"Can't Let Go"
Single by Mariah Carey
From the album Emotions
Released	October 23, 1991 (USA)
Format	CD single Cassette single 7" single
Genre	Pop
Length	4:26
Label	Sony
Writers	Mariah Carey Walter Afanasieff
Producers	Mariah Carey Walter Afanasieff
Director	Jim Sonzero
Certification	Gold
Chart positions	#2 (USA) #20 (UK) #7 (CAN) #63 (AU)
Mariah Carey singles chronology
"Emotions" 1991	"Can't Let Go" 1991	"Make It Happen" 1992

"Can't Let Go" was the second single released from Mariah Carey's second album, Emotions in the fourth quarter of 1991 in the USA and the first quarter of 1992 internationally. Continuing the trend of all Carey's U.S. single releases "Can't Let Go" won a BMI pop award in 1993. Image File history File links File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Mariah Carey on the cover of The Emancipation of Mimi (2005). ... Emotions is the second album by multi-platinum pop vocalist Mariah Carey, released on Columbia on September 17, 1991. ... October 23 is the 296th day of the year (297th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 69 days remaining. ... 1991 is a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... A CD Single is a music single in the form of a compact disc. ... Insert from the Winter cassette single by Tori Amos The cassette single was a music recording format that debuted in the 80s. ... This article needs to be wikified. ... Musical genres are categories which contain music which share a certain style or which have certain elements in common. ... This article mainly describes pop as used in its more recent sense, as a subgenre of popular music. ... A record label is a brand created by companies that specialize in manufacturing, distributing and promoting audio and video recordings, on various formats including compact discs, LPs, DVD-Audio, SACDs, and cassettes. ... Sony Corporation (Japanese katakana: ソニー) (TYO: 6758), (NYSE: SNE) is a global consumer electronics corporation based in Tokyo, Japan. ... A songwriter is someone who writes either the lyrics or the music for songs. ... Walter Afanasieff is a record producer and songwriter who rose to success co-writing and co-producing music with Mariah Carey. ... In the music industry, a record producer is responsible for completing a master recording so that it is fit for release. ... A music-video director is someone who directs a music video, supervising the filming and editing of the work. ... Jim Sonzero is a music video director. ... A single certification is the certification that the RIAA awards to singles based on their sales. ... Top 40 is a radio format based on frequent repetition of songs from a constantly-updated list of the forty best-selling singles. ... Emotions was the first single released from Mariah Careys second album, Emotions in the third quarter of 1991 in the USA and in the fourth quarter of 1991 internationally. ... 1991 is a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1991 is a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Make It Happen was the third and final single from Mariah Careys second album, Emotions, in 1992. ... 1992 is a leap year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... This article needs to be wikified. ... Mariah Carey on the cover of The Emancipation of Mimi (2005). ... An album (from Latin albus white, blank, relating to a blank book in which something can be inserted) is a packaged collection of related things. ... Emotions is the second album by multi-platinum pop vocalist Mariah Carey, released on Columbia on September 17, 1991. ... 1991 is a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1992 is a leap year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Broadcast Music Incorporated (BMI) is a collecting society that protects composers intellectual property in the communications business, especially radio. ... 1993 is a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar and marked the Beginning of the International Decade to Combat Racism and Racial Discrimination (1993-2003). ...

The single was co-written and co-produced by Carey and Walter Afanasieff. The synthesizer-heavy ballad recalls Carey lamenting an ex-lover who has moved on, as though she tries she "can't let go". Although breaking her flawless run of number-one singles in the USA, it was still a strong hit there, however became another flop single internationally. Walter Afanasieff is a record producer and songwriter who rose to success co-writing and co-producing music with Mariah Carey. ...

Making of the song

Carey had a tough decision to make on who to work with in writing and producing the ballads for her new album. With her songwriting partner Ben Margulies out of the picture due to a financial dispute, Carey would pretty much have to work in both aspects with what Sony provided her with unless she made the matter more complicated for herself. Sony pushed for producers from her first album such as Rhett Lawrence, Ric Wake and Narada Michael Walden, however Carey had not had great experiences with these, especially in the case of Walden whom she felt was responsible for ruining her fourth single "I Don't Wanna Cry". She was, however, impressed with Walter Afanasieff who produced her second single "Love Takes Time" and therefore chose to work with him. Soon the two's creative juices were flowing and "Can't Let Go" was quickly born. Rhett Lawrence is a record producer. ... Ric Wake is a record producer. ... Born Michael Walden in April 23, 1952, in Kalamazoo, Michigan USA given the name Narada by guru Sri Chinmoy He is a session drummer, songwriter, producer, vocalist, and his musical career spans three decades and is filled with gold, platinum and multi-platinum awards. ... I Dont Wanna Cry was the fourth single released from Mariah Careys first album Mariah Carey in the second quarter of 1991 in both the USA and internationally. ... Love Takes Time was the second single released from Mariah Careys first album, Mariah Carey in the third quarter of 1990 in the USA and in the fourth quarter of 1990 internationally. ...

