15 Songs Mariah Carey Wrote for Her Peers

Mariah Carey’s influence in the music industry spans far beyond her song catalog. In addition to releasing dozens of hit singles and albums, Carey has written music for other artists, been sampled by artists in the hip-hop and R&B community, and has even been mentioned by others in their songs. We scraped the web and put together a list of 15 songs.

Songs Mariah wrote for others and more

Known for her determination to write her songs from the early stages of her career, Carey has achieved remarkable success, producing 19 number-one singles and an enviable songbook. In 2022, she was finally recognized by the Songwriters Hall of Fame in celebration of her impactful contributions to the music industry. While it is widely known that Carey has penned most of her top-charting hits herself, her talents have also reached other artists in the form of songwriting, sampling, and references. For a glimpse into Carey’s musical legacy, read onward for a list of songs she’s written for others and songs in which she’s been sampled and mentioned.

Faith Hill – Where Are You Christmas?

Mariah’s love for Christmas has never been a secret to any living human around the world. But apart from the Christmas tunes in her catalog, she partnered with James Horner and Will Jennings during the making of “How the Grinch Stole Christmas?” back in 2000. “Christmas, Why Can’t I Find You?” is a song written by the three of them for the movie, first sung by Taylor Momsen who played Cindy Lou Who. Mariah Carey then went on to write a full-length pop version of the song with additional lyrics, renamed “Where Are You Christmas?” for the film’s soundtrack. Carey originally sang the song herself, but because she was still in a legal battle with her ex-husband Tommy Mottola, she could not release it herself, so it was re-recorded for the movie by Faith Hill.

In 2020, while promoting her memoir, Carey told Andy Cohen on “Watch What Happens Live” that “she did record it, and she does have the demo somewhere” but that she would have to “dig back into the vault to find [her] version“. In 2021, she must have found it as she then mentioned being “enthusiastic but hesitant” to release her version of the song. We honestly can’t wait for The Rarities II.

 

Bryson Tiller – Don’t

Bryson Tiller’s debut single, “Don’t“, was released back in 2015. The track became his breakout hit and helped make his debut album Trapsoul a commercial success. Mariah Carey has a songwriter credit on the song, despite not writing it, due to the track’s use of an interpolation of “Shake It Off” – “he keeps on playing games And his loving ain’t the same“. Despite the credit, it is unclear if Carey receives any royalties because “Don’t” has amassed over a billion streams on Spotify alone. Other songs which have sampled “Shake It Off” include Mr. Oizo’s “Lambs’ Garbage (Unfinished)” and 11:11’s “BYO”.

Allure featuring Nas – Head Over Heels

Back in 1996, Mariah Carey embarked on a new venture with the establishment of her own label, “Crave“. Allure, a girl group, was one of the artists signed to the label, and the group was notorious for the song “All Cried Out” in 1997. The song was originally performed by Lisa Lisa & Cult Jam in 1985. Carey contributed backing vocals to the track, but she also co-wrote another song for the album: “Head Over Heels“, featuring Nas. Despite the song’s lack of commercial success, Carey did make a brief appearance in the music video for “Head Over Heels.”

In 2018, Sultan and Shepard released a song with the same title sampling the Allure original.

Eminem – The Warning

While this is probably not a song Mariah would like to take credit for, the entire track is written about her and for her. After releasing Obsessed, a suspected diss at Eminem himself, and some challenging words from then-husband Nick Cannon, Slim Shady decided to slap back with “The Warning“: “I’m obsessed now, oh gee Is that supposed to be me In the video with the goatee? Wow Mariah, didn’t expect you to go balls out“. The remainder of the song expands on Eminem’s recounted version of events, with some descriptive episodes that would surely make our mother blush. The song is no longer available on Spotify for whatever reason but YouTube never lets anyone down. While we will probably never know who’s memory is most accurate, we do know we could not not mention a song dedicated entirely to Mimi herself.

7 Mile – After

In addition to Allure, Mariah’s Crave record label also featured a boy band called “7 Mile”. Although the band only released one album, “After“, their second single, was co-written by Carey. Unfortunately, the single failed to make an impression on the charts and has been largely forgotten since then. This, coupled with the underperformance of Crave’s other artists, likely led to the closure of the label around 1998.

Fifth Harmony – Like Mariah

Coming up with a song “Like Mariah”, and building that song around a recognizable vocal hook from “Always Be My Baby,” can be a risky move for any pop act, but we believe the girls succeeded in delivering a great track. For this song the girls decided to pay tribute to Mariah Carey herself. The song opens with a sped-up sample of Mariah’s song “Always Be My Baby”, mainly the original hook “doo doo doo” that we all recognize and love. The lyrics “Your loving takes me higher / you set my heart on fire / when you touch my body / got me singing like Mariah” are a definite compliment to the elusive chanteuse.

