"I Don't Wanna Cry" is a song recorded by American singerMariah Carey for her first albumMariah Carey (1990). Written by Carey and producerNarada Michael Walden, it was released byColumbia Records as the album's fourth single in March1991. ALatin soul–influenced popballad, thetorch song describes the end of romance. It features drums, guitars, digital synthesizers, and a classicsong structure with highly delineated section roles.Modulations occur between these segments that emphasize the singer's emotions. Varying fromwhispering tobelting, Carey'svocal range spans more than twooctaves.
Critics viewed "I Don't Wanna Cry" as a standout track fromMariah Carey and complimented the dynamic between Carey's vocals and Walden's production. The song received high airplay across Americanadult contemporary,urban contemporary, andcontemporary hit radio stations. It became Carey's fourth consecutive number one on the USBillboard Hot 100 Singles chart, making her the second act to have their first four entries reach number one. TheRecording Industry Association of America certified itGold. Internationally, "I Don't Wanna Cry" reached the top ten on sales and airplay charts in Canada and the top twenty in New Zealand.
Larry Jordan directed the accompanying music video, which shows Carey and a male model brooding over their tainted relationship. Hisdirector's cut version includes scenes that Columbia thought projected a sexualized image of Carey. She performed "I Don't Wanna Cry" during the 1993Music Box Tour, the 1996Daydream World Tour, and the 2015 concert residency#1 to Infinity. Carey's former husband and head of Columbia at the time of the song's production,Tommy Mottola, considers her lack of creative control during the process a factor in the demise of their relationship.
Although Carey requested to work on her debut albumMariah Carey (1990) with longtime co-writerBen Margulies rather than well-known producers,[2] Mottola felt it required further influences.[5] To broaden the album's music, Ienner suggested they hire Houston producerNarada Michael Walden.[2][a] This aligned with their view of Carey as "a franchise" with marketability to multiple demographics[4] as Walden's work appealed to bothpop andR&B audiences.[6]
Recording
Mottola phoned Walden personally to request that he write a successful song with Carey in New York.[7][8] She was apprehensive and feared that her music would become "tooschmaltzy" like his work with Houston.[2] After meeting each other, the pair held a writing session at the city'sHit Factory studio where Walden heard Carey's voice for the first time. While working on some uptempo songs, he believed she needed one that was slower and melodramatic. Influenced by recordings such asChuck Jackson's "I Don't Want to Cry", Walden began singing a concept to Carey.[7] They composed themelody and wrote thechorus to "I Don't Wanna Cry", after which Carey completed the remaining lyrics.[9]
"I Don't Wanna Cry" was recorded at Tarpan Studios[b] andThe Plant Studios in California.[10] Carey sought to redolicks multiple times during the process, and Walden agreed. After she recorded more vocals, Walden refused to incorporate them because he felt the song was complete.[7] Mottola encouraged Carey to follow his advice but acknowledged her discontent.[5] She never collaborated with Walden afterMariah Carey,[11] stating, "The label was very excited for me to work with him because of his collaborations with hugely successful vocalists... it was very important for me to keep my identity as a songwriter."[12] Carey married Mottola in 1993 and they later divorced due to his controlling nature.[13] Retrospectively, he considers Carey's experiences with Walden how "her whole issue of feeling controlled" came into being.[5]
"I Don't Wanna Cry" is atorch song[14] in the form of aLatin soul-influenced[15] popballad.[16] Like many recordings, it references the act of crying.[17] The lyrics are simple and concern the demise of a romance: "Though I've given you my heart and soul / I must find a way of letting go / 'Cause baby, I don't wanna cry."[11][18] According to David T. Farr of theSturgis Journal, they introduce an element of vulnerability to Carey's image.[19] ScholarDorothy Marcic views them as an example of the progression of women's societal role as they showcase a sense of inner strength rather than victimhood like songs from previous decades.[20]
With an introduction, verse, pre-chorus, chorus, post-chorus,bridge, and outro, "I Don't Wanna Cry" features a prototypicalsong structure. It is organized incompound AABA form.[21] Set incommon time, the music is played "tenderly" at atempo of 66beats per minute according tosheet music published byHal Leonard.[22] It is written in thekey ofF-sharp minor until the first chorus whenmodulation to therelative key ofA major occurs. The key reverts toF-sharp minor for the next verse. Upon theclimax at the final chorus, akey change toB-flat major takes place. The songconcludes in the relative key ofG minor. This alternation constructsprosody; lyrics about breaking up ("Only emptiness inside us") are in minor key while those about moving on ("I must find a way of letting go") are in major key.[23]
