I Still Believe
Encyclopedia
"I Still Believe" is a pop
-ballad
song written by Antonina Armato
and Giuseppe Cantarelli and originally recorded by pop singer Brenda K. Starr
. It is a ballad in which the singer is confident she and her former boyfriend will never be together again, but still believes that some day it may happen. It was covered by American singer Mariah Carey
and cantopop
singer Sandy Lam
.
, and it was produced by Eumir Deodato
and is considered her signature song
. The song was based on a real life relationship of one of its songwriters, Antonia Armato: Armato's former boyfriend had proposed to her, but she felt that the timing was not right. He was not pleased, and pushed her into an ultimatium: to get married or break up. Even though Armato loved her boyfriend at the time, she stuck to her convictions and the couple broke up. To deal with her emotional pain, Armato wrote the song.
It was released as the first single from Starr's debut album in 1988 and peaked at number 13 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100
, becoming Starr's first and only top twenty single on the Hot 100. Its music video comprises scenes of Starr singing the song in a warehouse intercut with scenes of her walking past many romantic couples. In 1998, she recorded a salsa version of the song on her album, No Lo Voy a Olvidar
as "I Still Believe/Creo en Ti". This version peaked at #20 on the Billboard Latin Tropical Airplay
chart. The original version of the song was ranked 7 on VH1
's list of 40 Most Awesomely Bad Breakup Songs.
co-produced her cover of the song with Stevie J
and Mike Mason for her eighth album, #1's
, and it was released as the album's third single in 1998. She re-recorded the song as a tribute to Starr, as she had been Starr's backing singer in the late 1980s and Starr had helped jump start Carey's career by handing a demo tape to Sony Music Entertainment
executive Tommy Mottola
, who then signed Carey's first recording contract.
Unlike the preceding single from #1's, "When You Believe
", "I Still Believe" enjoyed more success within the United States than elsewhere, peaking at number 4 on the Billboard Hot 100
. Though it was Carey's first single to chart on radio airplay points alone, its airplay was relatively low while sales were much stronger. It was certified platinum by the RIAA
, and was ranked 36 on the Hot 100 year-end charts for 1999. Outside the U.S. it settled in the middle of the charts, such as the United Kingdom where it reached the top twenty. It entered the Canadian top ten, but did not reach the top forty in Australia or Germany.
The single's music video, directed by Brett Ratner
, was heavily inspired by Marilyn Monroe
's 1953 visit to U.S. troops in Korea for a United Service Organizations
show. It shows Carey (who emulates Monroe's make-up and hairstyles) visiting Edwards Air Force Base in California and singing for airmen and soldiers as Monroe had done during the Korean War
.
A remix of the song was produced by Carey and Damizza titled "I Still Believe/Pure Imagination" (formally "I Still Believe" (Damizza Reemix) [sic
]). It differs significantly from the original, as it retains none of the music and only minor lyrical elements. The melody is based heavily on interpolations of the song "Pure Imagination" from the 1971 film Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory
, and the song features rapped and sung parts by Krayzie Bone
(of Bone Thugs-N-Harmony
) and Da Brat
.
An abbreviated version of "I Still Believe/Pure Imagination", without Da Brat and more from Krayzie Bone, can be found on Bone's album Thug Mentality 1999
. A video for the remix was commissioned and directed by Carey herself, showing her as a peasant girl in a Mexican village as she tends to her goats and gathers water for her family. Bone is portrayed as a pariah of sorts in the town, in whom Carey may have a romantic interest. Da Brat takes on the role of the community gringo
, as she arrives in a car with a lot of money.
Several other remixes of the song were created, and each was carefully overseen by Carey, who re-recorded her vocals for all of them. Stevie J
, who co-produced the original song, enlisted the help of rappers Mocha and Amil
to join Carey on a remix he was developing. Although it contains completely new musical elements (with no music derived from the original and only small lyrical elements), Carey, Stevie J and the rappers do not receive songwriting credit.
