Vision of Love by Mariah Carey

"Vision of Love" is the debut single by American singer and songwriter Mariah Carey. Written by Carey and Ben Margulies, "Vision of Love" was released as the lead single from Carey's self-titled debut album on May 15, 1990. After being featured on Carey's demo tape for Columbia, the song was re-recorded and produced by Rhett Lawrence and Narada Michael Walden. "Vision of Love" features a slow-dance theme tempo and backing vocals sung by Carey herself, and introduces her usage of the whistle register. Lyrically, the song describes both a past and present relationship with a lover: Carey describes the "vision of love" she dreamed of, as well as the present love she feels for him. The accompanying music video for "Vision of Love" was filmed in April 1990. It features Carey in a large cathedral, where she meditates and sings by a large picture window. "Vision of Love" was performed on several television and award show ceremonies, such as The Arsenio Hall Show, Good Morning America, and the 33rd Annual Grammy Awards. It has been performed at almost every one of Carey's concerts and tours, and is featured on Carey's live album MTV Unplugged (1992) and on many of her compilation albums, Number 1's (1998), Greatest Hits (2001) and The Ballads (2008). "Vision of Love" was lauded by contemporary music critics. While the production of the song was typical of late 1980s pop, the vocals were not, being much more showy and expressing a wider range than artists popular at the time such as Paula Abdul and Debbie Gibson. It has been credited with popularizing the use of melisma in modern popular music and for inspiring several artists to pursue a career in music. The New Yorker named "Vision of Love" the "Magna Carta of melisma" for its and Carey's influence on pop and R&B singers and American Idol contestants. Additionally, Rolling Stone said that "the fluttering strings of notes that decorate songs like "Vision of Love," inspired the entire American Idol vocal school, for better or worse, and virtually every other female R&B singer since the nineties." The song topped the singles charts in Canada, New Zealand and the United States, where it spent four weeks atop the chart.