to September 11, and from August 31 to September 21. When asked regarding the motives behind the delay, Nancy Berry, vice chairman of Virgin Music Group Worldwide, addressed Carey's personal and physical condition:

Mariah is looking forward to being able to participate in both her album and movie projects and we are hopeful that this new soundtrack release date will allow her to do so. She has been making great recovery progress, and continues to grow stronger every day. Virgin Music Worldwide continues to give its absolute commitment and support to Mariah on every level.

Consequently, critics suggested that in delaying Glitter, hype for the project would have largely subsided, and would possibly hurt both ticket and album sales. When discussing the project's weak commercial reaction, Carey blamed both her frame of mind during the time of its release, its postponement, as well as the soundtrack having been released on September 11. In 2005, Carey made specific remarks regarding the album's commercial failure, "I released it on September 11, 2001. The talk shows needed something to distract from 9/11. I became a punching bag. I was so successful that they tore me down because my album was at number 2 instead of number 1. The media was laughing at me and attacked me. 'Glitter' was ahead of its time. Today it's 'in' to make 80's music."

Departure from Virgin

Following Carey's absence from the public eye, as well as her abandonment of promotional appearances for the film and soundtrack, her unprecedented $100 million five-album record deal with Virgin Records (EMI Records) was bought out for $50 million. The decision was brought out due to the low sales of the project, as well as the negative publicity surrounding her breakdown. Prior to Carey's departure from Virgin, the two parties agreed to using the word "canceled" when asked regarding the failed business venture by the media. Less than 24 hours after the settlement was made, Virgin released a statement that they had "terminated" the contract with Carey, as well as only claiming to have paid her $28 million to part ways, far less than the amount agreed upon. Carey's lawyers threatened to sue, with her attorney Marshall Grossman calling their behavior in the matter "deplorable". Virgin replied that in terms of Carey's payout, they only listed the money they gave her for departing, not including the $21 million they already had paid her under contract for Glitter, totaling at $49 million. Additionally, they claimed that while they did not follow the agreed upon terms, they would counter-sue Carey's lawyers for "defamation" following their press release. The matter was resolved outside of court, with Carey nor Virgin opting to take the matter to the judicial system. Soon after, Carey flew to Capri, Italy for a period of five months, in which she began writing material for her new album, stemming from all the personal experiences she had endured throughout the past year. Additionally, she founded her own label modeled after her initials, MonarC Entertainment, and signed a new three-album record deal with Island Records, valued at over $23 million.

Music and lyrics

Musically, Glitter was notably different from anything Carey had ever written or recorded, drawing influence from the 1980s. Due to the parent film taking place in 1982, the soundtrack harbored on recreating an older sound, while incorporating the usual ballads for which Carey was known. While some critics favored the album's retro style, and inclusion of several sampled melodies, many felt that Glitter lacked originality, and its excess of guest artists overpowered Carey's artistry. In an interview with MTV News, Carey described the album's content, as well as its influences:

There are songs that are definitely going to take people back and make them go, 'Oh, man, this song from the '80s — I loved it growing up'. Or people who never heard the songs before might be like, 'This is cool.' When you see the movie, you're gonna see the uptempo songs and the songs that are remakes in there as they would have sounded in the '80s, but the album is the way that I would make the record now, and the ballads can stand on their own as songs from a Mariah Carey album.