David Morales
created several remixes of the song, including the "Classic Club" mix. It retains the song's original music and chord progressions with Carey's original vocals and considerable ad lib
s. Other remixes by Morales include The King's Mix and the Eve of Souls mix, which do not contain complete vocals of the song, and feature little more than ad libs and shouting over club beats.
European CD single
U.S. CD single
Australian CD maxi-single
European CD maxi-single #1
European CD maxi-single #2
Japanese CD maxi-single
US CD maxi-single
UK CD maxi-single #1
UK CD maxi-single #2
US 2x12" vinyl single
1 "I Still Believe / Pure Imagination"
covered this song in Cantonese, with the title 依然 ("Still"). She also covered the English version of the song in 1990.
Jamaican dancehall
artist Beenie Man
sampled most of the lyrics under the song "Crazy Notion" from his Art and Life
album, released in 2000.
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
-ballad
Ballad
A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads were particularly characteristic of British and Irish popular poetry and song from the later medieval period until the 19th century and used extensively across Europe and later the Americas, Australia and North Africa. Many...
song written by Antonina Armato
Antonina Armato
Antonina Armato is a songwriter and music producer who is most known for co-writing the #1 single "I Still Believe" and co-writing another #1 single "She Ain't Worth It." She has written or produced over 20 Top Ten singles...
and Giuseppe Cantarelli and originally recorded by pop singer Brenda K. Starr
Brenda K. Starr
Brenda K. Starr is an American singer-songwriter. She is well known originally in dance-pop, but now mostly in salsa-based music...
. It is a ballad in which the singer is confident she and her former boyfriend will never be together again, but still believes that some day it may happen. It was covered by American singer Mariah Carey
Mariah Carey
Mariah Carey is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, and actress. She made her recording debut with the release of her eponymous studio album in 1990, under the guidance of Columbia Records executive Tommy Mottola, whom she later married in 1993...
and cantopop
Cantopop
Cantopop is a colloquialism for "Cantonese popular music". It is sometimes referred to as HK-pop, short for "Hong Kong popular music". It is categorized as a subgenre of Chinese popular music within C-pop...
singer Sandy Lam
Sandy Lam
Sandy Lam, also known as Lam Yik Lin, is a Cantopop singer who sings in Cantonese, Mandarin, English, and Japanese.-Career:...
.
Brenda K. Starr version
Brenda K. Starr recorded the song for her second album Brenda K. StarrBrenda K. Starr (album)
Brenda K. Starr is the eponymous second album and major label debut by Brenda K. Starr.-Release:Released in 1987. It produced the singles "Breakfast In Bed", "I Still Believe", and "What You See Is What You Get"...
, and it was produced by Eumir Deodato
Eumir Deodato
Eumir Deodato is a Brazilian pianist, composer, record producer and arranger, primarily based in the jazz realm but who historically has been known for eclectic melding of big band and combo jazz with varied elements of rock/pop, R&B/funk, Brazilian/Latin, and symphonic or orchestral music.Mainly,...
and is considered her signature song
Signature song
A signature song is the one song that a popular and well-established singer or band is most closely identified with or best known for, even if they have had success with a variety of songs...
. The song was based on a real life relationship of one of its songwriters, Antonia Armato: Armato's former boyfriend had proposed to her, but she felt that the timing was not right. He was not pleased, and pushed her into an ultimatium: to get married or break up. Even though Armato loved her boyfriend at the time, she stuck to her convictions and the couple broke up. To deal with her emotional pain, Armato wrote the song.
