Fantasy (Mariah Carey song)

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"Fantasy"
Single by Mariah Carey
from the album Daydream
Released	September 12, 1995 (U.S.)
Format	CD single, CD maxi single, cassette single, cassette maxi single, 7" single, 12" single
Genre	Pop/R&B
Length	4:04
Label	Columbia
Writer(s)	Mariah Carey, Dave Hall, Tina Weymouth, Chris Frantz, Steven Stanley, Adrian Belew
Producer(s)	Mariah Carey, Dave Hall
Certification	2x platinum (RIAA)
Chart positions
#1 (Australia, Canada, U.S.) #4 (UK)
Mariah Carey singles chronology
"Joy to the World" (1994)	"Fantasy" (1995)	"One Sweet Day" (1995)

"Fantasy" is a song co-written and co-produced by American singer Mariah Carey and Dave Hall, and recorded for Carey's sixth album Daydream (1995). It is built around a sample of the Tom Tom Club's single "Genius of Love" (1982), which was written by Tina Weymouth, Chris Frantz, Steven Stanley and Adrian Belew. It was released as the album's first single in 1995 (see 1995 in music), and is one of Carey's most popular songs. The urban remix of "Fantasy" features Ol' Dirty Bastard and is widely credited with popularising the rap/sung collaboration. The album version of the song was nominated for the 1996 Grammy Award for "Best Female Pop Vocal Performance", losing to "No More 'I Love Yous'" by Annie Lennox.

Contents 1 Release and reception 2 Remixes 3 Track listings 4 Charts 5 See also 6 Notes

[edit] Release and reception

"Fantasy" became one of the biggest hits of Carey's career and was her ninth number-one single on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart. It was the first single by a female artist to debut at number one in the U.S., and only the second single to do so after "You Are Not Alone" by Michael Jackson. It spent eight weeks at the top of the chart, from September 24 to November 18, 1995, Carey's longest stay at the time alongside "Dreamlover" (1993). It replaced "Gangsta's Paradise" by Coolio, and was replaced by Whitney Houston's "Exhale (Shoop Shoop)". "Fantasy" spent twenty-three weeks in the top forty and was successful on other Billboard formats, including the R&B and dance charts. Its strong sales led it to be certified double platinum by the RIAA, Carey's first single to do so. It was ranked seventh on the Hot 100 year-end charts for 1995 and forty-ninth on the 1996 year-end charts.

The single was very successful outside the U.S., topping the charts in Canada and Australia and producing another top five hit for Carey in the United Kingdom. It remained at the top of the Canadian Singles Chart for twelve weeks, a record it shared with six other singles until the release of "I'll Be Missing You" (1997) by Puff Daddy featuring Faith Evans.^[1] "Fantasy" also reached the top ten in most countries across Continental Europe, and the top twenty on the official singles chart in Japan.

The single's video was the first that Carey directed entirely on her own. She can be seen exploring an amusement park (Playland, located in Rye, New York), on roller blades and riding on a roller coaster, before joining a group of hip hop dancers after nightfall. The video also contains a scene involving an overweight young girl who tries to emulate Carey and whose character reappears in the video for Carey's single "Shake It Off" (2005).

The song is featured in the film Rush Hour (1998), and Owen Pallett (a.k.a. Final Fantasy) has covered it live at various gigs.

[edit] Remixes

Carey worked with producer Sean Combs (Puff Daddy) to create the "Bad Boy" remix of Fantasy. The album version of "Fantasy" combines sensibilities of pop and hip hop music, but the "Bad Boy" remix developed that concept by using guest raps from the late Ol' Dirty Bastard (ODB). Carey had previously been famous for pop/adult contemporary ballads, though her own personal tastes leaned towards R&B and hip hop. Some of the song's pop elements were removed for the remix, while the bassline and "Genius of Love" sample were emphasised.

It is perhaps most known for the participation of Ol' Dirty Bastard. The idea of an allegedly "clean" pop singer and a rapper working on the same song caused some controversy, further enforced with lines by ODB in the remix such as "Me and Mariah/go back like babies on pacifiahs". A video was created for the remix, compiled from footage shot for the original video and scenes involving ODB rapping. The remix of "Fantasy" is seen as one of Carey's most significant contributions to popular culture and the music industry; it is often regarded as the first true pop/hip hop collaboration and inspired a trend in modern pop music that has continued well into the 2000s. John Norris of MTV called it "the single most important recording that she ever made".^[2]

Carey re-recorded vocals for club remixes of the song by David Morales. One of these remixes won the Winter Music Conference National Dance Award for "Dance Record of the Year".

[edit] Track listings

• U.S. CD maxi single (cassette maxi single/UK CD single 1)

1. "Fantasy" (album version)
2. "Fantasy" (Bad Boy Fantasy)
3. "Fantasy" (Bad Boy with O.D.B.)
4. "Fantasy" (Bad Boy mix)
5. "Fantasy" (Def club mix)

• U.S. 12" single

1. "Fantasy" (Def club mix)
2. "Fantasy" (MC mix)
3. "Fantasy" (Puffy's mix)
4. "Fantasy" (Bad Boy with O.D.B.)
5. "Fantasy" (album version)
6. "Fantasy" (The Boss mix)
7. "Fantasy" (Sweet dub mix)
8. "Fantasy" (Puffy's club mix)
9. "Fantasy" (Bad Boy mix)

• UK CD single 2

1. "Fantasy" (MC mix)
2. "Fantasy" (Puffy's mix)
3. "Fantasy" (Puffy's club mix)
4. "Fantasy" (The Boss mix)
5. "Fantasy" (Sweet Dub mix)

[edit] Charts

Chart (1995)	Peak position	No. of chart topper
U.S. Billboard Hot 100	1 (8 weeks)	9th
U.S. Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks	1 (6 weeks)	4th
U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Music/Club Play	1 (3 weeks)	5th
U.S. Billboard Mainstream Top 40	1 (6 weeks)	3rd
U.S. Billboard Rhythmic Top 40	1 (11 weeks)	2nd
U.S. Billboard Adult Top 40	22	—
U.S. Billboard Adult Contemporary	8	—
U.S. ARC Weekly Top 40	1 (6 weeks)	12th
Canadian Singles Chart	1 (12 weeks)	5th
Australian ARIA Singles Chart	1 (1 week)	1st
UK Singles Chart	4	—
Finland Singles Chart	2	—
France Top 100 Singles	5	—
Italy Top 50 Singles	9	—
Norway Top 20 Singles	10	—
Switzerland Top 100 Singles	10	—
Germany Singles Chart	17	—
Japanese Oricon Singles Chart	18	—

Preceded by "Gangsta's Paradise" by Coolio featuring L.V.	Billboard Hot 100 number-one single September 30, 1995- November 18, 1995	Succeeded by "Exhale (Shoop Shoop)" by Whitney Houston
Preceded by "You Are Not Alone" by Michael Jackson	Billboard's Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs number one single September 30, 1995	Succeeded by "Who Can I Run To" by Xscape

[edit] See also

• Hot 100 number-one hits of 1995 (USA)

[edit] Notes

1. ^ http://www.mariah-charts.com/chartdata/Canada.htm
2. ^ http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0504/30/pitn.01.html