Serving as the project's lead single, "Loverboy" features a sample from "Candy" by American rapper Cameo, which interpolates the melody into the chorus and instrumental introduction. Additionally, aside from sampling "Candy" as the musical bed for the song, Cameo serves as a featured artist on the song. Sarah Rodman from the Boston Herald compared it to Carey's previous lead singles, and described its production as "another in an increasingly long line of glitzy, candy-coated, creatively stunted Carey songs". The song's lyrics and vocals were described as "super-sexed" by Sal Cinquemani from Slant magazine when put into comparison with Carey's previous work. The official remix for "Loverboy" also earned a place on Glitter, adding rap verses from both Ludacris and Da Brat to the original version. The album's second release, "Never Too Far", was written and produced by Carey and Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis. Described as an "adult-contemporary, slow-jam love song", the song's lyrics read "Too painful to talk about it, so I hold it in / So my heart can mend and be brave enough to love again", speaking of emotions felt by the protagonist in the film. "Never Too Far" features "a bed of synthesized strings, gentle drums and Spanish-style guitar" as its primary instrumentation, and incorporates violin and keyboard notes prior to the first verse. The third single from Glitter, "Don't Stop (Funkin' 4 Jamaica)", was composed by Carey and DJ Clue, and interpolates "Funkin' for Jamaica (N.Y.)" by Tom Browne. Featuring guest verses from Mystikal, with the former declaring "Ain't nothin' you could do with the man / Except for shake your ass and clap your hands", while Carey responds "Don't stop bay-beee, its ex-ta-see / Turn me up a little." Serving as the fourth and final single from Glitter, "Reflections (Care Enough)" was written by Carey and Philippe Pierre, and released as a single towards the end of 2001. Lyrically, the song'a protagonist "laments the end of a relationship", while confronting her mother regarding her early abandonment. Additionally, during its bridge, Carey "eerily" refers to abortion, "You could have had the decency / To give me up / Before you gave me life", as an option over abandoning the child. Cinquemani felt the song was reminiscent of Carey's ballads during the earlier lengths of her career, and described the song as a "simple beauty". In a review for the album in The Free Lance–Star, a writer outed the song's first verse "A displeased little girl / Wept years in silence / And whispers wishes you'd materialize / She pressed on night and day / To keep on living / And tried so many ways / To keep her soul alive" as his favorite lyric from Glitter, and described it as an "emotional and heart-wrenching ballad". Conceptualized in 1997, "Lead the Way" was an unused track from Butterfly (1997), written and produced by Carey and Walter Afanasieff. The ballad was the last song composed by the pair, as they halted work with one another shortly after its completion, due to their growing creative differences. Though written, the song was recorded during 2000, as Carey began producing Glitter. Beginning with a classic and simple piano introduction, Carey starts the song with soft and breathy vocals, eventually leading to a vocal climax, in which she belts an 18-second note, the longest from any of her recordings. He described it as one of her "best vocal performances", as well as one of her "favorite songs." In an interview with MTV News, Carey addressed Glitter as well as "Lead the Way":

To me, 'Glitter' is one of my best albums. A lot of people got confused, not knowing whether it was a soundtrack or an album or what. There's a song called 'Lead the Way' which I did on Ally McBeal, and it's coming out in January. I sang the song on . It's one of those ballads that basically everybody that's been following my career says reminds them of a 'Vision of Love'-type record, and that's one of my favorite songs from the record. The cool thing for me is to be able to tie in 'Never Too Far' and 'Hero'. Having the Greatest Hits coming out, to be able to tie in both those records is almost like a circle.

Carey's cover of the 1982 Indeep song "Last Night a D.J. Saved My Life" was one of the album's more club-themed songs. It features rappers Fabolous and Busta Rhymes, and was composed and produced by Carey and DJ Clue. Michael Paoletta from Billboard called it a "painful low" on Glitter, and commented how Carey seemed detached and over-powered on the song, due to the inclusion of several male guests. "Twister", another one of the album's ballads, drew strong comparisons to Carey's older work, in light of the very different remainder of the album. Paoletta called it "quietly heartbreaking", in reference to the song's lyrics, which relate to the suicide of Carey's friend and hairstylist, Tonjua Twist. According to Carey, Twist took her own life in the spring of 2000, and was known for her joy of life and her ability to put people at ease. She was "child like and effervescent", but behind her mask of happiness was "a well" of lifelong and deep-rooted pain. In "Twister", Carey described the hidden inner-struggle of her friend, and tried to find "closure"; her "way of saying goodbye". Chris Chuck from Daily News described its lyrics as "an airy requiem for a friend lost to suicide" and felt it was "the only memorable song on the album." With lyrics reading "Feelin' kinda fragile and I've got a lot to handle / But I guess this is my way of saying goodbye", David Browne from Entertainment Weekly felt that Carey was possibly referring to her own suicide rather than her friends, especially in light of the events that were taking place during the album's release. "Didn't Mean to Turn You On" is a cover of the 1984 Cherelle song of the same title. Aside from the heavy sampling of the hook and lyrics, Carey, who produced the song alongside Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, added keyboard notes and synthesizers to enhance the songs club appeal. In the song, Carey sings "I was only trying to be nice / Only trying to be nice / Sooooooo, I didn't mean to turn you on", indicating a woman who is weakly apologetic over fooling a man over intimacy. On the track "Want You", American singer Eric Benét duets with Carey, while lyrically implying and suggesting the "exploration of bedroom fantasies."

