We Belong Together
from the perspective of an aspiring startup founder
I have a longstanding debate with @lizdalay that Mariah Carey has sung about every known human emotion. That feeling you feel right now? The best-selling recording artist of the 1990s has probably sung about it — in whistle register no less.
It made me think about analyzing every lyric of Mariah’s top 50 songs, as per Billboard. Something like a startup-oriented version of http://r-b.genius.com/Mariah-carey-we-belong-together-lyrics.
Billboard says her top hit is “We Belong Together”, which I found surprising. After I recovered from my intense shock (now that I know), I decided to go ahead with the lyrics. The only problem is that I didn’t get to the actual song — I was too enraptured by the song’s backstory on http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/We_Belong_Together.
There is an entire startup life encapsulated in the production of this song.
Carey had produced back-to-back commercially and critically unsuccessful albums, Glitter (2001) and Charmbracelet.
Past failure? Check.
By November 2004, Carey had already recorded several songs for The Emancipation of Mimi. Island Records chairman L.A. Reid suggested Carey that she compose a few more strong singles to ensure the project’s commercial success. Noting that she had written some of her best work with Jermaine Dupri, Reid recommended her to meet with Dupri for a brief studio session. Carey headed to Atlanta to collaborate with Dupri where the duo wrote and produced “Shake It Off” and “Get Your Number”, which were eventually released as the album’s third and fourth singles.
Strategic insight from adviser? Check. Co-founder with a history of successful collaboration? Check. Building two early versions of the product and thinking they’re great? Check.
Carey returned to Atlanta for a second meeting with Dupri; during this trip, Carey and Dupri penned the last two songs to be included on the album, “We Belong Together” and “It’s Like That”. In an interview with Billboard, Carey described her sentiments regarding the song during the production stage:
I had the chills. I had a great feeling about it when we finished writing the song, and I was flying back from Atlanta at some crazy hour of the morning… But we were listening to it on the plane ride on the way home, and even from the demo version, I really felt something very special.
Late night work session? Check. Initial chills of product market fit? Check.
Carey and her management then decided to release “It’s Like That”, which Carey called “the right fire-starter”, as the album’s lead single.
Ignoring your feelings, making the wrong decision by committee, and justifying it in your head? Check.
Mariah is my hero.