Carey engages inriffing during the song's introduction.[24] She uses a lowregister during verses and an upper register for the chorus.[11] Hervocal range spans twooctaves and sixsemitones from the lownote ofC♯3 to the high note ofG5.[25] Carey'stimbre varies between whispering,[26] cooing,[27]belting withbravura,[28] and "raspy grit".[11] Aside from producing, Walden plays the drums heard in "I Don't Wanna Cry". The song features anelectric guitar and anacoustic guitar played by Chris Camozzi.[10] They evoke the sound of aSpanish guitar, which was a vogue production choice at the time.[29] The guitars are soft-sounding and play themelody while programmed keyboards are heard in the background.[30][31]Walter Afanasieff worked with the keys andsynth bass electronically;Ren Klyce used theFairlight CMI digital synthesizer for rhythm programming.[10] As with mostMariah Carey tracks,Bob Ludwig conductedmastering atMasterdisk in NewYork.[10] The album edition of "I Don't Wanna Cry" is four minutes and forty-seven seconds long[10] and an edited version lasts four minutes and twenty-five seconds.[16]
Critics judged "I Don't Wanna Cry" to be one of the best songs fromMariah Carey.[d] Aside from Carey's work, it received comparisons to other ballads about relationships such asGeorge Michael's "Careless Whisper" andChris Isaak's "Wicked Game".[48][49] Commentators considered "I Don't Wanna Cry" conventional[e] and thought that Carey's vocal performance elevates the song's orthodoxy.[f] Glenn Gamboa ofNewsday regarded it as perhaps "the surest sign from her debut that [Carey]'s powerful voice could turn an average song into a hit"[52] andCleveland.com's Troy L. Smith reckoned although it might have generic production, that "doesn't stop Carey from rescuing the song with an amazing vocal".[29]
Critics felt that Carey's vocals and the composition complement each other[g] and resonate emotion.[h] According toBillboard, "Walden's grand production suits her acrobatic vocal style".[16] Rob Tannenbaum ofRolling Stone thought that Carey's "downcast whispers animated the song's luxurious sorrow" andVibe's Julianne Shepherd said "she strikes a perfect balance between vocal ability and emotional rawness."[58] Reviewing retrospectively, Leah Greenblatt ofEntertainment Weekly graded "I Don't Wanna Cry" a B+[59] andStereogum's Tom Breihan scored it a 5 out of 10.[11]
Commercial performance
In the United States, "I Don't Wanna Cry" debuted at number 50 on theBillboard Hot 100 Singles chart dated April 6,1991, as Carey's "Someday" departed the top 10.[7] It rose from number eight to number one in the May 25,1991, issue and replaced "I Like the Way (The Kissing Game)" byHi-Five.[60] The song's jump to number one was the biggest sinceMeco's "Star Wars Theme/Cantina Band" did the same in 1977,[61] a feat British publicationMusic Week deemed "unprecedented".[62][i] "I Don't Wanna Cry" became Carey's fourth consecutive number one on the Hot 100. This made her the second act afterthe Jackson 5 in 1970 to have their first four singles reach number one and the second female artist afterPaula Abdul to have four number-one songs from a debut album.[64] "I Don't Wanna Cry" spent two weeks at number one and nineteen total on the chart.[33] As of 2018[update], it is Carey's 11th-best performing song on the Hot 100[65] and Walden's final number one as a producer.[11]
The video for "I Don't Wanna Cry" shows Carey and a male model despondent about their relationship.
Carey's video albumThe First Vision (1991) presents a preview of the song's music video.[77] The clip captures her singing amid red-orange lighting on an empty stage.[78]Larry Jordan directed the official video for "I Don't Wanna Cry", which Columbia released in April1991.[79][j] He had previously done so for "Someday".[80] Thesepia-toned video features Carey and a male model in a darkMidwestern United States home surrounded by candles and empty picture frames. After brooding over their tainted relationship, she enters a wheat field and cries.[81][82][83]
The video received critical commentary. According toKQED's Emmanuel Hapsis, Carey's performance foreshadows her strong acting ability inPrecious (2009).[81]People writer Drew Mackie thought her walking barefoot appears seductive.[84] Carey disavowed the video later in her career. As Columbia reshot scenes due to the appearance of her dress and the male model, she prefers thedirector's cut.[85][k] This version premiered onMTV in November1998 and is included on her 1999 video compilation#1's.[86][87]
"I Don't Wanna Cry" is not one of Carey's fondest compositions;[18] she has seldom performed it live.[11] The song is noticeably absent from her 1993 high-profileHere Is Mariah Carey concert.[88] Carey sang "I Don't Wanna Cry" during the 1993Music Box Tour[15] and the 1996Daydream World Tour.[89] Her performance of the song at theTokyo Dome during the latter is included on her compilation albumThe Rarities.[90] In 2015, Carey resumed singing "I Don't Wanna Cry" for her Las Vegas concert residency#1 to Infinity.[91]
^"Mariah Carey's Cookin' On MTV; MTV Airs "Mariah's No. 1's" On Sunday, Nov. 22nd at 2:00PM (ET/PT); 'I Don't Wanna Cry' Video to Premiere" (Press release).MTV. November 18, 1998.ProQuest446774018 – viaEntertainment Wire.
Pastorek, Whitney (2008). "Whitney Houston vs. Mariah Carey". In Manning, Sean (ed.).Rock and Roll Cage Match: Music's Greatest Rivalries, Decided.Three Rivers Press.ISBN978-0-307-39627-3.
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