Make It Happen (Mariah Carey song)

"Make It Happen"
Single by Mariah Carey
from the album Emotions
B-side"Emotions" (Special Motion Edit)
ReleasedApril 4, 1992 (1992-04-04)
Recorded1991
Genre
Length5:08 (album version) 4:05 (edit)
LabelColumbia
Composer(s)
Lyricist(s)Mariah Carey
Producer(s)
  • David Cole
  • Robert Clivillés
  • Mariah Carey
Mariah Carey singles chronology
"Can't Let Go"
(1991)
"Make It Happen"
(1992)
"I'll Be There"
(1992)
Music video
"Make It Happen" on YouTube

"Make It Happen" is a song by American singer-songwriter Mariah Carey. Written and produced by Carey and C+C Music Factory's David Cole and Robert Clivillés. It was released on April 4, 1992, by Columbia Records as the third and final single from her second studio album, Emotions (1991). The pop-, R&B-, and dance-influenced track incorporates traces of gospel in its bridge and crescendo. Described by author Chris Nickson as Carey's most personal and inspirational song (up until "Hero"), it tells of her personal struggles prior to her rise to fame, and how her faith in God helped sustain her.

The song was praised by music critics, many of whom applauded Carey's incorporation of several musical genres, as well as the song's personalized lyrical content. Aside from its critical acceptance, "Make It Happen" was successful in the United States, but charted weakly internationally compared to her previous singles. It peaked at number 5 on the Billboard Hot 100 and finished at number 42 on Billboard's Year-End Chart. The song reached number 7 in Canada and the top 40 in the United Kingdom and Australia, but did not reach the top 50 in the Netherlands and Germany.

The song's music video was filmed in a cathedral-like church. A benefit event inside, titled "Save Our Church", features Carey as the main performer, leading a choir in song as she sings to the constant cheering and applause of the crowd. Aside from the video's message of prayer and religion, the video features men and women of different backgrounds. Carey included the song on the set lists of all of her concert tours throughout her career, and the track was included on her compilation albums Greatest Hits (2001), Playlist: The Very Best of Mariah Carey (2010), and The Essential Mariah Carey (2012).

On July 31, 2020, along with the celebration of the 30th-anniversary of her debut studio album Mariah Carey, as well as Carey celebrating 30 years in the music industry, she released the song as a six-track extended play, titled Make It Happen EP, which contains some remixes from the U.S. CD maxi-single, as well as live renditions, including her performances at Fantasy: Mariah Carey at Madison Square Garden in 1995 and VH1 Divas Live in 1998.[2]

  1. ^ Hunt, Dennis (September 15, 1991). "Sappy Songs Underwhelm Carey's Emotions". Calendar. Los Angeles Times. p. 58 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. ^ Wass, Mike (July 31, 2020). "Mariah Carey Drops "Emotions" & "Make It Happen" Remix EPs". Idolator. Archived from the original on January 15, 2023. Retrieved July 31, 2020.