In 1998, it would have been a cheap joke to say that Mariah Carey had no other kind of hits than ballads, but in the ensuing decade she steadily remade herself into an R&B diva, obscuring if not quite erasing the well-mannered adult contemporary singer of the '90s.
The 2009 compilation The Ballads -- released just before Valentines Day 2009 -- attempts to turn back the clock by focusing just on those AC tunes -- 18 of them, in fact, including such mammoth hits as "Hero," "One Sweet Day," "Vision of Love," "I'll Be There," "I Still Believe," "Dreamlover," and "Always Be My Baby." Of course, this concentration on middle of the road ballads is a side effect of label affiliation: The Ballads is a product of Sony, who had Mariah during the '90s, before the club R&B overshadowed these office-friendly hits, so it's easier for them to cobble together a comp of Carey at her most sentimental.
And that's what The Ballads is: nothing but big love songs sung in a big voice.
For fans who have missed this side of Mariah in the 2000s, this is a welcome reminder of what they used to love.
| Title/Composers | Performer | Listen | Time | Size | Size | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | HeroWalter Afanasieff, Mariah Carey | Mariah Carey | Play | 04:20 | 9 MB | 27 MB |
| 2 | One Sweet DayWalter Afanasieff, Mariah Carey, Michael McCary, Nathan Morris, Wanya Morris, Shawn Stockman | Mariah Carey, Boyz II Men | Play | 04:43 | 10 MB | 31 MB |
| 3 | Vision of LoveMariah Carey, Ben Margulies | Mariah Carey | Play | 03:30 | 8 MB | 23 MB |
| 4 | Without YouTom Evans, Pete Ham | Mariah Carey | Play | 03:35 | 8 MB | 23 MB |
| 5 | I'll Be ThereHal Davis, Willie Hutch, Berry Gordy, Jr., Bob West | Mariah Carey | Play | 04:44 | 10 MB | 29 MB |
| 6 | Endless LoveLionel Richie | Mariah Carey | Play | 04:21 | 10 MB | 29 MB |
| 7 | I Still BelieveAntonina Armato, Beppe Cantarelli | Mariah Carey | Play | 03:56 | 9 MB | 25 MB |
| 8 | My AllWalter Afanasieff, Mariah Carey | Mariah Carey | Play | 03:52 | 8 MB | 23 MB |
| 9 | The RoofS. Barnes, Mariah Carey, Albert Johnson, Kejuan Muchita, Jean-Claude Olivier, Corey Rooney | Mariah Carey | Play | 05:15 | 12 MB | 35 MB |
| 10 | Anytime You Need a FriendWalter Afanasieff, Mariah Carey | Mariah Carey | Play | 04:27 | 10 MB | 30 MB |
| 11 | Always Be My BabyMariah Carey, Jermaine Dupri, Manuel Seal, Jr. | Mariah Carey | Play | 04:19 | 9 MB | 28 MB |
| 12 | DreamloverWalter Afanasieff, Mariah Carey, Dave Hall | Mariah Carey | Play | 03:54 | 8 MB | 27 MB |
| 13 | How Much2Pac, Mariah Carey, Bryan-Michael Cox, Jermaine Dupri, Darryl Harper, Ricky Rouse, Tyrone Wrice | Mariah Carey | Play | 03:30 | 8 MB | 24 MB |
| 14 | Thank God I Found You | Mariah Carey, Nas, Joe | Play | 05:10 | 11 MB | 34 MB |
| 15 | Reflections | Mariah Carey | Play | 03:22 | 7 MB | 20 MB |
| 16 | Open Arms | Mariah Carey | Play | 03:30 | 8 MB | 21 MB |
| 17 | Against All Odds | Mariah Carey, Westlife | Play | 03:27 | 7 MB | 20 MB |
| 70 mins | 160 MB | |||||
| 70 mins | 458 MB | |||||
| Artist | Job | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2Pac | Composer |
| 2 | Walter Afanasieff | Arranger, Audio Production, Composer, Producer |
| 3 | Antonina Armato | Composer |
| 4 | Babyface | Audio Production, Composer, Producer |
| 5 | S. Barnes | Composer |
| 6 | Boyz II Men | Primary Artist |
| 7 | Beppe Cantarelli | Composer |
| 8 | Mariah Carey | Arranger, Audio Production, Composer, Primary Artist, Producer, Vocals, Vocals (Background) |
| 9 | Bryan-Michael Cox | Audio Production, Composer, Producer |
| 10 | Hal Davis | Composer |
| 11 | Jermaine Dupri | Arranger, Audio Production, Composer, Producer |
| 12 | Tom Evans | Composer |
| 13 | Berry Gordy, Jr. | Composer |
| 14 | Dave Hall | Audio Production, Composer |
| 15 | David Hall | Arranger, Producer |
| 16 | Pete Ham | Composer |
| 17 | Darryl Harper | Composer |
| 18 | James Harris | Composer |
| 19 | James Harris III | Composer |
| 20 | Alexei Hay | Photography |
| 21 | Whitney Houston | Primary Artist |
| 22 | Willie Hutch | Composer |
| 23 | Jimmy Jam | Audio Production, Producer |
| 24 | Joe | Featured Artist |
| 25 | Albert Johnson | Composer |
| 26 | Stevie Jordan | Audio Production |
| 27 | Rhett Lawrence | Audio Production, Producer |
| 28 | Terry Lewis | Audio Production, Composer, Producer |
| 29 | Trey Lorenz | Featured Artist |
| 30 | Ben Margulies | Arranger, Composer |
| 31 | Mike Mason | Audio Production |
| 32 | Mike Mason | Producer |
| 33 | Michael McCary | Composer |
| 34 | Nathan Morris | Composer |
| 35 | Wanya Morris | Composer |
| 36 | Kejuan Muchita | Composer |
| 37 | Nas | Featured Artist |
| 38 | Jean-Claude Olivier | Composer |
| 39 | Pierre Philippe | Composer |
| 40 | Poke & Tone | Audio Production, Producer |
| 41 | Lionel Richie | Composer |
| 42 | Teddy Riley | Composer |
| 43 | Corey Rooney | Composer |
| 44 | Ricky Rouse | Composer |
| 45 | Stephen Schwartz | Composer |
| 46 | Manuel Seal, Jr. | Audio Production, Composer, Producer |
| 47 | Shawn Stockman | Composer |
| 48 | Keith Sweat | Composer |
| 49 | Chris Toland | Arranger |
| 50 | Usher | Featured Artist |
| 51 | Luther Vandross | Featured Artist |
| 52 | Narada Michael Walden | Arranger, Audio Production, Producer, Rhythm Arrangements |
| 53 | Bob West | Composer |
| 54 | Tyrone Wrice | Composer |
| Quality | Format | Encoding | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | MP3 | 320kps 44.1kHz | MP3 is an audio coding format which uses a form of lossy data compression. The highest bitrate of this format is 320kbps (kbit/s). MP3 Digital audio takes less amount of space (up to 90% reduction in size) and the quality is not as good as the original one. |
| CD Quality | FLAC | 16bit 44.1kHz | FLAC is an audio coding format which uses lossless compression. Digital audio in FLAC format has a smaller size and retains the same quality of the original Compact Disc (CD). |