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"We Belong Together" is a pop–R&B song primarily written and produced by American singer Mariah Carey in collaboration with Jermaine Dupri, Manuel Seal and Johnta Austin. Released in 2005 as the second single from Carey's ninth studio album The Emancipation of Mimi (2005), the hip hop-influenced ballad has been noted for its laid back, piano-driven rhythm and Carey's rap-styled vocal and lyrical approaches. The lyrics chronicle a relationship that had ended on the wrong terms, with the protagonist pleading for her former lover to return.

After winning two Grammy Awards and breaking many chart and airplay records on the U.S. Billboard charts, "We Belong Together" has become considered Carey's signature and comeback song following the critical and commercial failure of the singles from Glitter (2001) and Charmbracelet (2002). "We Belong Together" was proclaimed the 2005 "song of the summer" when it maintained the U.S. number-one position throughout. Outside of the U.S., the song also proved successful, where it reached number-one in Australia and Brazil, and it was named the "Song of the Year" at the 2005 World Music Awards ceremony.

Writing and recording

While "We Belong Together" a successful single, it was almost never recorded; the song was composed through additional studio sessions, long after Carey had finished recording The Emancipation of Mimi in November 2004. After he had heard the album, Antonio Reid felt that it was slightly lacking, so he suggested that Carey return to the studio to include supplementary songs. Both Carey and Reid contacted Jermaine Dupri, whom Carey had collaborated on several 1990s singles such as "Always Be My Baby" (1996) and "Sweetheart" (1998). Carey flew to his studio in Atlanta, where the two composed "Get Your Number" and "Shake It Off" in two days, and after feeling satisfied that the album was now strong, Carey returned to her studio in New York.

Antonio Reid was impressed with the new material and he again encouraged her to take another trip to Atlanta to outmatch her earlier efforts. In this session, Carey and Dupri recruited the help of Manuel Seal and Johnta Austin, and after another two days, they were able to compose the club-inspired "It's Like That" (the album's first single) and the maudlin ballad "We Belong Together". Contrary to media speculation, Carey had asserted that the song was not inspired by the relationships with any of her previously confirmed lovers, but instead, can be seen as a universal love anthem to which everyone can relate. She has cited the song as one of her favorites on The Emancipation of Mimi.

Carey and Dupri decided to include portions of what they considered classic rhyhtm and blues singles in an attempt to make "We Belong Together" special. Two songs, Bobby Womack's "If You Think You're Lonely Now" (1981) and The Deele's "Two Occasions" (1987, featuring Babyface as lead vocalist) were referenced in the lyrics. During the second verse, Carey sings:

"I can't sleep at night

When you are on my mind

Bobby Womack's on the radio

Singing to me, 'If you think you're lonely now'"

Following the reference of Womack's song, Carey sings:

"So I turn the dial, tryin’ to catch a break

And then I hear Babyface

'I only think of you'"

"I only think of you" is the first line of the "Two Occasions" chorus. Carey continues singing the chorus on the Jadakiss–Styles remix of "We Belong Together". Due to the inclusion of the lyrics from the two songs, their writers were given co-writing credits on "We Belong Together".

Music and structure

In the studio, Carey and Dupri had a lengthy discussion while attempting to write the melody for "We Belong Together". "We just went back and forth with concepts for the beat and melodic ideas," Carey recalls. Eventually, they both decided to simplify the musical backing in an effort to place attention on Carey's vocals; the melody was led by a beat and simple piano chords set in C major. The song begins with a piano playing the melody of the refrain, which establishes its melody and harmonic structure, and as Carey vocalises, rhythm and bass are introduced into the background, which creates an understated, relaxed tempo in a 4/4 time signature.

The song features a blend of genres and musical styles including pop, quiet storm, soul, and hip hop; the hip hop influence is most evident in both the drum programmed rhythm, with its prominent 808-styled kick, hi-hats, and Carey's vocal delivery; instead of executing her signature melismatic style, she employs a state of vocal restraint, occasionally sings counter to the rhythm, and mimicks the facile, verbose approach of "phrase spitting" artists such as Usher. Upon Dupri's insistence, she also suspends the use of the soft style that she had been criticised for, and employs the full-voiced style reminiscent of her 1990s singing. Dupri explained how he had wanted "people to feel the old essence" for which Carey been known.

