Here Is Mariah Carey, also known as Mariah Carey or This Is Mariah Carey, is the third video album by American singer Mariah Carey. It presents Carey performing live at Proctor's Theatre in Schenectady, New York, in July 1993, and also includes non-concert footage. Carey performs ten songs during the video; four are from her third studio album Music Box (1993), which Columbia Records commissioned Here Is Mariah Carey to promote. She is sporadically accompanied by a band, choir, dancers, and string musicians. In creating the stage for the performance, production designers sought inspiration from works by Boris Aronson and Josep Maria Jujol. Lawrence Jordan, who collaborated with Carey on previous occasions, directed the hour-long video.

Approximately 4,500 people attended tapings at Proctor's Theater, and 19 million watched it on television network NBC during its original broadcast on November 25, 1993. Columbia Music Video released it on VHS five days later to generally positive reviews from critics. Although they complimented Carey's voice, many felt the non-concert scenes were redundant. Here Is Mariah Carey peaked at number four on the United States video album chart published by Billboard. Earning a Platinum certification from the Recording Industry Association of America, it was one of the best-selling video albums of 1994 and 1995 in that country. The video also spent six weeks at number one on the Official Charts Company's music videos chart in the United Kingdom.

Background

In March 1992, following the release of her first and second studio albums Mariah Carey (1990) and Emotions (1991), Mariah Carey performed a concert on the American television program MTV Unplugged. They chose the 2,700-seat Proctor's Theatre in Schenectady, New York, for its grand architecture, strong acoustics, and proximity to Carey's house with newlywed husband Tommy Mottola. In a chapter from her 2020 memoir The Meaning of Mariah Carey, Carey states that she disagreed with the choice: "Even though it was a beautiful, classic theater, it was not the setting I would have chosen, to be sure; nor would most twenty-year-olds in the early 1990s." Most of the filming at Proctor's occurred over two nights on July 15 and 16, 1993, with nine cameras using 35mm film. Non-concert footage was primarily filmed at Carey's New York estate. Lawrence Jordan—who directed Carey's MTV Unplugged performance and music videos for "Someday" and "I Don't Wanna Cry"—also directed Here Is Mariah Carey.

Broadcast and release

Here Is Mariah Carey was first shown on November 25, 1993, on NBC. Here Is Mariah Carey received 19 million viewers and a rating and share of 11.0/21, meaning 11 percent of American households with a television watched the program, and 21 percent with one in use were tuned in to the special. Out of the primetime network programs, it ranked third for the night, Sales of Music Box resulting from the broadcast caused the album to reach number one on the Billboard 200 chart for the first time. Outside the United States, the special was broadcast in Australia, Canada, and the United Kingdom.

Columbia Music Video issued Here Is Mariah Carey on VHS in the United States on November 30, 1993. Releases in the United Kingdom and France followed in February 1994, and a DVD in 2006. Sony Pictures Entertainment released it for digital download and rental worldwide on December 7, 2021. The video is approximately one hour long and includes more non-concert footage plus the "Dreamlover" music video, which were not shown on the NBC broadcast.

Performances from the concert received releases independent of the Here Is Mariah Carey video. In 1993, Columbia released a CD maxi single of "Hero" which includes audio of Carey's Proctor's Theater performance of the song as the second track. The following year, the label released it as a standalone promotional CD single. In 1994, that of "Dreamlover" was included on certain CD singles and twelve-inch singles alongside "Without You" and "Never Forget You". It was later included on a digital maxi single with other versions of the song. Carey's performances of "Hero" and "Without You" are the songs' music videos.

Critical reception

Here Is Mariah Carey received positive reviews from critics. the Lansing State Journals Mike Hughes felt her voice had "moments of luminous beauty", and Steve Morse of The Boston Globe thought she "sings like a songbird". Toronto Star television critic Greg Quill wrote that the performance "affirms her extraordinary vocal abilities". Elaine Lim in the New Straits Times and Roger Catlin in the Hartford Courant agreed that Carey proved she could sing just as well live as in a studio. Morse and Mike Duffy of the Detroit Free Press viewed Carey's rendition of "Without You" as the musical highlight. According to Catlin, the number of filming angles and high quality of the audio "make the delivery sound a little artificial".

Carey's depiction received critical commentary. Morse found her life as presented in the home movie footage to be an unlikely reality, According to American Songwriter contributor Jacob Uitti, "her sweet voice and sweetness during this show showcase both her power and potential."

Commercial performance

Here Is Mariah Carey debuted at number 10 on the Billboard Top Music Videos chart for the week ending December 18, 1993. It peaked at number four three weeks later and spent two years on the chart, becoming her longest-charting video. It rose to number one the following week, and spent six consecutive weeks atop the chart. Here Is Mariah Carey is certified Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America in the United States,

Credits

Personnel adapted from DVD closing credits except where noted.

Production

  • Lawrence Jordan – director
  • Mariah Carey – executive producer
  • Randy Hoffman – producer
  • Al Smith – producer
  • Walter Afanasieff – music producer
  • Jack Gulick – co-producer
  • Daniel Pearl – cinematography
  • Cabot McMullen – production design
  • Steve Cohen – lighting design
  • Diane Martel – choreography, director (track 11), home movie footage
  • Emilio "Stretch" Austin Jr. – choreography (track 11)
  • Patty Lamagna – associate producer
  • Judy Minot – editing
  • Michael Maloy – editing
  • John Alberts – audio post production
  • Mike Guzauski – remix engineer
  • Mike Scott – assistant remix engineer
  • Vinnie Violandi – colorist
  • Wyatt Smith – assistant editor
  • John Lowe – assistant director
  • Kevin Mazur – photography

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! scope="row"| US Top Video Sales (Billboard)