"Without You" is a song recorded by American singer-songwriter Mariah Carey. It is a cover of the Badfinger song based on the version by Harry Nilsson. It was released as the third single off Music Box in the first quarter of 1994, its US release date of 21 January 1994 by Columbia Records, falling a week after Nilsson had died following a heart attack on 15 January 1994. While she had heard Nilsson's version as a very young girl, Carey's decision to remake his hit was based on a chance hearing during the time she was recording Music Box: "I heard that song in a restaurant and just knew it would be a huge international hit" recalls Carey.
In the United States, "Without You" was promoted as a double A-side with "Never Forget You". [1] The song eventually peaked within the top five on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming Carey’s eleventh single to reach to do so. "Without You" had particular success in Europe, where it reached the top of singles charts in over ten countries, including the United Kingdom. Due to it’s popularity overseas, "Without You" was later included on some non-US pressings of her compilation albums #1's (1998) and #1 to Infinity (2015), and her 2001 compilation, Greatest Hits."Without You" was also included on her 2008 compilation The Ballads.
Carey's version has been considered very popular on talent shows. In February 2008, Carey's version was performed in severely broken English on the Bulgarian talent show Music Idol by contestant Valentina Hasan, spawning a global meme called "Ken Lee" (misinterpretation of the line "Can't live").[2]
Release
"Without You" was released on 21 January 1994 in the United States,[3] where Columbia distributed 7-inch vinyls, 12-inch vinyls, cassettes, maxi cassettes, CDs, and maxi CD singles.[4] The label issued it in the United Kingdom on 7 February as a 7-inch vinyl, cassette, and CD. RCA re-released Nilsson's version on the same day.[5] Columbia issued a second UK CD a week later.[6]Sony Music Japan released a mini CD in that country on 21 February.[7]
Chart performance
"Without You" reached number three on the US Billboard Hot 100 for six weeks, remaining in the top 40 for 21 weeks and on the chart for 23. It reached number two on both the Billboard Hot 100 Airplay and Radio & Records pop charts (ending Carey's streak of consecutive number ones on the latter chart; all ten of her previous singles had gone to the top), and number three on the Hot 100 Singles Sales. It was certified platinum by the RIAA and sold 600,000 copies domestically.[3][8] It was ranked 16 on the Hot 100 1994 year-end charts. In Canada, it peaked at number four.
"Without You" became at the time Carey's biggest hit across Europe. In the United Kingdom, where Carey had yet to score a number one hit, "Without You" made its UK chart debut at number one where it remained for four weeks in total, and later ended as the 7th best-selling single of 1994 in the United Kingdom.[9] Additionally, Carey achieved a "Chart Double" in the UK, with both "Without You" and the album Music Box holding the top spot at the same time.[10] In the UK, "Without You" was Carey's only number-one solo hit (seven years later, she topped the charts with her collaboration with Westlife: "Against All Odds" in 2000), until Carey scored a second number-one solo hit with "All I Want for Christmas Is You" in 2020. "Without You" was certified platinum in the UK with combined sales and streams of 600,000. It was a runaway success across Europe, in which it topped the European Hot 100 Singles chart for two weeks. "Without You" reached number one for ten weeks in Switzerland; eight weeks in Austria and Sweden; seven weeks in Belgium; five weeks in Ireland, Poland and the Netherlands; four weeks in Germany and Iceland; and two weeks in Scotland, where Carey's success had previously been limited. The song also peaked at number two in France and Denmark; at number three in Norway; and at number four in Lithuania. "Without You" was certified platinum in Germany and Austria by IFPI, and gold in France by SNEP. "Without You" also found success in Latin America, peaking at number two in Panama; and at number seven in Chile.
Being a number-three hit for Carey in Australia, "Without You" topped the charts in New Zealand for one week. It was certified 2× platinum in Australia by ARIA, and gold in New Zealand by RIANZ.
Scottish Aberdeen Press and Journal described the song as "inspirational".[13]Billboard wrote, "Carey offers a faithful rendition of the eternally sweet pop ballad", adding that the "song's arrangement is infused with all the romance and drama it requires, with Carey rising above the mix with a vocal that is more heartfelt and gutsy than note-scaling and acrobatic."[14] Troy J. Augusto from Cash Box named it Pick of the Week, stating that "Carey has thankfully learned the important difference between dynamic control and sonic overkill, never more evident than here. Her recent short concert tour revealed Mariah to be an anxious, under-confident live performer, but this song, with its accompanying tale of her own childhood loneliness made "Without You" the show's climax. Expect a long chart life."[15]
David Browne of Entertainment Weekly called Carey's cover a "by-the-numbers remake of Nilsson's melodramatic 1972 hit."[16] John Kilgo from The Network Forty concluded that "exhibiting her dynamic vocal range with powerful emotion, Mariah scores again with her rendition of Harry Nilsson's chart topper."[17] A reviewer from People Magazine noted that "she takes on a sensuality—in a lower register—that is often sacrificed for her "look Ma, no hands" vocal fireworks."[18] In a 2015 retrospective review, Pop Rescue stated that "Without You" gives the singer "a ton of space to really let her vocals reach wherever they want to", adding it as "an epic track, and a fantastic showcase of her vocals."[19]Stephen Holden of Rolling Stone called it the "likeliest contender" for ballads like "I Will Always Love You", praising how Carey "dips into her lower register and is accompanied by backup singers (including herself) magnified to sound like a mighty gospel chorus."[20] Mike Joyce from The Washington Post stated, "Unlike Nilsson, Carey has the pipes to pull off this anguished pop aria".[21]
* Sales figures based on certification alone. ^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. ‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.
^"Mainstream: Music Meeting"(PDF). The Network Forty. 21 January 1994. p. 28. Archived(PDF) from the original on 15 January 2023. Retrieved 29 March 2020.
^"Top 100 – Decenniumlijst: 90s". Dutch Top 40 (in Dutch). Stichting Nederlandse Top 40. Archived from the original on 18 December 2014. Retrieved 10 February 2021.
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