"We Belong Together" follows the common "verse-chorus" form, and is structured into three distinct sections; each section presents the protagonist in different emotional phases. The first section chronicles the break-up of the couple, and a sorrowful tone is established as she laments her former mistakes. In the second section, the narrative switches to the present, and the protagonist becomes increasingly agitated and feels "all out of her element" when she attempts to distract herself by listening to the radio, but fails. "We Belong Together" has no bridge, and instead, Carey transitions into the third section by raising the pitch an octave, which emphasizes the sheer frustration and desperation of the protagonist.

Critical response

"We Belong Together" is one of Carey's more critically-successful singles, and it won two Grammy awards at the 2006 Grammy Awards ceremony: one for "Best Female R&B Vocal Performance" and the other for "Best R&B Song". Her voice is also hailed as a return to form, following reviews of Charmbracelet (2002), which suggested that the singer had lost her signature range and power. A critic for Slant magazine wrote: "the wobbly diva cool with breathy, rapid-fire verses until the final full-voiced climax that...proves that 'The Voice' has indeed returned". Both Billboard magazine and Johnny Loftus of Metrotimes shared similar opinions and lavished the song with plaudits such as "stellar", "classy" and "sublime".

Having spent most of the summer at the top of the U.S. Singles Chart, Kelefa Sanneh of The New York Times proclaimed "We Belong Together" 2005's "song of the summer". She wrote that the song is the most melancholy to rule the summer in years: "Unlike 'Lean Back', it hasn't spawned a catchphrase; unlike 'Crazy in Love', this song doesn't beg listeners to scream along; unlike 'Hollaback Girl' and 'Pon de Replay', this song doesn't even command listeners to dance". Instead, the song owes its popularity to its "tightly coiled counter-rhythms that tug against the beat", and Carey's challenging singing style, where she "adopts a more agile style and the words-per-note ratio considerably". Sanneh also noted that despite its ulterior simplicity, the song is very intricate, and even after crediting three producers and ten songwriters, "it doesn't sound like a mishmash".

While "We Belong Together" has proved to be popular with fans and critics alike, it also received some unfavorable reviews. Helen Duong of UKMusic felt that it was simply "bearable", while another critic from Virgin.net wrote that the song was boring, uninspired and clichéd.

Music video

The music video, which was filmed in Beverly Hills, United States by Brett Ratner, serves as the sequel and conclusion to the video for "It's Like That" (the two videos were filmed simultaneously). Beginning with the "It's Like That" video, Carey's character was seen at a party the night before her wedding, when a guest (played by Wentworth Miller) revealed himself as one of her former lovers. The video for "We Belong Together" begins the following morning, where her character prepares for the wedding, and reminisces about the love that they had once shared. Even when the ceremony begins and she walks down the aisle, Carey's character debates whether her heart belongs with her former boyfriend or her fiancé (played by Eric Roberts). At the altar, she catches sight of her former boyfriend who is watching the wedding from a distance, and she runs from the ceremony and into his arms; this is the moment in which she finally decides that "they belong together". The video ends with Carey's character and her former boyfriend driving away in a car.

The video triggered much publicity as the Vera Wang wedding dress was the one that Carey wore at her 1993 wedding to Tommy Mottola. The media also compared the Eric Roberts character to Mottola and the Wentworth Miller character to Derek Jeter. While the media speculated that Carey had used the dress as a publicity stunt, she insists that the video treatment called for a wedding dress, and she simply happened to possess one.

The video proved successful on several video-chart countdowns such as VH1's Top 20 Video Countdown, BET's 106 & Park, MuchMusic's Countdown, and MTV's TRL, where it retired at number one. By July 27 2005 it was LAUNCHcast's most-watched video of the year, with 7.5 million streamed performances according to a Yahoo! Music press release.