What did Mariah say to all this? She happily tweeted: “#nowplaying #LikeMariah by @FifthHarmony love it!! I appreciate and enjoy ya!“

 

slowthai featuring James Blake and Mount Kimbie- Feel Away

When seeing Mariah Carey’s name on the songwriting credits for “Feel Away“, one might be surprised to learn that it’s a far cry from anything previously written by her. However, as it turns out, at 2:57 with a reverb twist, a background vocal can be heard singing the signature chorus from her hit “Dreamlover.” This is where her “songwriting” credit comes in, making the connection crystal clear.

Sigala featuring Imaani Williams and DJ Fresh- Say You Do

Although this is another heavy sampler of Always Be My Baby, we decided to give it a special mention because a) it’s racking up 100 million streams on Spotify alone and b) we love it. It’s a continuous testament to the love and success of the classic. While we’re at it, Always Be My Baby has also been sampled by Rylo Rodriguez in “Project Baby” and Beenie Man’s “Always Be My Baby“.

 

Daryl Hall – Help Me Find a Way To Your Heart

Back in 1993, Mariah co-wrote a song for none else than Daryl Hall from Hall & Oates, for the release of his first solo album. The song “Help Me Find a Way To Your Heart” is a classic 90s ballad and although it wasn’t released as a commercial single it will always be imprinted in Hall’s repertoire. Whatever the success of the track, co-writing a song for one of the 80s’ greats so early in her career is nothing short of impressive.

Penny Ford – I Lose Control

There are many rumors that this song was written at the time of Mariah’s debut album and intended for it initially but was discarded by the label. It is also unknown whether Mariah recorded the song herself at any point. It was registered in 1990 with Carey and Narada Michael Walden in the songwriting credits. However, the song was later “penned” to Penny Ford in 1993. The song is an uptempo dance track, we can totally “hear” Debutriah singing this and we absolutely love it! We honestly hope there’s a Mariah version recorded somewhere that will resurface at some point.

 

Dean Blunt – Brutal

Dean Blunt, the vocalist of “100” released a song known as “Brutal“, which samples the instrumental intro of Mariah Carey’s “The Roof.” Carey doesn’t appear in any songwriting credits, making this somewhat of an obscure sample for fans who are not familiar with Blunt’s song.

Trey Lorenz – Someone To Hold

Carey collaborated with her long-time backup singer Trey Lorenz on his self-titled album in 1992. As good friends do, Carey co-wrote many songs for Lorenz, including his biggest hit to date “Someone to Hold“. The song peaked at number 19 on the Hot 100 Billboard chart. “Always in Love” was also co-written by Carey, Lorenz, and Walter Afanasieff and performed by Lorenz. On his second album, Carey lent her artistry with “Pisces” and later on “Make You Happy” which was featured on the “Men in Black” soundtrack in 1997, where it was performed by Lorenz and featured Carey’s writing chops.

 

Blaque – Don’t Go Looking For Love

In 1999, the all-girl group Blaque released their self-titled debut album. Among the songs on the album is a track called “Don’t Go Looking for Love“, which was co-written by the one and only Mariah Carey. The album, which went platinum in the United States, also featured the hit songs “I Do” and “808“. Although the song was not released as a commercial single, the album itself achieved significant success thanks to the group’s blend of R&B, hip-hop, and pop elements.

Drake – Emotionless

Back in 2018, Drake, the king of music streaming, released “Emotionless” from his album “Scorpion”, sampling Mariah Carey’s classic song “Emotions.” The 12″ Club Mix version was chosen by Drake to introduce the song, giving us the legendary belting at the intro of the song. The song peaked at number 8 on the Billboard Hot 100 and has become a favorite among fans of both artists having already entered the 100 million stream club.

There’s plenty more from where these came from, and we’ll have to write an article solely on samples. Megan Thee Stallion recently mentions Mariah’s Obsessed in “HISS“. And it’s not stopping anytime soon.

Mariah Carey has clearly established herself as a successful songwriter, with her impressive list of songwriting credits for fellow artists. With her versatile skills in crafting melodies and penning lyrics, Carey has been a valuable asset to the development of many artists’ catalogs. Her classics have also served as a source of inspiration for many epic samples in the pop industry, ensuring her legacy will live on through the years. Mariah Carey’s skills and influence in songwriting have become a staple in the music world and her contributions will live on, not only in the Songwriters Hall of Fame, but in the world’s musical legacy.