It was released as the first single from Starr's debut album in 1988 and peaked at number 13 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
, becoming Starr's first and only top twenty single on the Hot 100. Its music video comprises scenes of Starr singing the song in a warehouse intercut with scenes of her walking past many romantic couples. In 1998, she recorded a salsa version of the song on her album, No Lo Voy a Olvidar
No Lo Voy a Olvidar
No Lo Voy a Olvidar is Brenda K. Starr's fourth album released in 1998. Includes the hit singles "Senor Amarte", "Si Mi Preguntan por Ti" and a remake of "I Still Believe/Creo en Ti."-Track listing:...
as "I Still Believe/Creo en Ti". This version peaked at #20 on the Billboard Latin Tropical Airplay
Latin Tropical Airplay
The Tropical Songs is a record chart published on Billboard magazine established in 1994 with the first number-one song to be published was "En Las Nubes" by Edgar Joel. It features Latin music information from tropical music such as salsa, merengue, bachata, cumbia, and vallenato...
chart. The original version of the song was ranked 7 on VH1
VH1
VH1 or Vh1 is an American cable television network based in New York City. Launched on January 1, 1985 in the old space of Turner Broadcasting's short-lived Cable Music Channel, the original purpose of the channel was to build on the success of MTV by playing music videos, but targeting a slightly...
's list of 40 Most Awesomely Bad Breakup Songs.
Charts
| Chart (1988) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| U.S. Billboard Hot 100 | 13 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks | 14 |
| Chart (1998) | Peak position |
| U.S. Billboard Latin Tropical Airplay | 20 |
Mariah Carey version
Mariah CareyMariah Carey
Mariah Carey is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, and actress. She made her recording debut with the release of her eponymous studio album in 1990, under the guidance of Columbia Records executive Tommy Mottola, whom she later married in 1993...
co-produced her cover of the song with Stevie J
Stevie J
--MSGOLDBERG1 23:09, 23 November 2011 Stevie J. is an American musician, singer, record producer and songwriter. This upstate New Yorker is the leader of the Bad Boy Entertainment Hitmen roster of in-house producers and writers during the 90s and thus worked often with the label's owner Sean...
and Mike Mason for her eighth album, #1's
Number 1's (Mariah Carey album)
#1's is the first compilation album by American singer-songwriter Mariah Carey, released by Columbia Records on November 17, 1998. The album contained Carey's thirteen number one singles on the Billboard Hot 100, as well as four new songs. In Japan, #1's also included her popular single "All I Want...
, and it was released as the album's third single in 1998. She re-recorded the song as a tribute to Starr, as she had been Starr's backing singer in the late 1980s and Starr had helped jump start Carey's career by handing a demo tape to Sony Music Entertainment
Sony Music Entertainment
Sony Music Entertainment ' is the second-largest global recorded music company of the "big four" record companies and is controlled by Sony Corporation of America, the United States subsidiary of Japan's Sony Corporation....
executive Tommy Mottola
Tommy Mottola
Thomas Daniel "Tommy" Mottola is an American music executive, co-owner of Casablanca Records in a joint venture with the Universal Music Group. He is the ex-husband of Mariah Carey and is married to Mexican singer Thalía...
, who then signed Carey's first recording contract.
Unlike the preceding single from #1's, "When You Believe
When You Believe
"When You Believe" is an Academy Award-winning song by American recording artists Mariah Carey and Whitney Houston. The song was written and composed by Stephen Schwartz for the 1998 DreamWorks animated feature The Prince of Egypt. A version of "When You Believe" was produced as a single with...
", "I Still Believe" enjoyed more success within the United States than elsewhere, peaking at number 4 on the Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
. Though it was Carey's first single to chart on radio airplay points alone, its airplay was relatively low while sales were much stronger. It was certified platinum by the RIAA
Recording Industry Association of America
The Recording Industry Association of America is a trade organization that represents the recording industry distributors in the United States...
, and was ranked 36 on the Hot 100 year-end charts for 1999. Outside the U.S. it settled in the middle of the charts, such as the United Kingdom where it reached the top twenty. It entered the Canadian top ten, but did not reach the top forty in Australia or Germany.