Chart performance

"We Belong Together" was solicited to radio on March 26 2005 in North America. Between 1997 and 2004, Carey's popularity on the radio had declined as a result of the lower airplay chart positions. However, "We Belong Together" became Carey's sixteenth number-one on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100, due to strong airplay, and it proved to be the biggest success of Carey's career and for her label, Island Def Jam Records; it became the first song to simultaneously occupy the number-one position on nine of the Billboard charts, and had major cross-over success on the U.S. Billboard charts. The song spent fourteen weeks at number one on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks charts.

According to Mediabase and Nielsen BDS, "We Belong Together" became responsible for breaking numerous airplay records on the U.S. Billboard charts: on the Hot 100 Airplay, it remained at number one for sixteen weeks and it also reached a total of 223 million audience impressions as counted by Nielsen BDS, and broke the record previously held by Mario's "Let Me Love You" (2004). "We Belong Together" was also the most-played single of the year in the U.S., and it appeared at number-one on the year-end Hot 100 Airplay chart.

As of April 2006, the digital download of "We Belong Together" (which counts sales of the original version and the remix) has sold over 758,000 copies. Since the song has sold more than 600,000 downloads, it has been certified triple platinum by the RIAA. In the United Kingdom, the song has received a silver certification by the OCC.

"We Belong Together" proved successful in several major non-U.S. markets. It debuted and spent two weeks at number one on Australia's ARIA Singles Chart on June 27, and became Carey's second single following "Fantasy" (1995) to appear at the top of the chart. In the UK the song debuted at number two behind Tupac Shakur and Elton John's "Ghetto Gospel" by 392 physical and digital sales. It also reached number two for three weeks on the Canadian BDS Airplay Chart and New Zealand's RIANZ Singles Chart. The song became her sixth number-one single in Brazil, where it remained for three weeks.

Free downloads controversy

During the final week of May 2005, Carey's official website offered the DJ Clue remix of the song (previously sold exclusively through iTunes and other online music stores) as a free digital download. The free downloads affected the U.S. Singles chart placings the week that "We Belong Together" ascended to number one. In response to letters of complaint, Billboard columnist Fred Bronson admitted in his Chart Beat Chat column on June 3 2005, that the free downloads had indeed helped make the song number one. Although it was against Billboard's policy, the magazine's director of charts, Geoff Mayfield, said that the means of calculating chart positions did not reflect that policy at the time. If the calculations had correctly filtered out the statistics resulting from free downloads, it is likely that "We Belong Together" would have not reached number one until the following week.

Formats and track listings

These are the formats and track listings of major single releases of "We Belong Together".

• Canadian/European/Australian CD single

1. "We Belong Together" (album version)
2. "We Belong Together" (DJ Clue remix — featuring Jadakiss and Styles P.)

• UK CD maxi single

1. "We Belong Together" (album version)
2. "We Belong Together" (Reconstruction radio mix)
3. "We Belong Together" (Reconstruction club mix)
4. "We Belong Together" (Atlantic Soul vocal)
5. "We Belong Together" (Atlantic Soul instrumental)

Credits and personnel

• Lead and backing vocals — Mariah Carey
• Keyboards — Loris Holland
• Drums — Charles Drayton
• Engineers — Brian Garten, John Horesco IV
• Assistant engineer — Tadd Mingo
• Mixed by Phil Tan
• Mastered by Herb Powers

Charts

• ( P. Rauhofer/Atlantic Soul mixes)
• ( DJ Clue remix)

