Daydream is the sixth album and fourth studio album by American singer Mariah Carey, released in the United States on 3 October 1995. Musically, Daydream was slightly different from Carey’s previous albums, as it leaned increasingly towards R&B and hip-hop music. Publications such as the New York Times, People magazine and TIME magazine named it one of the top ten albums of 1995.

Reception

Daydream debuted at the top of the U.S. Billboard 200 album chart with 224,000 copies sold in its first week; it stayed at number one for six non-consecutive weeks, in the top twenty for forty-one non-consecutive weeks, and on the Billboard 200 for eighty-one weeks. The album sold more in each week between its eighth and thirteenth weeks of release than in its opening week, peaking at 760,000 copies in its twelfth week. This set a record for what was, at the time, the highest one-week sales for an album by a female artist. Over ten million copies of the album have been shipped in America, making it Carey’s second album to be given diamond certification by the RIAA. It is Carey’s most successful album in the U.S. having sold 7.5 million copies as of 2005 (according to Nielsen SoundScan [1]), and 9.875 million if record club sales are included. By 2005 it had sold approximately twenty-five million copies worldwide, [2] making it her second best-selling album worldwide after Music Box (1993). It reached number one in the United Kingdom, Switzerland, Germany, Japan and Canada.

Daydream yielded three U.S. chart-toppers: “Fantasy“, “One Sweet Day” (a duet with Boyz II Men) and “Always Be My Baby“. “Fantasy” debuted on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart at number one, making Carey only the second artist (and the first female) to accomplish this feat; it also spent a record twelve weeks at the top of the Canadian charts. “One Sweet Day” (the album’s second single) repeated the feat, making Carey the only artist at the time to have two number-one single debuts. The song remained at the top of the U.S. charts for sixteen weeks, becoming the single with the longest run at number one. “Always Be My Baby” was the most-played song on U.S. radio in 1996, and like “Fantasy” and “One Sweet Day” it sold well elsewhere. Two non-U.S. singles, “Open Arms” (a cover of the Journey song) and “Forever“, were less successful. The album’s final single, “Underneath the Stars“, was a promotional release in the U.S. only. In 1996 Carey staged the brief Daydream World Tour.

Daydream and its tracks were nominated for six Grammy Awards including Album of the Year and Best Pop Vocal Album, winning none. The Album of the Year award was given to Jagged Little Pill by Alanis Morissette, while the Best Pop Vocal Album award was won by Turbulent Indigo by Joni Mitchell.

Track listing

1. “Fantasy” (Mariah Carey, Chris Frantz, Tina Weymouth, Dave Hall, Adrian Belew, Steven Stanley) – 4:04
2. “Underneath the Stars” (Carey, Walter Afanasieff) – 3:33
3. “One Sweet Day” with Boyz II Men (Carey, Michael McCary, Nathan Morris, Wanya Morris, Shawn Stockman, Afanasieff) – 4:42
4. “Open Arms” (S. Perry, J. Cain) – 3:30
5. “Always Be My Baby” (Carey, Jermaine Dupri, Manuel Seal) – 4:18
6. “I Am Free” (Carey, Afanasieff) – 3:09
7. “When I Saw You” (Carey, Afanasieff) – 4:24
8. “Long Ago” (Carey, Dupri) – 4:34
9. “Melt Away” (Carey, Babyface) – 3:42
10. “Forever” (Carey, Afanasieff) – 4:00
11. “Daydream Interlude (Fantasy Sweet Dub mix)” (Carey, Frantz, Weymouth, Hall, Belew, Stanley) – 3:04
12. “Looking In” (Carey, Afanasieff) – 3:35

Mexico

1. El Amore Que Son (Open Arms In Spanish)

Charts, sales and certification