Carey's self-titled debut album was released under the guidance of Columbia Records executive Tommy Mottola, who married her three years later. She gained further worldwide success with the albums Music Box (1993) and Daydream (1995). Their singles include "Hero", "Without You", "Fantasy", "Always Be My Baby", and "One Sweet Day", which topped the US Billboard Hot 100 decade-end chart (1990s) and was the longest running number one song of the decade. After separating from Mottola, Carey adopted a new urban image and incorporated more elements of hip hop with the album Butterfly (1997). She left Columbia in 2001 after eleven consecutive years of U.S. number-one singles and signed a $100 million record deal with Virgin Records.
Following Carey's highly publicized physical and emotional breakdown and the failure of the film Glitter (2001) and its soundtrack, Virgin bought out her contract and she signed with Island Records the following year. After a comparatively unsuccessful period, Carey returned to the top of the charts with The Emancipation of Mimi (2005), which became the best-selling album in the US and the world's second best-selling album of 2005. Its second single, "We Belong Together", topped the US Billboard Hot 100 decade-end chart (2000s). She won the Breakthrough Actress Performance award at the Palm Springs International Film Festival for her role in the 2009 film Precious. Carey's subsequent ventures included being an American Idol judge, starring in the docu-series Mariah's World, appearing in the films The Butler (2013), A Christmas Melody (2015), and The Lego Batman Movie (2017), performing at two Las Vegas concert residencies, and publishing her memoir The Meaning of Mariah Carey in 2020.
Carey is one of the best-selling music artists of all time, with over 220 million records sold worldwide. She holds the record for the most Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles by a solo artist (19), a female songwriter (18), and a female producer (15). Carey is the highest-certified female artist in the United States and 10th overall, with 72 million certified album units. In 2008, she was named one of Time's annual 100 most influential artists and entertainers in the world. Billboard named her the "top-charting female solo artist", based on both album and song chart success in 2019. Carey has won 5 Grammy Awards, 19 World Music Awards, 10 American Music Awards, 15 Billboard Music Awards and eight Guinness World Records. An inductee into the Songwriters Hall of Fame, she is credited for inspiring multiple generations of pop and R&B artists, and for merging hip hop with pop music through her crossover collaborations.
Full Wikipedia article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mariah_Carey
Studio albums
Mariah Carey (1990)
Emotions (1991)
Music Box (1993)
Merry Christmas (1994)
Daydream (1995)
Butterfly (1997)
Rainbow (1999)
Glitter (2001)
Charmbracelet (2002)
The Emancipation of Mimi (2005)
E=MC² (2008)
Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel (2009)
Merry Christmas II You (2010)
Me. I Am Mariah... The Elusive Chanteuse (2014)
Caution (2018)
Fly Away
Mariah Carey Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Spread your wings
Open up a door
So much more inside
Don't (don't)
Be afraid to fly (be afraid to fly)
Come spread your wings and just fly with me, and you'll see why
Fly
Fly
Just fly
Just fly
Don't be afraid
Don't let your spirit die
Just
Spread your wings and prepare to fly
For you have become a butterfly
Spread your wings and prepare to fly
For you have become a butterfly
Spread your wings and prepare to fly
For you have become a butterfly
Spread your wings and prepare to fly
For you have become a butterfly
Don't be afraid to fly
Don't be afraid to just fly
Don't be afraid to just fly
Butterfly
Baby, fly, fly, fly, baby, fly
Butterfly, butterfly, butterfly, butterfly
Butterfly, butterfly
Spread your wings and prepare to fly
For you have become a butterfly
Spread your wings and prepare to fly
For you have become a butterfly
Fly away (butterfly, butterfly)
Fly away (butterfly, butterfly)
Fly away (butterfly, butterfly)
Fly away (butterfly)
Fly away (butterfly, butterfly)
Fly away (butterfly, butterfly)
Fly away (butterfly, butterfly)
Butterfly
Mariah Carey's song "Fly Away" is an inspiring and uplifting anthem that encourages listeners to overcome their fears and embrace their true potential. Carey urges her audience not to be afraid to fly, to spread their wings, and open up doors to uncover what lies inside. She reassures them that there is so much more to their lives than they may think and that they should not let their spirit die. The lyrics repeat the phrase "fly" to emphasize the importance of soaring to new heights and achieving their dreams. Towards the end of the song, she likens her listeners to butterflies, urging them to take the leap and fly away with confidence. The last lines of the song encourage listeners to fly away, just like a butterfly.
One possible interpretation of the song is that Mariah Carey is speaking to those who feel stuck or limited in their lives. She is encouraging them to take a risk, overcome their fears, and see what they are truly capable of achieving. The analogy of the butterfly is fitting, as a butterfly undergoes a transformation and emerges from a cocoon ready to fly. Similarly, Carey encourages her listeners to transform themselves and spread their wings, ready to take flight.
Line by Line Meaning
Don't be afraid to fly
Don't let your fears hold you back from soaring towards your dreams
Spread your wings
Expand your horizons and embrace your true potential
Open up a door
Explore new opportunities and possibilities for growth
So much more inside
You have untapped potential waiting to be unlocked and discovered
Fly
Take that leap of faith and trust in your ability to soar
Just fly
Don't overthink it, just go for it and see where it takes you
Don't let your spirit die
Don't let setbacks or failures dampen your spirit and extinguish your hope
Spread your wings and prepare to fly
Get ready to leave your comfort zone and pursue your dreams
For you have become a butterfly
You have transformed from a caterpillar into something beautiful and free
Fly away
It's time to leave the past behind and soar towards a brighter future
Butterfly
A symbol of transformation and metamorphosis, representing the journey of self-discovery and growth
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: CAREY, JOHN, MORALES, TAUPIN
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Kijana Young
The fact that she recorded this FIRST then recorded Butterfly as a Ballad months later shows all of yall lambs this whole album was recorded in 1997.
End that narrative that Butterfly was recorded in 1996
Fun Fact even My All was recorded in mid 1997, just after she came from Puerto Rico from Shooting Honey Music Video
I personally love her voice in Butterfly Album- it has the best blend of Fullness, Airyness, Rasp, Resonance and Solidness
Shoutout to The Emancipation of Mimi Vocals....❤️❤️The long-lost sister of Butterfly
All I’ve Ever Wanted
One of her best songs with the whistle register ✨🦋
Jean Edmonds
Love this remix SO MUCH!! Beautiful as well as motivational.. Work out music...🦋🎵🎶🎤🏃🏾
Assia Benslimane
I love the reprises of fly away she has so .many reprise of this song ..I'm die hard fan of Mariah since I was 14 I'm 45 now 😁
John 15:19
I've never heard that expression before - 'whistle register'. Thank you for teaching me something new😊
Ambient Holistic
I am 50 and I played this CD so much back in day. Love this song so much. Takes me back.🌺💐❤️
Assia Benslimane
Me too I'm 45
Jan S. Buriak
this is HOW you do reprises/remixes!!!!!! legendary!!!!
Marinadela
Brilliant song.
diamond_cutter9600
Fell in love with this version on deployment on duty. Played it repeatedly. Keep me up until I was relieved the next morning.
Aline Bittencourt
It was the greatest injustice that the butterfly album did not win all the nominations it received at the Grammys. Mariah deserved to have won much more than other artists.