"Loverboy" sample controversy

Throughout 2000, Carey had already been writing and recording material for Glitter. During this period, she developed the concept for the album's lead single, "Loverboy". Originally, Carey had sampled the melody and hook from the 1978 Yellow Magic Orchestra song "Firecracker", using an interpolation of it throughout the chorus and introduction. In early theatrical trailers for Glitter, the original version of "Loverboy" was still featured. As Carey had ended her contract with Columbia Records, Jennifer Lopez was signed by Tommy Mottola, and had begun recording material for her album, J.Lo (2001). According to record producer Irv Gotti, Mottola, head of Columbia and Carey's ex-husband, knew of Carey's usage of the "Firecracker" sample, and attempted to have Lopez use the same sample before her. At the time, Carey had become increasingly paranoid over outside executives being informed about Glitter, especially following news of Lopez's "theft" of the song. When the music publisher's for "Firecracker" were questioned, they admitted Carey had licensed usage of the sample first, and Lopez had signed for it over one month later, under Mottola's arrangement. Following the scandal, Carey was not able to use the original sample, as Lopez's album was to be released far earlier than Glitter. She subsequently changed the composition of "Loverboy", and incorporated a new sample, "Candy" by Cameo. According to Gotti, Mottola contacted him with instructions to create an additional song that sounded exactly like another Glitter track he produced, titled "If We" featuring rappers Ja Rule and Nate Dogg. The "Firecracker" sample was eventually used by Lopez on her song "I'm Real", from her album J.Lo.

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	(59/100)
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic
Billboard	(Mixed)
Boston Herald	(Mixed)
Daily News
Entertainment Weekly	(C)
Los Angeles Times
Rolling Stone
Slant magazine
USA Today

At the time of its release, reviews for Glitter were mixed at best. The album's main criticism laid within its content; many music reviewers felt that through an over-abundance of guest musicians, Carey was overpowered throughout most of Glitter. Additionally, many criticized its 1980s theme, which most felt was poorly conceptualized. On the website Metacritic, which averages professional reviews into a numerical score, the album received a 59/100, indicating "generally mixed or average reviews." Allmusic critic Stephen Thomas Erlewine gave the album one and a half out of five stars, calling it an "utter meltdown -- the pop equivalent of Chernobyl" and wrote "It's an embarrassment, one that might have been easier to gawk at if its creator wasn't so close to emotional destruction at the time of release." Michael Paoletta from Billboard was less critical, citing it as a "minor misstep in a stellar career that has earned the singer a few free passes. Editor Sarah Rodman from The Boston Herald gave Glitter a mixed review, praising Carey's song-writing and voice, although panning the excess of secondary musical guests. While criticizing the album's roster of appearances, Rodman wrote "the artists contribute mostly distracting, self-promoting jibber jabber all over what could have been Carey's best, most emotionally mature record to date." Daily News editor Chuck Campley rated the album two and a half out of five stars, writing "Maybe this was the best Mariah Carey could muster under the circumstances, but 'Glitter' needed more work." David Browne from Entertainment Weekly gave Glitter a mixed review, criticizing the abundance of rappers and describing Carey's vocals as "barely there" on several tracks. Concluding his review on a poor note, Browne wrote "'Glitter' is a mess, but its shameless genre hopping (and Carey's crash) makes it an unintentional concept album about the toll of relentless careerism."

Heather Vaughn from The Free-Lance Star gave Glitter a positive review, complimenting both the dance-oriented tracks, as well as the ballads. In reference to their weight on the album as a whole, Vaughn wrote "Sounds like Mariah's other albums, but with more of an 80s twist. The ballads really let you hear how stunning her voice actually is." Los Angeles Times critic and writer Natalie Nichols gave Glitter two out of a possible four stars, writing how Carey let the album "reflect the synth-driven robo-funk of that wretched decade." Nichols called the album's covers "tepid and pointless", while agreeing that Carey was overwhelmed by the several guest rappers, calling her voice "semi-disguised". Rob Sheffield from Rolling Stone gave the album three out of five stars, criticizing the ballads as "big and goopy, with zero melodic or emotional punch." Aside from the ballads, Sheffield complimented Glitter, but felt it failed to deliver the success or quality that Carey needed on her debut film and soundtrack. He concluded his review of the album with a comparison to Whitney Houston's The Bodyguard (1992), "Mariah still hasn't found her theme song, the one people will remember her voice by. 'Glitter' is good enough to make you hope she finds it. It's not too late, either — Whitney was a veteran if not a has-been when she hit her peak with 'The Bodyguard'." Slant magazine editor Sal Cinquemani awarded Glitter three out of five stars, writing "Carey's edgier tracks are inundated with so many guest artists that her sound ultimately becomes muddled; her pop tunes are so formulaic that it's difficult to distinguish one from the next." USA Today's Edna Gunderson rated the album one and a half out of four stars, criticizing Carey's overall image for the project, as well as the many guest artists on the record. She described Carey as "cheapening her image" and wrote "The whiff of desperation grows more pungent on 'Glitter' in Carey's gratuitous coloratura and transparent enlistment of street-cred boosters such as rappers Ja Rule and Mystikal.