See also

• The Emancipation of Mimi
• U.S. Hot 100 number-one hits of 2005

Notes

1. ^ "411hype". Mariah Carey - Emancipation of MiMi. Retrieved February 3. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
2. ^ "VH1". Road To The Grammys: The Story Behind Mariah Carey's "We Belong Together". Retrieved January 30. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
3. "Mariahnetwork". Retrieved February 14. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
4. "Music Notes". "We Belong Together". Retrieved February 4. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
5. "Yahoomusic". "We Belong Together". Retrieved February 3. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
6. ^ "New York Times". The Summer Buzz: Cicadas and Mariah Carey. Retrieved November 5. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
7. "Mariah Daily". It Ain't Over Till the Phat Lady Sings. Retrieved March 4. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Text "2006" ignored (help); Text "accessyear" ignored (help)
8. ^ "Metrotimes". Radio fever- Sussing out a summer jam for ’05. Retrieved November 5. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
9. Anderman, Joan. "For Carey, the Glory's Gone but the Glitter Lives On". Boston Globe. pg. D.4, September 10 2003 .
10. Walters, Barry. "Charmbracelet". Rolling Stone. New York: pg. 93, December 12 2002, iss. 911.
11. "Slant Magazine". 2005: Year in Rewind. Retrieved January 30. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
12. "Billboard.com". Billboard Singles Review — "We Belong Together". Retrieved January 30. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
13. "UKmusic". Reviews: Hip Hop and RnB- Mariah Carey We Belong Together. Retrieved November 10. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
14. "Virgin.net". Mariah Carey — We Belong Together. Retrieved November 10. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
15. "foxnews.com". Mariah Carey Dresses for Her Ex. Retrieved January 30. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
16. "Latina.com". Mariah Carey still having fun with ex-hubby?. Retrieved January 30. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
17. Yahoo! Music. "Mariah Carey will 'Shake It Off', exclusively for Yahoo! Music; North American Online Premiere kicks off 8pm (PDT), July 27th". Top40-charts.com. July 27 2005. Retrieved February 12 2005.
18. Gardner, Elysa. Mariah Carey, 'standing again'. USA Today. November 28, 2002. Retrieved August 19, 2005.
19. "About.com". New York Girl Makes Good With The Emancipation of Mimi. Retrieved February 17. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
20. "MC Archives". We Belong Together sets another record at Billboard. Retrieved February 12. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
21. "USA Today". Carey sets a record. Retrieved February 14. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
22. Bronson, Fred. "The Year in Charts". Billboard. URL accessed February 17 2006.
23. "RIAA.com". Recording Industry Association of America Searchable Gold & Platinum Database. Retrieved February 12. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
24. "The Official Charts". Top 75 UK Singles. Retrieved April 15. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
25. "MC Archives". The Mariah aftermath. Retrieved February 1. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)

References

• "ARC Weekly Top 40". Rock on the Net. Retrieved February 4. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
• "ARIA.com". Australian airplay and sales charts. Retrieved March 5. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
• "Billboard.com". Billboard Hot 100 chart. Retrieved January 31. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
• "Chart Singles.net". Week 28 Chart Ronudup. Retrieved March 5. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
• "IFop.com". French sales chart. Retrieved March 5. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
• "Jam.canoe.ca". Canadian airplay and sales charts. Retrieved March 5. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
• "Mariahdaily". Chartlogs. Retrieved January 31. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
• "Mariahdaily". Retrieved February 14. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
• "Mariahnetwork". Retrieved February 14. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
• "MC Archives". Jermaine Dupri: How he turned Mariah into a hit Machine. Retrieved February 1. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
• "MC Archives". Mariah Carey's interview on Québec TV. Retrieved January 31. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
• "MC Archives". The Mariah aftermath. Retrieved February 1. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
• "Mediatraffic". United World charts. Retrieved January 31. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
• "Oricon.co.jp". Japanese sales chart. Retrieved March 16. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
• "Recording Industry Association of New Zealand". New Zealand sales chart. Retrieved March 8. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
• "VH1". Road To The Grammys: The Story Behind Mariah Carey's "We Belong Together". Retrieved January 30. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)

External links

• "We Belong Together" lyrics — lyrics from the album version of "We Belong Together".

• 2005 singles
• Australian number one singles
• Ballads
• Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles
• Billboard Hot Dance Music/Club Play number-one singles
• Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks number-one singles
• Billboard Pop 100 number-one singles
• Mariah Carey singles