The Essential Mariah Carey

2011 greatest hits album by Mariah Carey

Greatest hits album by

Mariah Carey

Released

June 17, 2011 (2011-06-17)

Recorded

1988–2000

Length

130:46

Label

Columbia
Legacy

Producer

Mariah Carey
Bryan-Michael Cox
Jermaine Dupri
Randy Jackson
James Poyser
Marc Shaiman
James "Big Jim" Wright
Walter Afanasieff
Babyface

Mariah Carey chronology

Merry Christmas II You
(2010)

The Essential Mariah Carey
(2011)

Me. I Am Mariah... The Elusive Chanteuse
(2014)

The Essential Mariah Carey is the third greatest hits album by American singer and songwriter Mariah Carey. The album was released in June 2011 in the UK and Ireland as a repackage of her previous album Greatest Hits.^[1]^[2] In the US, it was released on May 9, 2012, as an entirely new greatest hits album as part of Sony's The Essential series, and contains songs released during Mariah's time at Columbia Records.^[3] It replaces some songs (featured on the original 2001 Greatest Hits release) with their extended club mixes, and others being completely removed in favor of tracks that had not been released as singles. Much of the artwork inside the album booklet is very similar to that of the Greatest Hits release.

Track listing

UK and Ireland edition

Disc one
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"Vision of Love"	Mariah Carey Ben Margulies	Rhett Lawrence Narada Michael Walden	3:31
2.	"Love Takes Time"	Carey Margulies	Walter Afanasieff	3:48
3.	"Someday"	Carey Margulies	Ric Wake	4:07
4.	"I Don't Wanna Cry"	Carey Walden	Walden	4:49
5.	"Emotions"	Carey David Cole Robert Clivillés	Carey Cole Clivillés	4:09
6.	"Can't Let Go"	Carey Afanaseiff	Carey Afanaseiff	4:27
7.	"Make It Happen"	Carey Cole Clivillés	Carey Cole Clivillés	5:08
8.	"I'll Be There" (featuring Trey Lorenz)	Berry Gordy Bob West Hal Davis Willie Hutch	Carey Afanaseiff	4:24
9.	"Dreamlover"	Carey Dave Hall	Carey Hall Afanaseiff	3:54
10.	"Hero"	Carey Afanaseiff	Carey Afanaseiff	4:18
11.	"Without You"	Pete Ham Tom Evans	Carey Afanaseiff	3:34
12.	"Anytime You Need a Friend"	Carey Afanaseiff	Carey Afanaseiff	4:26
13.	"Endless Love" (duet with Luther Vandross)	Lionel Richie	Afanaseiff	4:20
14.	"Fantasy"	Carey Chris Frantz Tina Weymouth Hall Adrian Belew Steven Stanley	Carey Hall	4:04

Disc two
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"One Sweet Day" (duet with Boyz II Men)	Carey Michael McCary Nathan Morris Wanya Morris Shawn Stockman Afanasieff	Carey Afanaseiff	4:42
2.	"Always Be My Baby"	Carey Jermaine Dupri Manuel Seal	Carey Dupri Seal	4:20
3.	"Forever"	Carey Afanasieff	Carey Afanaseiff	4:01
4.	"Underneath the Stars"	Carey	Carey Afanasieff	3:33
5.	"Honey"	Carey Sean Combs Kamaal Fareed Steven Jordan Stephen Hague Bobby Robinson Larry Price Malcolm McLaren	Carey Combs Stevie J The Ummah	4:59
6.	"Butterfly"	Carey Afanasieff Dan Shea	Carey Afanasieff	4:34
7.	"My All"	Carey Afanasieff	Carey Afanasieff	3:50
8.	"Sweetheart" (Jermaine Dupri featuring Mariah Carey)	Rainy Davis Pete Warner	Dupri Carey	4:22
9.	"When You Believe" (duet with Whitney Houston)	Stephen Schwartz	Babyface	4:34
10.	"I Still Believe"	Antonina Armato Giuseppe Cantarelli	Carey Stevie J Mike Mason	3:54
11.	"Heartbreaker" (featuring Jay-Z)	Carey Shawn Carter Walden Shirley Ellison Lincoln Chase Jeffrey Cohen	Carey DJ Clue?	4:46
12.	"Thank God I Found You" (featuring Joe and 98 Degrees)	Carey James Harris III Terry Lewis	Carey Lewis	4:17
13.	"Can't Take That Away (Mariah's Theme)"	Carey Diane Warren	Carey Warren	4:32
14.	"Against All Odds (Take a Look at Me Now)" (featuring Westlife)	Phil Collins	Carey Steve Mac	3:21
15.	"All I Want for Christmas Is You" (So So Def Remix) (featuring Jermaine Dupri and Lil' Bow Wow)	Carey Afanaseiff	Carey Afanaseiff (remixed by Dupri)	3:43