Music videos and remixes
Brett Ratner
Brett Ratner is an American film director, film producer and music video director. He is best known for directing the Rush Hour film series, The Family Man, Red Dragon, X-Men: The Last Stand, and Tower Heist. He was also a producer on the Fox drama series, Prison Break.- Early life :Ratner was...
, was heavily inspired by Marilyn Monroe
Marilyn Monroe
Marilyn Monroe was an American actress, singer, model and showgirl who became a major sex symbol, starring in a number of commercially successful motion pictures during the 1950s....
's 1953 visit to U.S. troops in Korea for a United Service Organizations
United Service Organizations
The United Service Organizations Inc. is a private, nonprofit organization that provides morale and recreational services to members of the U.S. military, with programs in 160 centers worldwide. Since 1941, it has worked in partnership with the Department of Defense , and has provided support and...
show. It shows Carey (who emulates Monroe's make-up and hairstyles) visiting Edwards Air Force Base in California and singing for airmen and soldiers as Monroe had done during the Korean War
Korean War
The Korean War was a conventional war between South Korea, supported by the United Nations, and North Korea, supported by the People's Republic of China , with military material aid from the Soviet Union...
.
A remix of the song was produced by Carey and Damizza titled "I Still Believe/Pure Imagination" (formally "I Still Believe" (Damizza Reemix) [sic
Sic
Sic—generally inside square brackets, [sic], and occasionally parentheses, —when added just after a quote or reprinted text, indicates the passage appears exactly as in the original source...
]). It differs significantly from the original, as it retains none of the music and only minor lyrical elements. The melody is based heavily on interpolations of the song "Pure Imagination" from the 1971 film Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory
Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory
Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory is a 1971 musical film adaptation of the 1964 novel Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl, directed by Mel Stuart, and starring Gene Wilder as Willy Wonka. The film tells the story of Charlie Bucket as he receives a golden ticket and visits Willy...
, and the song features rapped and sung parts by Krayzie Bone
Krayzie Bone
Anthony Henderson better known as Krayzie Bone, is an American rapper and is a former member of the rap group Bone Thugs-n-Harmony.-Solo career:Krayzie Bone recorded his solo debut, Thug Mentality 1999, in 1998...
(of Bone Thugs-N-Harmony
Bone Thugs-N-Harmony
Bone Thugs-N-Harmony is an American Hip-Hop/R'n'B band from Cleveland, Ohio formed in 1991. It originally consisted of rappers Layzie Bone, Flesh-n-Bone, Bizzy Bone, Krayzie Bone, and Wish Bone. Rapper Eazy-E of the group N.W.A signed Bone Thugs-N-Harmony to Ruthless Records in 1994, when Bone...
) and Da Brat
Da Brat
Shawntae Harris , better known as Da Brat, is an American rapper and actress. Her debut album, Funkdafied, sold one million copies, making her the first female rapper to have a platinum-selling album.-Early life:...
.
An abbreviated version of "I Still Believe/Pure Imagination", without Da Brat and more from Krayzie Bone, can be found on Bone's album Thug Mentality 1999
Thug Mentality 1999
-Disc 2:#"Murda Won't Stop" #"Where My Thugz At"#"Smokin' Budda#"Knieght Riduz " #"Try Me"#"Theze Dayz" #"Silent Warrior"#"Shoot The Club Up"...
. A video for the remix was commissioned and directed by Carey herself, showing her as a peasant girl in a Mexican village as she tends to her goats and gathers water for her family. Bone is portrayed as a pariah of sorts in the town, in whom Carey may have a romantic interest. Da Brat takes on the role of the community gringo
Gringo
Gringo is a slang Spanish and Portuguese word used in Spanish-speaking and Portuguese-speaking countries in Latin America, to denote foreigners, often from the United States. The term can be applied to someone who is actually a foreigner, or it can denote a strong association or assimilation into...
, as she arrives in a car with a lot of money.