Chart performance

Up to this point in her career, Carey had attained a flawless record of number one singles in the USA on the Hot 100. The five singles she had released in her career up to this point, "Vision of Love", "Love Takes Time", "Someday", "I Don't Wanna Cry", and "Emotions", had all reached number one. Although Carey had achieved this record, she had not equalled or surpassed other records at the time, such as having the most consecutive number one singles, which Whitney Houston had achieved with seven consecutive number ones. She also could have gone on to extend her record of most successful debut, making it difficult for future acts to break it. Although faced with pressures from her bosses at Sony, "Can't Let Go" failed to reach the top, and peaked at number two, being kept off the top by vocal quartet Color Me Badd's "All 4 Love". Many critics and her bosses at Sony were disappointed, and felt that something had to be done in the future, but it should be noted that for most artists, a single peaking at number two is usually considered a major hit. Several skeptics assumed that Sony's radio edit, which eliminated all of Carey's high notes and changed the feel of the song, was partly to blame for the song's relative lack of success as not only was this played on stations but was also the version contained in the single. The Billboard Hot 100 is the main U.S. singles popularity chart used by Billboard magazine. ... Vision of Love was the first single released from Mariah Careys first album Mariah Carey. ... Love Takes Time was the second single released from Mariah Careys first album, Mariah Carey in the third quarter of 1990 in the USA and in the fourth quarter of 1990 internationally. ... Someday was the third single released from Mariah Careys first album, Mariah Carey in the first quarter of 1991, both in the United States and internationally. ... I Dont Wanna Cry was the fourth single released from Mariah Careys first album Mariah Carey in the second quarter of 1991 in both the USA and internationally. ... Emotions was the first single released from Mariah Careys second album, Emotions in the third quarter of 1991 in the USA and in the fourth quarter of 1991 internationally. ... Whitney Houston Whitney Elizabeth Houston (born november 24th 1963 in Newark, New Jersey) is an American pop, R&B, and soul singer and actress. ... Sony Corporation (Japanese katakana: ソニー) (TYO: 6758), (NYSE: SNE) is a global consumer electronics corporation based in Tokyo, Japan. ... Color Me Badd is a male R&B vocal group which was formed in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. ... Sony Corporation (Japanese katakana: ソニー) (TYO: 6758), (NYSE: SNE) is a global consumer electronics corporation based in Tokyo, Japan. ...

The song entered the Hot 100 at number forty-one, becoming her fourth consecutive single to debut in the top half of the Hot 100. It climed the charts looking as if it may easily reach the top, but eventually stalled at number two, peaking at the position for only a week (as it is common for a number two peaking single to break a run of number one singles, it is likely the single will spend some time at number two, however this was not the case with "Can't Let Go"). It spent twenty weeks on the Hot 100, seventeen of them in the top forty. Although it did not reach pole position, it did become her first single to spend ten weeks in the top ten of the Hot 100. It was ranked twenty-third on the Hot 100 year-end charts of 1992, making it another big hit for Carey.

The single did not even manage to top one of the two component charts. It became Carey's first single not to top the Hot 100 Airplay Chart, peaking at number two. Although still receiving heavy rotation on radio stations, the aformentioned radio edit is blamed for a decline in what could have been number one airplay. Although sales were higher than those of "Emotions", peaking at eight (it also went onto achieve Gold certification) the total sales and airplay figure led to a decline in the single's overall position, as slowly throughout the 90s airplay became a bigger factor in the charts compared to single sales. It peaked at number two on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks, peaking at the same position on both its component charts. Although being primarily a pop song, it became one of her more successful singles on the R&B charts. The song did reach number one on the Adult Contemporary chart though, and became her fourth number one on that chart, continuing a flawless streak of Carey ballads to top this chart. The Hot 100 Airplay is a chart released weekly by Billboard in the United States. ... Single Certifications are certifications that the RIAA awards singles based on their sales. ... // Events and trends The 1990s are generally classified as having moved slightly away from the more conservative 1980s, but otherwise retaining the same mindset. ... The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks chart, formerly known as Top Soul Singles, Top Black Singles and Top R&B Singles (before the hip-hop term was added in the late 1990s), lists the most popular songs weekly calculated by airplay and sales. ... The Adult Contemporary chart (formerly known as Adult Contemporary Singles) lists the most popular songs weekly calculated by airplay and occasionally sales. ...

Internationally, it remains a relatively forgotten single, despite its success in the U.S. and the massive fuss over its slightly low peak. Whilst it performed moderately successfully in some international markets, reaching the U.K. top twenty and the Canadian top ten, it failed to make much of an impact in terms of its memorability as a song. It became her lowest peaking single at the time in all of the major singles markets, with the exception of the U.K., failing to make the Australian top fifty. It is likely that with the release of Emotions already having taken place, lack of international promotion and a distinct lack of reputation having only scored two large international hits were to blame for the lack of success of this single. ...

Music video

Can't Let Go

In comparison with the fuss over the chart records of the song, the music video of the song is one of Carey's simplest and most low-key. In it, Carey – wearing an elegant evening gown and her hair in a bun – laments not being able to let go of her ex-lover, who has moved on to other women. The video, filmed in black and white, uses the motif of a rose, as the video starts and closes with shots of a rose open and closed respectively. Image File history File links File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Image File history File links File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Kylie Minogues video to Spinning Around (2000) A music video (also video clip, promo) is a short film meant to present a visual representation of a popular music song. ...

The music video was released to consumers on the MTV Unplugged+3 Home Video, but it has never been released in DVD form.

Remixes

A radio edit of this song, which eliminates the lengthy pre-intro and removes all of Carey's high notes at the beginning and at the end of the song, was released for commercial, radio, and video purposes. There are no known remixes of this song to date.

Track listings of major single-releases

USA CD single (cassette single/7" single)

1. "Can't Let Go" (edit)
2. "To Be Around You" (album version)

UK cassette single

1. "Can't Let Go" (album version)
2. "To Be Around You" (album version)

Comprehensive charts

USA

Chart trajectory

International

Official remixes/versions list

• "Can't Let Go" (album version)
• "Can't Let Go" (edit)

See also

• 1992 in music

See also: 1991 in music, other events of 1992, 1993 in music, 1990s in music and the list of years in music // Events 1992 was a pivotal year in the development of music. ...

External links

• "Can't Let Go" lyrics — lyrics for the album version of "Can't Let Go"