US edition

Disc one
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"Vision of Love"	Mariah Carey Ben Margulies	Rhett Lawrence Narada Michael Walden	3:31
2.	"Love Takes Time"	Carey Margulies	Walter Afanasieff	3:48
3.	"Vanishing"	Carey Margulies	Carey	4:11
4.	"I Don't Wanna Cry"	Carey Walden	Walden	4:49
5.	"Emotions (12 Inch Club Mix)"	Carey David Cole Robert Clivillés	Carey Cole Clivillés	5:54
6.	"Can't Let Go"	Carey Afanaseiff	Carey Afanaseiff	4:27
7.	"Make It Happen"	Carey Cole Clivillés	Carey Cole Clivillés	5:08
8.	"I'll Be There" (featuring Trey Lorenz)	Berry Gordy Bob West Hal Davis Willie Hutch	Carey Afanaseiff	4:24
9.	"Dreamlover"	Carey Dave Hall	Carey Hall Afanaseiff	3:54
10.	"Hero"	Carey Afanaseiff	Carey Afanaseiff	4:18
11.	"Without You"	Pete Ham Tom Evans	Carey Afanaseiff	3:34
12.	"Anytime You Need A Friend (C&C Club Remix)"	Carey Afanaseiff	Carey Afanaseiff	10:55
13.	"Endless Love" (duet with Luther Vandross)	Lionel Richie	Afanaseiff	4:20
14.	"Fantasy"	Carey Chris Frantz Tina Weymouth Hall Adrian Belew Steven Stanley	Carey Hall	4:04

Disc two
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"One Sweet Day" (duet with Boyz II Men)	Carey Michael McCary Nathan Morris Wanya Morris Shawn Stockman Afanasieff	Carey Afanaseiff	4:42
2.	"Always Be My Baby"	Carey Dupri Seal	Carey Dupri Seal	4:20
3.	"Underneath the Stars"	Carey Afanasieff	Carey Afanaseiff	3:33
4.	"Honey"	Carey Sean Combs Kamaal Fareed Steven Jordan Stephen Hague Bobby Robinson Larry Price Malcolm McLaren	Carey Combs Stevie J The Ummah	4:59
5.	"Butterfly"	Carey Afanasieff Dan Shea	Carey Afanasieff	4:34
6.	"My All"	Carey Afanasieff	Carey Afanasieff	3:50
7.	"Close My Eyes"	Carey Afanasieff	Carey Afanasieff	4:21
8.	"The Roof (Mobb Deep Extended Version)" (featuring Mobb Deep & Big Noyd)	Carey Jean Claude Oliver Samuel Barnes Albert Johnson Kejuan Muchita Cory Rooney	Carey Poke & Tone	5:31
9.	"When You Believe" (duet with Whitney Houston)	Stephen Schwartz	Babyface	4:34
10.	"I Still Believe"	Antonina Armato Giuseppe Cantarelli	Carey Stevie J Mike Mason	3:54
11.	"Heartbreaker" (featuring Jay-Z)	Carey Shawn Carter Walden Shirley Ellison Lincoln Chase Jeffrey Cohen	Carey DJ Clue?	4:46
12.	"Bliss"	Carey James Harris III Terry Lewis James "Big Jim" Wright	Carey Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis	5:44
13.	"Thank God I Found You" (featuring Joe and 98 Degrees)	Carey Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis	Carey Jam & Lewis	4:17
14.	"Can't Take That Away (Mariah's Theme)"	Carey Diane Warren	Carey Jam & Lewis	4:32

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart (2011−2022)	Peak position
Australian Albums (ARIA)^[4]	86
Greek Albums (IFPI)^[5]	64
South Korean Albums (Circle)^[6]	15
UK R&B Albums (OCC)^[7]	29
US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)^[8]	42

Year-end charts

Chart (2011)	Peak position
South Korean International Albums (Gaon)^[9]	61

Release history

Country	Date	Format	Label	Catalogue
Ireland^[1]	June 17, 2011	CD, digital download	Sony Music	88697832672
United Kingdom^[1]	June 20, 2011	CD, digital download		88697832672
United States^[10]	May 9, 2012	CD, digital download		88691968082

References

^ ^a ^b ^c "The Essential Mariah Carey UK & Irish Release". Mariah Carey Connection. January 5, 2011. Archived from the original on February 3, 2013. Retrieved April 12, 2012.
^ "The Essential Mariah Carey Available Now!". MariahCarey.com. Retrieved April 12, 2012.
^ "The Essential Mariah Carey (2 CD)". Amazon.com, Inc. Retrieved April 12, 2012.
^ "Chartifacts - Week Commencing: 9th April 2012". ARIA. April 9, 2012. Archived from the original on May 2, 2012. Retrieved October 15, 2015.
^ "IFPI Top 75 Albums Chart - 44/2022". IFPI Greece. Archived from the original on November 10, 2022. Retrieved November 11, 2022.
^ "South Korea Circle Album Chart". On the page, select "2011.01.30~2011.02.05" to obtain the corresponding chart. Circle Chart
^ "Official R&B Albums Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved July 26, 2023.
^ "Mariah Carey Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved October 15, 2015.
^ "2011년 Album Chart - 국외". Gaon Chart (in Korean). Retrieved January 20, 2022.
^ "The Essential (2CD)". Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. Retrieved April 12, 2012.