"Outside" is a song recorded by American singerMariah Carey for her sixth studio album,Butterfly (1997). She produced thepop andsoul track and composed its music withWalter Afanasieff. Theballad's composition features drums, guitars, synthesizers, and piano. Its lyrics, written by Carey, were inspired by traumatic events she experienced as a biracial girl and express her feelings of alienation due to her mixed-race identity.
Music critics thought the lyrics also had resonance for people with marginalized identities aside from race and compared them to other songs by Carey. Some felt "Outside" did not fit in with the album'ship hop musical direction while others considered it one of the better tracks. The song has since received critical analysis regarding its impact onCarey's public image as a biracial woman and as a role model for theLGBT community.
After returning to the United States from herDaydream World Tour in mid-1996, American singerMariah Carey began preliminary work on the follow-up to her 1995 albumDaydream.[1] She completed the song "Outside" as one of the first compositions intended forButterfly (1997),[2] her sixth studio album onColumbia Records.[3] After recording occurred from January to August1997, the album was released on September10.[4] A change in style due to her marital separation fromTommy Mottola, the head of Columbia,Butterfly moved Carey's music closer tohip-hop from theballads she had become known for since her 1990 debut.[5]
"Outside" is the twelfth and final track on the album's standard edition.[6] It was not released as a single[7] and Carey never performed the song live.[8] Columbia andLegacy Recordings later included "Outside" on the compilation albumPlaylist: The Very Best of Mariah Carey (2010).[9] In 2022, ana cappella version was released as part of the 25th anniversary reissue ofButterfly.[10]
"Outside" is apop[11] andsoul song[12] influenced bygospel music.[13] Composed as a ballad[14] with a slowtempo,[15] the track lasts for four minutes and forty-six seconds.[9] Itsmelody is mellow and derived fromdoo-wop.[16] Andrew Chan, author ofWhy Mariah Carey Matters, said it "meanders, practically hookless, like an unplanned improvisation".[17] Carey andWalter Afanasieff composed the music and produced the song;Cory Rooney acted as co-producer. It features bass guitar (Artie Reynolds), drums (Nathaniel Townsley),electronic wind instrument (Michael Phillips), guitars (Michael Cirro),Hammond B-3 organ (Gary Montoute), keyboards (Afanasieff, Donald Parker, Dan Shea), synthesizers (Afanasieff), and piano (Parker).[18] According to Townsley, Carey requested a subdued production with a simplehi-hat beat and quiet music during theverses which would intensify toward therefrains.[19]
Dana Jon Chappelle and Mike Scott recorded "Outside" with assistance from Ian Dalsemer in New York at Crave Studios andThe Hit Factory, and in California at WallyWorld. After recording occurred,Mick Guzauski and Scottmixed the song at Crave andBob Ludwig conductedmastering at Gateway inPortland, Maine.[18] BiographerChris Nickson described the result as Carey "stripped to the basics, lyrically and musically".[14]
"Outside" marked the first time Carey wrote a song about her perceptions of racial otherness.[10] It was inspired by her childhood feelings of inferiority due tocolorism as the biracial daughter of a White woman and a Black man.[20] Carey's experience was shaped by incidents including her parents' divorce,[2] kindergarten teachers questioning why she drew her father brown,[21] and being called anigger by a group of girls.[22] According to Carey, the "lyrics are about mainly being an outsider, growing up biracial, and that being the bane of my existence then in so many ways".[10] They are structured in two verses, a chorus that repeats twice, and abridge.[18] All but two lines lack rhyme.[23] Carey expresses being "Neither here nor there / Always somewhat out of place everywhere"[24] and "Ambiguous / Without a sense of belonging to touch".[25] Similar sentiments are repeated throughout; there is no shift from melancholy to happiness.[26]
Critics classified "Outside" as ananthem,[12] ahymn,[8] alament,[27] and ameditation.[28] Several thought the song could be relevant for other marginalized identities.[29] Some suggested the lyrics were influenced by Carey's career experiences[A] and others thought they discussed existence[32] or the difficulties in a romantic relationship.[33]HuffPost writer Ian Kumamoto said the song shares how sadness accompanies being different.[34] According toJon Pareles ofThe New York Times, Carey concedes there is no resolution to her circumstance.[35]
Carey uses a widevocal range on "Outside";[37] Peter Piatkowski ofPopMatters likened it to aBroadway theatre-style performance.[31] Her voice shifts fromsotto voce at the beginning to full-throated usage by the climax.[38] A clear transition occurs during the bridge, at which point Carey "attempts to release her pain through despair and anger", according to scholar Shara Rambarran.[39]
Critics judged "Outside" against other tracks onButterfly. Several considered the song one of the album's highlights upon its release.[40] Others thought it did not fit in with the record's broader hip-hop production.[41] Reviewing retrospectively,Vibe's Preezy Brown felt "Outside" was one of the more authentic compositions onButterfly[37] whileBillboard's Jon O'Brien said it was overproduced.[42] Sjarif Goldstein of theHonolulu Star-Advertiser named it the best non-single of her career.[43]
The song has received critical analysis regarding its impact onCarey's public image. Rambarran argued "Outside" contributed to her status as a role model for theLGBT community through relatable lyrics regarding marginalization.[47] In her bookCrossing B(l)ack: Mixed-Race Identity in Modern American Fiction and Culture, Sika Dagbovie-Mullins said "Outside" represented Carey's varied exploitation ofmulatta stereotypes as she can sing of not belonging, yet act as asex symbol in other media.[48] Writing forThe Ringer, Kyla Marshell thought Carey created the song despite knowing it could cast her as atragic mulatto.[49]
^Slant Magazine's Rich Juzwiak suggested the song could be about Carey's race but also her sense of place regarding her career.[25] ForGrammy.com writer Taj Mayfield, the song is Carey's response to being the subject of "peculiar criticisms regarding her racial identity throughout her career".[30]PopMatters contributor Peter Piatkowski viewed the song in part as a response to how Columbia "played up the ambiguity of her racial identity, hoping to downplay her Blackness".[31]
Rambarran, Shara (2023). "'Proceed with Caution': Mariah Carey – The Ultimate Diva in Popular Music and Culture?". In Fairclough, Kirsty; Halligan, Benjamin; Hodges Persley, Nicole; Rambarran, Shara (eds.).Diva: Feminism and Fierceness from Pop to Hip-Hop. London:Bloomsbury Academic. pp. 25–41.ISBN978-1-5013-6825-7.