Commercial performance

Glitter became Carey's least commercially successful album to that point. It debuted at number seven on the Billboard 200 with first-week sales of 116,000 copies, far less than the 323,000 her previous release, Rainbow, opened with in 1999. Glitter became Carey's lowest peaking album in the United States, with her sophomoric album Emotions (1992), coming in at number four. It remained in the album's chart for only eight weeks, and was certified Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) on the day of its release, denoting shipments of one million units throughout the country. As of 2008, Nielsen SoundScan estimates stateside sales of Glitter at just 636,000 copies. In Canada, the album debuted at number four on the Canadian Albums Chart, plummeting to number nineteen during its second week. Glitter entered the Australian Albums Chart at its peak position of number thirteen, during the week dated September 9, 2001. Remaining in the chart for only three weeks, the album made its exit at number forty on September 23. Similarly in Austria, Glitter peaked at number fourteen, remaining on the albums chart for only four weeks.

In both the Flemmish and Wallonian territories in Belgium, Glitter peaked at numbers ten and eleven, respectively, while charting for a total of four weeks. In France, Glitter peaked at number five on the albums chart, during the week dated September 15, 2001. Following seventeen weeks fluctuating in the chart, the album was certified Gold by the Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique (SNEP), denoting shipments of over 150,000 units. French sales of the album are estimated at over 121,100 copies. On the Dutch Albums Chart, Glitter debuted at number twenty-six, during the week dated September 22, 2001. Reaching its peak position of number twelve the following week, the album remained a total of six weeks in the albums chart. In both New Zealand and Norway, Glitter peaked at number eleven, staying within the chart for four and one weeks, respectively. In Switzerland, the album peaked at number seven, and stayed within the chart for ten weeks. The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) certified Glitter Gold in Switzerland, for shipments of over 20,000 copies. On the UK Albums Chart dated September 22, 2001, the album made its debut at number ten. The following week, Glitter fell to number twenty-seven, staying in the chart for one more additional week. British sales of the album are estimated at over 54,634 units. In Japan, Glitter saw particular commercial success, debuting atop the albums chart and selling over a 500,000 units within a month of release. For 2001, the album was named the "most popular release by a non-Japanese act" by Sony Music Japan, with eventual sales of over a million copies throughout the country. According to Live Nation, Glitter has sold over three million units worldwide.

Singles

"Loverboy" was released as the first single from Glitter on July 16, 2001. The song received mixed reviews from music critics, with many both criticizing and praising the inclusion of the "Candy" sample. It became one of Carey's weakest charting lead singles to date, reaching number sixty on the Billboard Hot 100. Following Carey's publicized hospitalization and breakdown, as well as Virgin's price reduction on the single, "Loverboy" managed to attain a new peak of number two on the chart. Although being propelled by high sales, radio airplay was still weak, due to many radio DJs feeling tepid towards its 1980s retro sound. Accompanied by little promotion from Carey, due to her hospitalization, "Loverboy" quickly descended the Hot 100. Outside the United States, the song attained weak charting, peaking inside the top ten in Australia and Canada, and within the top twenty in Italy and the United Kingdom. The music video for "Loverboy" features Carey dressed in a variation of revealing outfits, while patrolling a large race track as her 'loverboy' wins the race. The video was notable for portraying Carey in a more sexually oriented manner than before.

"Never Too Far", the album's second release, was released on October 23, 2001. It failed to impact the main Billboard chart, and achieved weak international charting. Carey was unable to film a music video for the single, as she was still recovering from her collapse. Instead, a video was created using a scene taken directly from the film Glitter, where Billie Frank (played by Carey) sings the song at Madison Square Garden during her first sold-out concert. Frank's performance of the song in the film omits its entire second verse, and the song's development runs in parallel with the film's love story. The album's third single, "Don't Stop (Funkin' 4 Jamaica)", released on December 10, 2001, mirrored the same weak charting as "Never Too Far", although receiving more rotation on MTV due to its video. Directed by Sanaa Hamri, it features the theme of southern bayous and lifestyles, and presents Carey and Mystikal in "southern style" clothing and hairstyles. Some shots feature three versions of Carey singing into a microphone on the screen at one time. The final single released from Glitter was "Reflections (Care Enough)", which received a limited release in Japan on December 15, 2001. Following its limited promotional push from Virgin, and the absence of a music video, the song failed to make much of an impact.

