Mariah Carey’s Music Box 30th Anniversary: A Musical Celebration with a Plethora of New Releases

Get ready for a musical celebration! It’s #MUSICBOX30 – Mariah Carey’s Music Box 30th Anniversary release includes extra songs, an accompanying documentary, and HD music videos. This is one party you won’t want to miss.

It was just a matter of time. As Mariah Carey’s Music Box celebrates its 30th anniversary, the Lambily have been anxiously awaiting news of the special occasion. And they were right to suspect something amazing, as Mariah’s latest reveals were sure to thrill the hearts of fans.

With a plethora of new releases, including extra tracks, an accompanying documentary, and HD music videos, Mariah has made the 30th anniversary celebration of her best-selling album an event to remember. The Lambily can rejoice, for Mariah’s Music Box celebration is finally here.

Mariah Carey’s Music Box was not only the record that propelled the queen to global fame, but it also captured the hearts of countless lambs for the very first time – as her first album to have a global impact, it was many listeners’ first introduction to her beautiful voice.

“Dreamlover” and “Hero” secured Mariah’s 7th and 8th number ones in the US, but her ballad “Without You” captivated audiences in Europe and Asia.

We’ve been streaming Mariah Carey’s Music Box album nonstop in anticipation of the special day. Other cuts from the album like our personal fave “Anytime You Need a Friend” were also on repeat prior to the Friday arrival. Then midnight came, we put on our earphones and blasted through 36 tracks, one by one.

 

Music Box: A 30 Year History

Known as the album of Mariah’s ballads, Music Box serves up some of her best belting masterpieces. Lesser-known tracks like “All I’ve Ever Wanted“, “Just To Hold You Once Again” and the namesake “Music Box“, showcase her vocal prowess. And she didn’t forget to spice things up with her upbeat bangers “I’ve Been Thinking About You” and “Now That I Know“.

Music Box has reportedly sold over 35 million albums worldwide, making it the 47th best-selling album of all time. RIAA has certified it Diamond for its 10 million North American sales, although the last certification was in 1997.

“Hero“, “Without You“, and “Dreamlover” have reported worldwide sales of 15, 12, and 6 million copies respectively. And while “Hero” and “Without You” have recently been certified double platinum (2019) and platinum (2022), respectively, “Dreamlover” was last certified platinum in 1993.

While we celebrate the Music Box’s 30th anniversary, we secretly hope that renewed certifications come along with the celebration. With the streaming era breathing new life into the album’s hit tracks, Mariah could be looking at double-platinum or even triple-platinum status for her most beloved singles.

Therefore it’s no surprise that Music Box has also been the beneficiary of the streaming era. With over 712 million streams on Spotify alone, this album released almost two decades prior to the mass adoption of streaming services has maintained its popularity. However, we expect this number to continue to grow, especially with Mariah’s early Christmas gift to her fans. So what’s in the gift basket: let’s watch and listen, and of course, over and over again.

Get a fresh dose of nostalgia with Mariah Carey’s Music Box in 4K

In a similar spirit to The Butterfly Anniversary Edition, Mariah Carey has given us quite the gift: an upgrade of her Music Box videos, including “Dreamlover” and “Without You.” With this update, we can now see these nostalgic videos in all their magnificent glory. So, grab some popcorn and get ready to relive the magic of Music Box in all its 4K sharpness.

 

Mariah Carey expands digital Music Box edition

Mariah Carey surprises us with bonus tracks in the expanded digital version of the much-beloved album Music Box. As a follow-up to the recent Butterfly: 25th Anniversary Expanded Edition, Mariah’s Music Box has been enriched with a variety of bonus tracks, remixes and live performances. She has gifted us with 3 (THREE!) breathtaking discs:

DISC 1

1. Dreamlover
2. Hero
3. Anytime You Need a Friend
4. Music Box
5. Now That I Know
6. Never Forget You
7. Without You
8. Just To Hold You Once Again
9. I’ve Been Thinking About You
10. All I’ve Ever Wanted
11. Everything Fades Away

