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''Music Box'' is the third studio album by American singer Mariah Carey. It was released by Columbia Records on August 31, 1993, in North America. The album comprises ballads primarily co-written by Carey and Walter Afanasieff, with whom she had previously worked on ''Emotions'' (1991), and a few urban dance tracks. During the course of the album's development, Carey wanted to broaden her audience, choosing a more pop/R&B oriented sound. During this time frame, they experimented with different organs and other musical instruments, leading the album's sound away from her more contemporary previous efforts. Two unused tracks from the album sessions were released as B-sides: "Do You Think of Me" and "Everything Fades Away". In order to successfully take the album in a new direction, Carey and Afanasieff sought out new and innovative producers, as well as some from Carey's previous releases. Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds first began working with Carey on ''Music Box'', where he helped produce some of the album's softer and more melodious tracks, as well as being part of the songwriting process. Additional writers and producers were Robert Clivillés and David Cole (a pair also known as C+C Music Factory) and Daryl Simmons. While the album featured a range of different talented music producers, the bulk of the songwriting was done by Carey and her writing partner, Walter Afanasieff. In future projects, they would continue writing material for Carey's albums, until her 1999 release ''Rainbow'', where he is absent from the writing credits. Four singles were released from the album. The first three, "Dreamlover", "Hero" and "Without You", became worldwide chart-topping singles, the latter becoming Carey's highest charting international single of her career. "Without You" became Carey's first number-one single in most European markets and reached the top three in the United States. To promote ''Music Box'', Carey embarked on the short but successful Music Box Tour which traveled to select cities in North America. Carey was nominated for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance for "Dreamlover" at the 1994 Grammy Awards and received the same nomination for "Hero" at the 1995 Grammy Awards. After its release, ''Music Box'' received generally mixed reviews from music critics. The album faced criticism regarding Carey's more mellow and lazy tone in comparison to her previous work. Despite some unfavorable reviews, the album became a commercial success, topping the ''Billboard'' 200 and becoming Carey's first number-one album in Australia, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) certified it diamond, for shipments of ten million copies across the United States. ''Music Box'' remains Carey's highest seller with 32 million copies sold worldwide and is one of the best-selling albums of all time. ==Background== In 1988, Carey was discovered by Tommy Mottola, CEO of Columbia Records, and was promptly signed to the label. Carey's self-titled debut studio album, released the following year, focused on re-recording and mastering several songs she had already written in high school alongside classmate, Ben Margulies. Aside from the seven songs taken from Carey's demo tape, four other tracks were written and produced by the former and an array of famed record producers. The album was complimented by critics, who called it a mature debut, full of various genre influences ranging from pop, R&B and soul. The album became a commercial success, selling fifteen million units globally. While making a strong impact on pop music, Carey became interested in altering her sound, and deviating from pop music for her second studio effort, ''Emotions'' (1991).〔 Following the success of her debut, Columbia allowed her to take more control over her musical departure, enabling her to change her genre infusions, melodies and production. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Music Box (Mariah Carey album)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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