"Emotions" is a song recorded by American singer-songwriter Mariah Carey for her second studio album of the same name (1991). It was written and produced by Carey, Robert Clivillés, and David Cole of C+C Music Factory and released as the album's lead single on August 13, 1991 by Columbia Records. The song's lyrics has its protagonist going through a variety of emotions from high to low, up to the point where she declares, "You got me feeling emotions." Musically, it is a gospel and R&B song heavily influenced by 1970s disco music and showcases Carey's upper range and extensive use of the whistle register. Jeff Preiss directed the song's music video.
"Emotions" received positive reviews from music critics, who mainly praised Carey's vocal performance. The song became Carey's fifth consecutive number one song in the United States, topping the Billboard Hot 100 for three weeks, making her the first (and till date) the only act to have their first five singles top the chart. Internationally, it was a moderate success, topping the Canadian Singles Chart, and reaching the top 10 in Greece, Netherlands, and New Zealand. It received a nomination for the Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance at the 34th Annual ceremony.
Background
Carey was sent to work with the C+C Music Factory and they composed the song "You're So Cold", which became the first choice for the album's first single. However, a second session with the production team had them feeling in a lighter mood when "Emotions" was created and finally decided upon as the lead single.
Composition
"Emotions" is a "new-disco" song with a "moderate dance tempo" of 116 beats per minute. Carey's vocal range spans four octaves and four semitones on the track, from C3 to E7, with the highest note being sung with arpeggios.
It was later publicly revealed that the track borrowed from Maurice White's "Best of My Love", written for the band The Emotions. This situation led to an out-of-court settlement between both sides.
Music videos and remixes
The single's music video, directed by Jeff Preiss, features Carey and friends with exotic animals while partying and having fun around town in New York City. The video was desaturated but still maintains various color tints, which change from brown to red to blue and so forth. On July 31, 2020, the music video was re-released in a remastered form, in HD quality. David Cole and Robert Clivillés created the main remix of "Emotions", known as "Emotions" (12" Club Mix). Although Carey did not re-record her vocals for it, she added a new gospel-style intro before the song's dance portion. This new intro was used when she performed "Emotions" on MTV Unplugged in 1992, as well as at some later concerts. A music video was created using the 12" club mix, but only slight changes in editing differentiate it from the video for the original version. The remix was later featured on Carey's 2003 remix album The Remixes.
Canadian rapper Drake sampled the song's 12" Club Mix version in the song "Emotionless" from his 2018 album Scorpion. On July 31, 2020, along with the celebration of the 30th anniversary of her debut studio album Mariah Carey, as well as Carey celebrating 30 years in the music industry, she released the song as a five track extended play, titled Emotions EP, which contains some remixes from both the US and European CD maxi singles.
Reception
Critical reception
"Emotions" received positive reviews from critics. About.com's Bill Lamb called the high notes as the pros of the album itself and that it stands with Mariah's best. AllMusic editor Ashley S. Battel highlighted the song and wrote that it is upbeat and it serves to send the listener on a musical journey filled with varying emotions. Billboard editor Larry Flick said, "Although the heat generated by her multiplatinum debut album has barely cooled, Carey previews her sophomore set with a dance /pop ditty that will remind some of the Emotions' "Best of my Love". Expect instant multiformat attention." Henderson and DeVaney from Cashbox described it as "a happy, perky soul/pop number bearing a resemblance to the music the group The Emotions embraced during the 1970s". Chicago Tribune editor Jan DeKnock wrote "just listen to those incredibly high notes on the title cut and current single 'Emotions.'"