| "One Sweet Day" | ||||
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| Single by Mariah Carey and Boyz II Men | ||||
| from the album Daydream | ||||
| B-side | "Open Arms" | |||
| Released | November 14, 1995 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 4:42 | |||
| Label | Columbia | |||
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| Mariah Carey singles chronology | ||||
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| Boyz II Men singles chronology | ||||
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| Music video | ||||
| "One Sweet Day" on YouTube | ||||
"One Sweet Day" is a song by American singer-songwriter Mariah Carey and American vocal group Boyz II Men. The song was released on November 14, 1995, as the second single from the former's fifth studio album, Daydream (1995) by Columbia Records. The artists co-wrote the song with Walter Afanasieff, who co-produced it with Carey. Lyrically, the song speaks about the death of a loved one, how the protagonist took their presence for granted and misses them, and finally about seeing the person in heaven. The artists wrote the song about specific people in their lives, being inspired by sufferers of the AIDS epidemic, which was globally prevalent at the time.
"One Sweet Day" received universal acclaim from music critics, many of whom praised its lyrical content and vocals while calling it a standout track on Daydream. It was ranked first in Rolling Stone's reader's poll for the Best Collaboration of All Time. The song spent 16 weeks atop the Billboard Hot 100 in the United States, becoming the longest-running number-one song in the chart's history at the time, a record held for 23 years. The song ranked first on Billboard's Hot 100 decade-end chart.[1] Subsequently, the publication ranked it as the ninth best charting single of the 1990s with post-'90s sales and streaming figures incorporated.[2] Internationally, the song topped the charts in Canada and New Zealand and reached the top-ten in Australia, Belgium, Denmark, France, Ireland, the Netherlands, Norway, Panama, Sweden and the United Kingdom.
Carey performed "One Sweet Day" live alongside Boyz II Men at the 38th Grammy Awards ceremony, held on February 26, 1996. Additionally, the song was performed at Princess Diana's memorial service in September 1997. "One Sweet Day" was part of the set list on several of Carey's succeeding tours, making its debut during the album's accompanying set of concerts, the Daydream World Tour. It is featured on her compilation albums, #1's (1998), Greatest Hits (2001), The Ballads (2008), and #1 to Infinity (2015).
The music video for "One Sweet Day" was filmed in February 1995, and features snippets of Carey and Boyz II Men in and around the studio, and recording the song. The busy schedule of both acts did not allow time to shoot a proper video. Carey later said that she was content a real music video was never filmed, fearing that no video could truly capture the song's strong lyrical message. Critics felt the video choice was wise, and agreed that the simple concept paid homage to the song's selfless message.