DISC 2

1. All I Live For (Extended Version)
2. Endless Love (duet with Luther Vandross)
3. Do You Think of Me
4. Workin’ Hard
5. My Prayer
6. Hero (2009 Version)
7. Anytime You Need a Friend (Extended Mix)
8. Music Box (A Capella)
9. Dreamlover (Live from Top of The Pops)
10. Without You (Live from Top of The Pops)
11. Dreamlover (Def Club Mix)
12. Anytime You Need a Friend (C&C Club Version)
13. Anytime You Need a Friend (Soul Convention Remix)
14. I’ve Been Thinking About You (Terry Hunter Remix)
15. Workin’ Hard (Terry Hunter Remix)

DISC 3

Live at Proctor’s Theater, NY – 1993

1. Emotions
2. Hero
3. Someday
4. Without You
5. Make It Happen
6. Dreamlover
7. Love Takes Time
8. Anytime You Need a Friend
9. Vision of Love
10. I’ll Be There (featuring Trey Lorenz)

The album that catapulted Mariah to the world has received quite the spectacular transformation. Initially consisting of 10 or 11 tracks, the album now includes an impressive 36 tracks, with previously unheard material.

Among the surprises are a couple of previously unreleased tracks, “My Prayer” and “Workin’ Hard“. Adding to the collection are an extended version of “All I Live For” with unheard vocals, an a capella version of “Music Box”, and two Terry Hunter remixes – “I’ve Been Thinking About You” and our personal favorite, “Workin’ Hard – Terry Hunter Remix”.

It’s undeniable that “My Prayer” is one of Mariah’s classic covers – this time of The Platters’ 1954 classic. The final belting is classic Mariah of the Music Box era. However, “Workin’ Hard” will certainly be the heavyweight contender for hit of the re-release, as it has already been included in Spotify’s popular “New Music Friday” playlist, which boasts over 4 million followers.

With this kind of exposure, “Workin’ Hard” is sure to be a blockbuster, especially since it’s a previously unheard track as well.

Mariah lets her fans also delve into the “Hero – 2009 version”, two live performances from The Top of the Pops, and a full live audio show from Proctor’s Theater prior to the album’s original release. With unique versions of her original studio recordings, such as “Love Takes Time”, this release offers an even more impressive music box than before.

Keeping The Spirit Alive: Exclusive Music Box 30th Anniversary Merch

A celebration such as the Music Box 30th anniversary release can’t be complete without gifts – although they do come with a hefty price tag. One of the guaranteed gifts are the exclusive T-shirt, sporting an 80s vibe of Mariah’s epic Dreamlover. The innovative item in this collection is the sold-out small Music Box 30 portable speaker – while surprising, we would have expected an actual music box that cranks and opens up to a rotating Mariah on the sound of the initial notes of the actual “Music Box” track. But that didn’t come true.

We’re left with the most precious gift of all – the music, which is why the 11 tracks of the original version of Music Box on cassette format, the triple CD, and the 4 LP Vinyl Collection of the Music Box 30 versions are the ultimate gems.

Yet, the shipping for this order has been estimated for February 2024, which means that we must rely on Spotify and other streaming platforms for now until we can finally enjoy these masterpieces in their full glory. We especially want to listen to “My Prayer” on a vinyl player with all its inherent sounds since the song resembles the Connie Francis era.

In addition to the breathtaking music, there’s more to come: an exclusive documentary featuring interviews and behind-the-scenes footage, which we have been anxiously awaiting.

We’ve been eagerly awaiting this moment, and it has finally arrived. As we stream this album, we’re constantly picking up on every new twist, inflection, or remix. We’ll see how this will impact album sales and streams with more time. In the meantime, we’re giving it a week to see how the release has impacted the album’s performance, before analyzing further. Until then, just keep workin’ hard playing these songs relentlessly, as she has definitely answered my prayer once more.