I Don't Wanna Cry

"I Don't Wanna Cry" is a song written by Mariah Carey and Narada Michael Walden, and produced by Walden for Carey's debut album, Mariah Carey (1990). The ballad was released as the album's fourth single in the second quarter of 1991. It became Carey's fourth number one single on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100.

This article is about the song by Mariah Carey. For other uses, see I Don't Want to Cry.

"I Don't Wanna Cry"
US retail cassette variant of the standard artwork; the US CD edition was released for only promotional use
Single by Mariah Carey
from the album Mariah Carey
B-side"You Need Me"
ReleasedMarch 1991 (1991-03)
Recorded1990
Genre
Length4:48
LabelColumbia
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)Narada Michael Walden
Mariah Carey singles chronology
"Someday"
(1990)		 "I Don't Wanna Cry"
(1991)		 "There's Got to Be a Way"
(1991)

Composition and lyrics

"I Don't Wanna Cry" is breakup song[2] in the form of a ballad.[1]

Critical reception

Larry Flick from Billboard described the song as dramatic and felt Walden's "grand production suits her acrobatic vocal style."[1] Entertainment Weekly called it as a "weeper" and a "rallying cry for the love-starved and lonely."[3] While comparing Carey's Emotions album to her debut album, Rob Tannenbaum of Rolling Stone wrote, "'I Don't Wanna Cry' was the best track on Carey's debut because her downcast whispers animated the song's luxurious sorrow; at full speed her range is so superhuman that each excessive note erodes the believability of the lyric she is singing."[4] Stephen Holden of The New York Times said Carey belts the song with bravura.[5] David Hinckley of the New York Daily News said the song "allows Carey's voice to cover a lot of ground – as does the production, ranging from a lush keyboard carpet to an acoustic guitar".[6]

Commercial performance

In the United States, "I Don't Wanna Cry" debuted at number 50 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart dated April 6, 1991.[7] It rose from number eight to number one on the chart dated May 25, 1991, replacing "I Like the Way (The Kissing Game)" by Hi-Five.[8] Its jump to number one was the biggest of any song since Meco's "Star Wars Theme/Cantina Band" in 1977.[9] "I Don't Wanna Cry" became Carey's fourth consecutive number one on the Hot 100, making her the second act after The Jackson 5 in 1970 to have their first four singles reach number one.[10] It spent nineteen weeks on the chart and two at the top position.[7] "I Don't Wanna Cry" is her 11th-best performing song on the Hot 100 as of July 2018.[11] It is Carey's sole number one to not receive a certification from the Recording Industry Association of America.[7][12]

Elsewhere, the song reached number two in Canada,[13] number 13 in New Zealand,[14] and number 49 in Australia.[15]

Music video

Larry Jordan directed the song's music video while Kim Turner and Lexi Godfrey of KRT Productions produced it. It was released in April 1991.[16] It features Carey in a dark Midwest home with an attractive man (Steven Richard Harris) and in maize, brooding over their tainted relationship.

Part of an alternative version of the music video was released on the DVD/home video The First Vision (1991), and the original, more familiar version was included on the DVD/home video #1's (1999) as a director's cut, being the only video from Carey's debut album to be included on #1's. The 1991 version had a few sepia-toned sequences that were eliminated and replaced for the DVD release. According to Carey, the sepia sequences were shot and inserted after the original video shoot had taken place, as Sony executives complained about her dress blowing up and the attractive man being a distracting element. Carey said that the added sequences were not a good look for her, and that she prefers the original director's cut.[17]

Track listings

Austria Promo CD

  1. "I Don't Wanna Cry" (Album Version)

Credits and personnel

Credits adapted from the liner notes of Mariah Carey.[18]

Location

Personnel

Charts

Release history
Release dates and formats for "I Don't Wanna Cry"
Region Date Format(s) Label(s) Ref.
United States March 1991
Columbia
[34][35]
Japan May 2, 1991 Mini CD single Sony Music Japan
[36]

