"Infinity" is a song by American singer-songwriter and record producer Mariah Carey from her sixth compilation album, #1 to Infinity (2015). It was released by Epic Records on April 27, 2015, as the only single from the album. Carey wrote the song in collaboration with Eric Hudson, Priscilla Renea, Taylor Parks and Ilsey Juber. Carey and Hudson also produced the track. It is an R&B song; the lyrics are about Carey putting herself first and emancipation. However, many critics likened the content to the singer's separation from her then-husband, entertainer Nick Cannon.
Critical response to "Infinity" was positive, with Carey's vocals and humorous songwriting praised. Particular emphasis was placed on the reference to Fritos. In the United States, the song reached number eighty-two on the Billboard Hot 100, and charted on several R&B component charts. In Europe, it peaked at number twenty-seven on the UK R&B Chart, and made the top twenty in Spain and top thirty in Hungary. Carey performed a medley of her 1990 debut single "Vision of Love" with "Infinity" at the 2015 Billboard Music Awards, Live! with Kelly and Michael and Jimmy Kimmel Live!.
Background
"Infinity" is the only new recording to be included on Carey's third greatest hits album, #1 to Infinity (2015). It was written and produced by Carey and Eric Hudson, with additional songwriting from Priscilla Renea, Taylor Parks and Ilsey Juber. Carey unveiled the single's artwork on April 24, 2015, via music identification service Shazam. Mike Wass for Idolator wrote that Carey exudes "overpowering glamor" and "looks typically ravishing in a cleavage-exposing, black ensemble, which she accentuates with huge diamond earrings and fabulous windswept hair."
Composition and lyrical interpretation
"Infinity" is a mid-tempo R&B ballad that lasts for a duration of four minutes. Carey belts the lines, "Close the door, lose the key, leave my heart on the mat for me. I was yours eternally, there's an end to infinity", while the songs hook consists of the singer "breathily cooing" the title repeatedly in a descending vocal run. Accompanied by an orchestral synth, string and brass instrumental, Alex Camp of Slant Magazine described "Infinity" as a "welcome throwback to Mariah's early ballads". Andrew Unterberger of Spin likened the intro to the work of Just Blaze, and noted that she finishes the song with a whistle note. According to its lyrics, Carey is putting herself first in order to emancipate herself. As described by Wass, "Infinity" is "distinctly unromantic" and "a kiss-off anthem", writing that it sits somewhere in between two of Carey's previous singles, "Obsessed" (2009) and "You're Mine (Eternal)" (2014).
According to the sheet music published at Musicnotes.com by Universal Music Publishing Group, the song is written in the key of D major with a tempo of 67 beats per minute. The song is written in cut time and follows a chord progression of Gmaj7 – D/F – Em7, with Carey's vocals spanning three octaves, from D3 to D6.
The lyric "Boy, you actin’ so corny like Fritos" generated a positive response from both critics and fans alike, with MTV News reporting that fans were "freaking" over it. Wass described the inclusion of Fritos as "hilarious", while Camp likened it to a form of product placement. Billboard highlighted the juxtaposition between the chorus, "Close the door/Lose the key/Leave my heart on the mat for me/I was yours eternally/There's an end to infinity" and one of the verses, "Name hold weight like kilos/Boy you actin' so corny like Fritos/Wouldn't have none of that without me, though/Ain't none of my business, it's tea though/Outta ammo, gotta reload/If life was a game you're a free throw/It's nothing that you don't already know," noting that the former is "almost sweet" compared to the latter.