Several other remixes of the song were created, and each was carefully overseen by Carey, who re-recorded her vocals for all of them. Stevie J
Stevie J
--MSGOLDBERG1 23:09, 23 November 2011 Stevie J. is an American musician, singer, record producer and songwriter. This upstate New Yorker is the leader of the Bad Boy Entertainment Hitmen roster of in-house producers and writers during the 90s and thus worked often with the label's owner Sean...
, who co-produced the original song, enlisted the help of rappers Mocha and Amil
Amil
Amil Whitehead more commonly known by her stage name Amil, is an American female rapper, singer, and songwriter from New York City. She was prominent in the late 1990s as a Jay-Z protégé, most notably on the single "Can I Get A..." from the Rush Hour soundtrack.-Early life:Amil was born September...
to join Carey on a remix he was developing. Although it contains completely new musical elements (with no music derived from the original and only small lyrical elements), Carey, Stevie J and the rappers do not receive songwriting credit.
David Morales
David Morales
David Morales is an internationally acclaimed Grammy-winning house music DJ and producer. In addition to his production and DJ work, Morales is one of the most prolific remixers of all time, transforming many pop music songs into club-friendly dance tracks...
created several remixes of the song, including the "Classic Club" mix. It retains the song's original music and chord progressions with Carey's original vocals and considerable ad lib
Ad libitum
Ad libitum is Latin for "at one's pleasure"; it is often shortened to "ad lib" or "ad-lib"...
s. Other remixes by Morales include The King's Mix and the Eve of Souls mix, which do not contain complete vocals of the song, and feature little more than ad libs and shouting over club beats.
Formats and track listings
Australian CD single- "I Still Believe" (album version) – 3:55
- "I Still Believe" (David Morales Remix edit) – 3:53
- "I Still Believe" (The Eve of Souls Mix) – 10:54
European CD single
- "I Still Believe" (album version) – 3:54
- "I Still Believe" (Morales' Classic Club Mix edit) – 3:54
U.S. CD single
- "I Still Believe / Pure imagination" (Damizza Remix edit featuring Krayzie Bone & Da Brat) – 4:32
- "I Still Believe" (Morales' Classic Club Mix edit) – 3:53
Australian CD maxi-single
- "I Still Believe" (album version) – 3:55
- "I Still Believe" (David Morales Remix edit) – 3:53
- "I Still Believe" (The Eve of Souls Mix) – 10:54
- "I Still Believe / Pure imagination" (Damizza Remix featuring Krayzie Bone & Da Brat) – 4:34
- "I Still Believe" (Stevie J. Clean Remix featuring Mocha & Amil) – 5:06
European CD maxi-single #1
- "I Still Believe" (album version) – 3:54
- "I Still Believe" (Morales' Classic Club Mix edit) – 3:53
- "I Still Believe" (Morales' Classic Club Mix) – 9:02
- "I Still Believe" (The Eve of Souls Mix) – 10:54
- "I Still Believe" (The Kings Mix) – 8:04
- "I Still Believe" (The Kings Mix instrumental) – 8:06
European CD maxi-single #2
- "I Still Believe" (album version) – 3:55
- "I Still Believe / Pure imagination" (Damizza Remix featuring Krayzie Bone & Da Brat) – 4:32
- "I Still Believe" (Stevie J. Remix featuring Mocha & Amil) – 5:05
- "I Still Believe" (Stevie J. Clean Remix featuring Mocha & Amil) – 5:06
- "I Still Believe / Pure imagination" (Damizza Remix a cappella featuring Krayzie Bone & Da Brat) – 4:32
Japanese CD maxi-single
US CD maxi-single
- "I Still Believe" (album version) – 3:55
- "I Still Believe" (Stevie J. Clean Remix featuring Mocha & Amil) – 5:06
- "I Still Believe" (Morales' Classic Club Mix) – 9:02
