Maps of Music

Butterfly (1997)

Where the lyrics of Butterfly take you, and where it was really made.

The album came out with two different covers, and one of them was later listed on Maxim's Sexiest Album Covers.

Key places

The Hit Factory, New York City (1997)

Recording site The Hit Factory — Listed in the source as a studio where Butterfly was recorded. The point marks the building itself. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Compass Point Studios, Nassau (1997)

Recording site Compass Point Studios — Listed in the source as a studio where Butterfly was recorded, in Nassau, The Bahamas. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

WallyWorld, California (1997)

Recording site Wallyworld — Listed in the source as a recording location for Butterfly in California. The point marks the building itself. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Daddy's House Recording Studio, New York City (1997)

Recording site Daddy's House Recording Studio — Listed in the source as a studio where Butterfly was recorded, in New York City. The point marks the building itself. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• Butterfly: sixth studio album by Mariah Carey
• Released September 10, 1997 by Columbia Records
• Continued the shift begun with Daydream (1995) toward R&B and hip hop
• Moved away from the pop background of her earlier work
• Mixes hip-hop and urban adult contemporary sounds with softer, more contemporary melodies
• Globally sold over ten million copies

Background

• Work on the album began in November 1996
• In mid-1997 Carey separated from Tommy Mottola, the music executive who had guided her career since 1990
• The couple later divorced, and the press had speculated about their future
• Carey worked with rappers and hip hop producers, including Sean 'Puffy' Combs, Q-Tip, Missy Elliott and Trackmasters
• Critics saw the new production team as a form of revenge on Mottola and Sony Music
• Carey denied taking a radically new direction and said the style was her own choice
• Creative differences ended her working relationship with Walter Afanasieff, who had worked on most of her previous output

Recording

• Studios linked to the album include The Hit Factory (New York City), Compass Point Studios (Nassau), WallyWorld (California) and Daddy's House (New York City)
• 'Babydoll' was recorded in Atlanta, where Missy Elliott lived
• 'Honey' was a collaboration with Combs, and the remix featured rapping from Da Brat, The LOX and Mase

Cover

• The album was released with two different covers

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Tracklist

Sources: musicbrainz.org

Artist

Early life

• Born March 27, 1969 in Huntington, New York, on Long Island.
• Youngest of three children of Patricia Hickey, a former opera singer, and Alfred Roy Carey, an aeronautical engineer.
• Began singing at age three; graduated from Harborfields High School in 1987.
• Worked as a demo singer and backup singer, including for Brenda K. Starr.

Career

• Signed to Columbia Records after Tommy Mottola heard her demo tape in December 1988.
• Debut album Mariah Carey (1990) topped the US Billboard 200 and won Best New Artist at the Grammys.
• Became the first artist whose first five singles reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100.
• Music Box (1993), Merry Christmas (1994), and Daydream (1995) achieved major global sales.
• Later albums moved toward hip-hop and R&B, including Butterfly (1997) and Rainbow (1999).
• Comeback album The Emancipation of Mimi (2005) was her fifth number-one album in the US.
• Known as the 'Songbird Supreme' and 'Queen of Christmas'; one of the best-selling artists in history with over 220 million records sold.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Reception

At release

• Critics gave the album widespread acclaim, and many embraced Carey's musical transition
• Reviewers praised the mature sound and production, as well as her musical direction
• Jon Pareles of The New York Times called Butterfly 'a new turn' in Carey's career
• David Browne of Entertainment Weekly gave the album a B−

Reappraisal

• Slant Magazine's Rich Juzwiak awarded the album four and a half out of five stars and praised Carey's mature vocals
• AllMusic's Stephen Thomas Erlewine gave the album four out of five stars; in 2021 the site raised the rating by half a star
• Erlewine called Butterfly one of Carey's best records
• The album has since been hailed as an R&B classic and is regarded as Carey's magnum opus

Records

• Debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200 with 235,500 copies in the first week
• Debuted at number one in Japan with 1.15 million copies in the first week
• Debuted at number two in the United Kingdom
• Debuted at number one in Canada and Australia
• Certified five-times platinum by the RIAA in the United States
• Canada and Australia certified double-platinum
• Received the Million Award in Japan
• Globally sold over ten million copies

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• The album came out with two covers, and one of them was listed on Maxim's Sexiest Album Covers in 2007.
• 'Honey' samples The Treacherous Three's 'The Body Rock' and The World's Famous Supreme Team's 'Hey DJ'.
• 'Butterfly' was released as an airplay-only single because of Carey's conflict with Sony, yet it reached number sixteen on the Hot 100 Airplay chart.
• 'Breakdown' features rap verses from Wish and Krayzie Bone of Bone Thugs-n-Harmony.
• 'Fly Away (Butterfly Reprise)' interpolates Elton John's 'Someone Saved My Life Tonight'.
• Butterfly was nominated for three Grammy Awards at the 40th Annual Grammy Awards.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

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