RAINBOW (MARIAH CAREY ALBUM)

'''Rainbow''' is the ninth album and seventh studio album by American pop/R&B singer Mariah Carey, released in the United States on November 2 1999 (see 1999 in music) by Columbia Records.

Contents

Description

Chart performance

Track listing

Charts, sales and certification

Notes

Description

''Rainbow'' is a collaboration-heavy album on which Carey worked with a wide range of producers and artists that dominated the music scene of the late 1990s; ''Rolling Stone'' called the album "a sterling chronicle of accessible hip-hop balladeering at the close of 1999."^[1] Guest artists included rappers Jay-Z, Da Brat, Missy Elliott, Snoop Dogg, Mystikal and Master P, singers Usher and Joe, and boy band 98 Degrees. The album was the first since Carey's debut to not be co-produced heavily by Walter Afanasieff, her long-time collaborator who co-produced most of her signature ballads. In his place, Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis were enlisted. Many felt the album was a natural continuation of the R&B and hip hop sounds Carey had explored on the album ''Butterfly'' (1997).
''Rainbow'' is often considered one of Carey's more personal albums alongside ''Butterfly'' and ''Charmbracelet''. The message from Carey in the insert reads,

"This album chronicles my emotional roller coaster ride of the past year. If you listen closely, there's a story here with a very happy ending. After every storm — if you look hard enough — a rainbow appears."

The review of the album by ''Entertainment Weekly'' asserts that "Against All Odds (Take a Look at me Now)" refers to her relationship with Derek Jeter. "Petals" makes several obscure references to a "dandelion", siblings, and a "Valentine". Many conjecture that "Valentine" refers to Carey's ex-husband, Tommy Mottola, who at one time had the stage name of "T.D. Valentine". Some speculate that the "siblings" refer to Mottola's children and the "dandelion" refers to Carey's sister Allison, a prostitute.

Chart performance

''Rainbow'' debuted at number two on the U.S. ''Billboard'' 200 chart with 323,000 copies sold, the highest first-week sales of Carey's career at that time.^[2] It stayed in the top twenty for ten weeks and on the chart for thirty-five, making one re-entry. The album's weekly sales peaked at 369,000 copies in its eighth week (when it was at number nine), and it was eventually certified three times platinum by the RIAA. Although a commercial success, it was Carey's first studio album since ''Emotions'' (1991) not to reach number one in the U.S. and her lowest-selling up to that point. The album was a worldwide top ten hit, also hitting number one in France and on the United World Chart (for its two first weeks). As of 2005, ''Rainbow'' had sold three million copies in the U.S.according to Nielsen SoundScan,^[3] with an additional 0.5 million sold at Columbia House outlets and 0.44 million at BMG Music Clubs,^[4] and over ten million worldwide.^[5]
''Rainbow'' produced two number-one hits on the U.S. ''Billboard'' Hot 100: "Heartbreaker" and "Thank God I Found You". A cover version of the Phil Collins song "Against All Odds (Take a Look at Me Now)" featuring the Irish boy band Westlife was released in the UK and became Carey's second number-one single there, but the double A-side "Can't Take That Away (Mariah's Theme)"/"Crybaby" became her first single to miss the U.S. top twenty.

Track listing

# "Heartbreaker" featuring Jay-Z – 4:46
# "Can't Take That Away (Mariah's Theme)" – 4:33
# "Bliss" – 5:44
# "How Much" featuring Usher – 3:31
# "After Tonight" – 4:16
# "X-Girlfriend" – 3:58
# "Heartbreaker" (remix) featuring Da Brat and Missy Elliott – 4:32
# "Vulnerability (Interlude)" – 1:12
# "Against All Odds (Take a Look at Me Now)" (solo version) – 3:25
# "Crybaby" featuring Snoop Dogg – 5:20
# "Did I Do That?" featuring Mystikal and Master P – 4:16
# "Petals" – 4:23
# "Rainbow (Interlude)" – 1:32
# "Thank God I Found You" featuring Joe and 98 Degrees – 4:17
;Special edition
# "Against All Odds (Take a Look at Me Now)" featuring Westlife – 3:25

Charts, sales and certification

Country	Chart[6]	Peak position	Certification	Sales
Worldwide				10,000,000
Australia	ARIA	4	Gold	35,000
Austria		4
Canada	CRIA	6	3× Platinum	300,000
Belgium	IFPI Belgium		Gold	25,000
Brazil	ABPD		Platinum	250,000
Europe	IFPI	1	Platinum	1,000,000
France	IFOP	1	Platinum	475,000
Germany	IFPI Germany	3	Platinum	300,000
Italy	FIMI	10	Platinum	100,000
Japan	RIAJ	2	5× Platinum	1,000,000
Mexico	AMPROFON		Gold	75,000
Netherlands	NVPI	4	Gold	40,000
New Zealand	RIANZ	11	Gold	7,500
Norway		11
Philippines	Odyssey		5× Platinum	120,000
Singapore	RIAS		2× Platinum	30,000
South Korea	RIAK		Platinum	100,000
Spain	EIM	7	Platinum	100,000
Sweden		15
Switzerland	Hit Parade	2	Gold	25,000
Taiwan	IFPI Taiwan		2× Platinum	100,000
UK	BPI	8	Gold	100,000
U.S.	RIAA	2	3× Platinum	3,367,0001[7][8]

¹ This figure includes only Nielsen SoundScan and BMG record club sales.

Notes

1. Berger, Arion. "Mariah Carey - Rainbow". ''Rolling Stone''. November 25 1999. Retrieved January 25 2007.
2. Jenison, David. "Mariah Massacres 50 Cent". E! Online. April 20 2005. Retrieved January 25 2007.
3. http://www.mariahdaily.com/corantofiles/news-archive-1-2006.shtml
4. U.S. BMG Music Club and Columbia House sales as of February 2005
5. http://www.mariah-carey-fan.com/
6. MariahJournal
7. http://www.mariahjournal.com/infozone/charts/archives/mariahsoundscan123106.html ''Mariahjournal.com''
8. http://www.mi2n.com/press.php3?press_nb=47877 ''Mi2n.com''