- "I Still Believe / Pure imagination" (Damizza Remix featuring Krayzie Bone & Da Brat) – 4:32
- "I Still Believe" (The Kings Mix) – 8:04
UK CD maxi-single #1
- "I Still Believe" (Morales' Classic Club Mix)
- "I Still Believe" (Morales' Classic Club Mix UK edit)
- "I Still Believe" (The Eve of Souls Mix UK edit)
UK CD maxi-single #2
- "I Still Believe" (album version) – 3:55
- "I Still Believe" (Stevie J. Remix featuring Mocha & Amil) – 5:05
- "I Still Believe / Pure imagination" (Damizza Remix featuring Krayzie Bone & Da Brat) – 4:32
US 2x12" vinyl single
- Side A
- "I Still Believe" (Stevie J. Remix featuring Mocha & Amil) – 5:06
- "I Still Believe" (Stevie J. Clean Remix featuring Mocha & Amil) – 5:05
- "I Still Believe" (Stevie J. Remix Instrumental) – 5:00
- Side B
- "I Still Believe / Pure imagination" (Damizza Remix featuring Krayzie Bone & Da Brat) – 4:32
- "I Still Believe / Pure imagination" (Damizza Remix instrumental) – 4:20
- "I Still Believe / Pure imagination" (Damizza Remix a cappella featuring Krayzie Bone & Da Brat) – 4:32
- "I Still Believe" (Stevie J. Remix A Cappella featuring Mocha & Amil) – 5:04
- Side C
- "I Still Believe" (Morales' Classic Club Mix) – 9:02
- "I Still Believe" (The Eve of Souls Mix) – 10:54
- Side D
- "I Still Believe" (The Kings Mix) – 8:04
- "I Still Believe" (The Kings Mix Instrumental) – 8:06
Peak positions
| Chart (1999) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australian Singles Chart | 54 |
| Belgian Singles Chart (Flanders) | 48 |
| Belgian Singles Chart (Wallonia) | 25 |
| Canadian Singles Chart | 9 |
| Dutch Singles Chart | 51 |
| European Singles Chart | 30 |
| French Singles Chart | 33 |
| German Singles Chart | 58 |
| New Zealand Singles Chart | 24 |
| Spanish Singles Chart | 7 |
| Swiss Singles Chart | 31 |
| UK Singles Chart | 16 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot 100 | 4 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks | 8 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Club Play | 1 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs | 31 |
End of year charts
| End of year chart (1999) | Position |
|---|---|
| U.S. Billboard Hot 100 | 36 |
Sales and certifications
| Provider | Sales | Certification |
|---|---|---|
| United States United States The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district... |
1,000,000+ | Platinum |
1 "I Still Believe / Pure Imagination"
Other versions
In 1989, Hong Kong singer Sandy LamSandy Lam
Sandy Lam, also known as Lam Yik Lin, is a Cantopop singer who sings in Cantonese, Mandarin, English, and Japanese.-Career:...
covered this song in Cantonese, with the title 依然 ("Still"). She also covered the English version of the song in 1990.
Jamaican dancehall
Dancehall
Dancehall is a genre of Jamaican popular music that originated in the late 1970s. Initially dancehall was a more sparse version of reggae than the roots style, which had dominated much of the 1970s. In the mid-1980s, digital instrumentation became more prevalent, changing the sound considerably,...
artist Beenie Man
Beenie Man
Anthony Moses Davis , better known by his stage name Beenie Man, is a Grammy award winning Jamaican reggae artist. He is the self-proclaimed "King of the Dancehall".-Biography:...
sampled most of the lyrics under the song "Crazy Notion" from his Art and Life
Art and Life
Art and Life is a Grammy Award-winning album by dancehall deejay Beenie Man, released on July 11, 2000. He garnered commercial success in the States with this album, with the help of the reggae fusion hit single "Girls dem Sugar"...
album, released in 2000.