Track listing

Credits and personnel

Credits for Glitter adapted from Allmusic.

• Mariah Carey – arranger, composer, executive producer, producer, vocal arrangement, vocals, background vocals
• Walter Afanasieff – composer
• Jeffrey Atkins – composer
• Eric Benét – performer
• Larry Blackmon – composer
• Elliott Blakey – assistant
• Lee Blaske – string arrangements
• Busta Rhymes – performer
• Cameo – performer
• Michael Cleveland – composer
• Da Brat – composer, performer
• Damizza – producer
• DJ Clue – composer, producer, background vocals
• Fabolous – performer
• Tony Gonzales – assistant
• Kevin Guarnieri – assistant engineer, digital editing
• Nathaniel Hale – composer
• Fernando Harkless – flute
• James Harris – composer
• Michael Herring – guitar
• Howard Hersh – composer
• Steve Hodge – engineer, mixing
• Ja Rule – performer
• Jimmy Jam – arranger, executive producer, producer, production assistant
• Rick James – composer
• Thomas Jenkins – composer
• John Kennedy – violin
• Clark Kent – producer
• Anthony Kilhoffer – assistant
• Terry Lewis – arranger, composer, executive producer, producer, production assistant
• Bryan Loren – keyboards
• Trey Lorenz – background vocals
• Ludacris – composer, performer
• Bob Ludwig – mastering
• Brenda Mickens – violin
• Mystikal – performer
• Jon Nettlesbey – assistant
• Pete Novak – assistant
• Tim Olmstead – assistant
• Derek Organ – drums
• Pierre Philippe – composer
• Alice Preves – violin
• Alexander Richbourg – drum programming
• David Rideau – engineer
• Torrel Ruffin – guitar
• Leslie Shank – violin
• Shawnna – composer
• Pitnarry Shin – cello
• Ryan Smith – assistant
• Toni Smith – composer
• Xavier Smith – assistant, assistant engineer, mixing
• Jason Stasium – assistant
• Tamas Strasser – violin
• Mary Ann Tatum – background vocals
• James "Big Jim" Wright – composer
• Bradley Yost – assistant, assistant engineer, mixing
• Damion Young – composer

Charts and sales

Singles

References

1. ^ "Never Too Far". MTV News. MTV Networks. Retrieved December 27, 2011.
2. ^ "Reflections (Care Enough)". MTV News. MTV Networks. Retrieved December 27, 2011.
3. "The 'Glitter' May Be Gone, But Mariah Carey Is Coming Back Strong". The San Diego Union-Tribune. Platinum Equity. 2002-11-29. Retrieved 2011-06-13.
4. ^ Shapiro 2001, pp. 91–92
5. "Mariah Carey – Biography". Yahoo! Music. Retrieved 2010-08-17.
6. Williams, Chris (2011-07-03). "Mariah Carey's Music Box LP (1993) Revisited With Co-Writer Walter Afanasieff : Return To The Classics". Soul Culture. Soul Culture Media. Retrieved 2011-07-14.
7. ^ Shapiro 2001, pp. 93
8. ^ Shapiro 2001, pp. 94
9. ^ Shapiro 2001, pp. 96
10. ^ Shapiro 2001, pp. 97
11. Shapiro 2001, pp. 98
12. ^ Shapiro 2001, pp. 99
13. Vineyard, Jennifer (2005-10-13). "Eric Benét "Glitters" With Mariah Carey, Da Brat". MTV News. Retrieved 2000-03-29. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
14. Shapiro 2001, pp. 101
15. ^ Shapiro 2001, pp. 104
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Works cited

• Shapiro, Marc (2001), Mariah Carey: The Unauthorized Biography, ECW Press, ISBN 978-1-55022-444-3

External links

• Glitter at Metacritic

• Mariah Carey albums
• Film soundtracks
• Albums produced by Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis
• Albums produced by Walter Afanasieff
• 2001 soundtracks
• Virgin Records soundtracks
• Albums certified gold by the Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique
• Albums certified gold by the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry of Switzerland
• Albums certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America