See also

References
  1. "Single Reviews". Billboard. March 30, 1991. p. 123. ProQuest 1505994955.
  2. "Looks, Voice Took Carey to the Top". The Province. August 13, 1990. p. 42 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. "Celebrate Mariah Carey's birthday with the ultimate ranking of her No. 1 hits". Entertainment Weekly. March 27, 2018. p. 94. Retrieved April 8, 2020.
  4. Rob Tannenbaum (November 14, 1991). "Mariah Carey Emotions Album Review". Rolling Stone. Retrieved March 28, 2016.
  5. Holden, Stephen (July 8, 1990). "Three Voices and the Dangers of Compromise". The New York Times. Archived from the original on May 25, 2015.
  6. "Dynamite Debut by Mariah Carey". City Lights. New York Daily News. June 4, 1990. p. 28 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. "Mariah Carey Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved May 20, 2015.
  8. "The Hot 100 Week of May 25, 1991". Billboard. Retrieved April 29, 2022.
  9. Grein, Paul (June 1, 1991). "Abdul Casts Spell; R.E.M. Back on "Time"; Ice-T Stirs Sales; De La Soul Alive & Well". Chart Beat. Billboard. p. 10. ProQuest 1505924910.
  10. Grein, Paul (May 25, 1991). "Bolton Wastes No Time Reaching No. 1; Fences Jumps; Vandross' Power Play". Chart Beat. Billboard. p. 6. ProQuest 1505923943.
  11. "Hot 100 60th Anniversary". Billboard. Retrieved April 29, 2022.
  12. "American single certifications – Mariah Carey". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved April 29, 2022.
  13. "Top RPM Singles: Issue 1552." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved May 20, 2015.
  14. "Mariah Carey – I Don't Wanna Cry". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved May 20, 2015.
  15. "Mariah Carey – I Don't Wanna Cry". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Retrieved May 20, 2015.
  16. "New Videoclips". Billboard. April 20, 1991. p. 54. ProQuest 1506012977.
  17. Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine: "Mariah Carey - I Don't Wanna Cry (Memories & Rants Edition)". YouTube.
  18. Mariah Carey (CD liner notes). Mariah Carey. Columbia Records. 1990. 466815 2.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  19. Lwin, Nanda (2000). Top 40 Hits: The Essential Chart Guide. Music Data Canada. p. 59. ISBN 1-896594-13-1.
  20. "Top RPM Adult Contemporary: Issue 1543." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved May 31, 2015.
  21. "Mariah Carey Chart History (Adult Contemporary)". Billboard. Retrieved May 20, 2015.
  22. "National Airplay Overview". Radio & Records. June 7, 1991. p. 96. ProQuest 1017253318.
  23. "Mariah Carey Chart History (Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved May 20, 2015.
  24. "Top 100 Singles". Cash Box. June 1, 1991. p. 4 – via Internet Archive.
  25. "Top R&B Singles". Cash Box. June 1, 1991. p. 9 – via Internet Archive.
  26. "RPM 100 Hit Tracks of 1991". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved April 27, 2020.
  27. "RPM 100 Adult Contemporary Tracks of 1991". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved April 27, 2020.
  28. "The Year in Music 1991". Billboard. December 21, 1991. pp. YE-14, . ProQuest 1286414097.{{cite magazine}}: CS1 maint: extra punctuation (link)
  29. "The Year in Music 1991". Billboard. December 21, 1991. pp. YE-36. ProQuest 1286415000.
  30. "Top 91 of '91". Radio & Records. December 13, 1991. p. 67. ProQuest 1017254722.
  31. "Top 91 of '91". Radio & Records. December 13, 1991. p. 45. ProQuest 1017249395.
  32. "The Year in Music 1991". Billboard. December 21, 1991. p. YE-18. ProQuest 1286414287.
  33. "Top 91 of '91". Radio & Records. December 13, 1991. p. 48. ProQuest 1017251946.
  34. "Single Reviews". Billboard. March 30, 1991. p. 123. ProQuest 1505994955.
  35. "Hot 100 Singles". Billboard. August 10, 1991. p. 68. ProQuest 1505902190.
  36. "アイ・ドント・ワナ・クライ" [I Don't Wanna Cry] (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved April 27, 2022.
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