The pop star Mariah Carey was not supposed to be arguing with her own record company in public. But as her seventh studio album Rainbow was being prepared, she went onto her website and told fans exactly what she thought of the label's plans. The album came out in the United States on Columbia Records on October 27, 1999, and the fight over one song had already become part of the story.
A new production team
By 1999 Carey was one of the biggest names in pop and soul, and Rainbow was another high-stakes release. She had recorded it from April to September that year with a new production team, Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis. They took over from her longtime collaborator Walter Afanasieff, which meant the sound itself was already a change.
The first single pointed somewhere new as well. "Heartbreaker" featured the rapper Jay-Z, and for the first time another artist was named on the lead single of a Mariah Carey record. The song sampled "Attack of the Name Game" by Stacy Lattisaw. That track built on "The Name Game" by Shirley Ellis, and both Ellis and Lincoln Chase were credited as songwriters.
The fight over the third single
The real trouble began later, when Carey wanted "Can't Take That Away (Mariah's Theme)" as the third single. She saw the song as an anthem about not letting other people suppress you. The label wanted a more danceable track instead. Carey made the disagreement public by posting messages about it on her website, and Sony, the parent company, removed the posts and started negotiations.
The compromise was not much of a victory for her. "Can't Take That Away (Mariah's Theme)" eventually came out as a double A-side with "Crybaby," but with limited promotion, and it never reached the official American chart. The label had pushed back, and the song's commercial life was cut short before it began.
The label had pushed back, and the song's commercial life was cut short before it began.
Chart debut and platinum certification
Still, Rainbow sold well from the start. It debuted at number 2 on the Billboard 200 with 323,000 copies in its first week. That made it her first non-holiday studio album since Emotions in 1991 not to hit number 1 in the United States. A month after release, the Recording Industry Association of America certified it triple platinum.
The singles told a different story. "Heartbreaker" became Carey's fourteenth number 1 on the Billboard Hot 100. The second single, "Thank God I Found You," recorded with Joe and the boy band 98 Degrees, also reached the top of that chart. With two number 1 hits, Rainbow became her seventh straight studio album to produce at least one chart-topping single. The album also traveled well beyond the United States. It reached number one in France and Greece, and landed in the top five in Australia, Austria, Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, Japan, and Switzerland.
Worldwide, the album found a large audience, with total sales estimated at eight million copies. The public dispute over one ballad did not stop Rainbow from succeeding, but it did expose a tension that had been building. Carey wanted to decide what her songs meant and which ones deserved the spotlight, and the label wanted the same power. Some of the album's quieter moments came from personal pain. "Petals" was written under the influence of her conflict with her sister Alison, and Carey has called it the most honest lyrics she has ever written. In the song she sings in a low register with a breathy tone.
That tension is the real story of Rainbow. The album gave her more hits, more platinum plaques, and more proof that she could dominate the Hot 100. But it also gave her a reason to stop quietly accepting the label's choices. "Can't Take That Away (Mariah's Theme)" was meant to be a message to listeners about standing up for yourself, and the fight around it showed she was ready to do the same.