"Always Be My Baby" is a song recorded by American singer-songwriter, and record producer Mariah Carey for her fifth studio album, Daydream (1995). It was released by Columbia Records on February 20, 1996, as the third single in the United States and fourth worldwide. Written and produced by Carey, Jermaine Dupri and Manuel Seal, "Always Be My Baby" is a midtempo song, with lyrics describing the feeling of attachment and unity the singer feels towards her estranged lover, even though they are no longer together, she says he will always be a part of her and will "always be her baby" even after they move on.
"Always Be My Baby" received critical acclaim with reviewers praising its mellow production and Carey's vocals. The song was a commercial success, becoming Carey's eleventh chart topper on the Billboard Hot 100, tying her with Madonna and Whitney Houston for most number-one singles by a female artist at the time. It spent two weeks atop the chart and became Carey's eighth chart-topper on the Canadian RPM Top Singles chart. The song is certified five-times platinum in the US with 1,254,000 units coming from physical sales, 890,000 coming from digital sales, and 856,000 coming from streaming equivalent units. It is also certified platinum by RIAA for selling 1 million units as master tone in the US by 2007. In other regions, the single performed well, peaking at number three in the United Kingdom, number five in New Zealand, number 17 in Australia and in the top 20 in most music markets where it charted.
The accompanying music video for "Always Be My Baby" features scenes of Carey frolicking by a campsite in upstate New York, as well as swinging on a Cooper Tire over a lake. Additional inter-cuts include scenes of two children, one male and female, sneaking out at night and spending time together by a campfire similar to Carey's location. Most scenes from the video were filmed at The Fresh Air Fund's Camp Mariah, named after Carey for her generous support and dedication to Fresh Air Fund children. The song was performed live during her Daydream World Tour (1996) and many of her future tours and concerts. "Always Be My Baby" was also featured in Carey's compilation albums: #1's (1998), Greatest Hits (2001), The Ballads (2008) and #1 to Infinity (2015). The U.S. and Canadian B-side "Slipping Away" is included in the compilation album The Rarities (2020).
Background and recording
While Carey was writing and commencing the recording of Daydream from late 1994, she began searching for different producers, in order to give her work a new sound. Jermaine Dupri, who had risen to fame during that period and previously remixed Carey's song "Never Forget You" for its single release in 1994, began working with Carey on material for her album. After recording the song in December 1994, Carey recalled that she chose to work with Dupri because he had a "very distinct vibe." Additionally, Carey commissioned the assistance of hip-hop and contemporary R&B producer, Manuel Seal. As Seal played different keys on the piano, Carey led him with the melody she was "hearing inside her head" and began humming the phrase "always be my baby." In an interview with Fred Bronson, Carey discussed the process it took to write and produce the song: Jermaine, Manuel and I sat down and Jermaine programmed the drums. I told him the feel I wanted and Manuel put his hands on the keyboards and I started singing the melody. We went back and forth with the bridge and the B-section. I had the outline of the lyrics and started singing 'Always be my baby' off the top of my head. "Always Be My Baby" marked the first of several collaborations between Carey and Dupri. Like producers before him, Dupri commended Carey's vocal abilities, "she can pretty much do anything with her voice. She's really strong vocally." Another musical craft the song featured was the inclusion of heavy background vocals of her lower registers, with Carey then belting and singing the higher notes over her background vocals and melody, creating a "double voice effect." When discussing the technique used in the background vocals, Carey said: The background vocals are an important part of the picture for me. That's why I like to do them myself a lot of the time, or initially I'll lay down the tracks. I'll double my voice or do a couple of tracks of my own voice. It's easy for me to match my voice. And then if I'm going to use other background singers, I'll let them go on top of mine.