Recorded for American singer Mariah Carey's second studio album of the same name, "Emotions" came to be during a recording session at C+C Music Studio. Over the course of the four-minute track, Carey's vocals span five octaves and five semitones and highlight her impressive ability for arpeggios and whistle tones.
Wildly impressive from a vocal standpoint, "Emotions" was ranked No. 1 on the "Top 100 Most Difficult Songs to Sing" list on the music platform Spotify. Also on the list were songs like "I Will Always Love You" by Whitney Houston and "All By Myself" by Céline Dion. In addition to the range and musicality, the amount of breath control and vocal stamina required to sing "Emotions" makes singers regard it as a marathon of a song to sing.
Released August 31, 1991, "Emotions" debuted on the Billboard Hot 100 at No. 35, the highest debut that week for a track. Six weeks later, the song hit No. 1 on the Hot 100, where it would stay for three more weeks. "Emotions" remained in the top 40 for 20 consecutive weeks. In 2019, the Recording Industry Association of America certified the song Platinum.
Carey performed "Emotions" live for the first time in 1991 at the MTV Video Music Awards. The song went on to be her opener for the 1993 Music Box Tour, the 1996 Daydream World Tour, the 1998 Butterfly World Tour, and the 2000 Rainbow World Tour. After the Rainbow World Tour, Carey would not perform "Emotions" for almost 10 years until she sang it in 2009 on the opening night of the Angel's Advocate Tour.
"Emotions" was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Vocal Pop Performance by a Female in 1992, but lost to Bonnie Raitt for "Something to Talk About". The song also secured Carey a nomination for non-classical Producer of the Year, making her (at the time) only the second woman to ever achieve the honor.
(Parade Magazine)
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