Angels Cry (song)

This is a good article. Click here for more information.
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
This article is about the Mariah Carey song. For other songs with the same title, see Angels Cry (disambiguation).

"Angels Cry"
Song by Mariah Carey
from the album
Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel
ReleasedSeptember 29, 2009
Recorded2009
Studio
  • Boom Boom Room (Burbank, California)
  • Honeywest (NYC, New York)
  • Soapbox Studios (Atlanta, Georgia)
GenreR&B
Length4:02
LabelIsland Def Jam
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
  • Carey
  • Stewart
  • Wright
"Angels Cry"
Single by Mariah Carey featuring Ne-Yo
ReleasedJanuary 26, 2010 (2010-01-26)
Recorded2009
Studio
  • Boom Boom Room (Burbank, California)
  • Honeywest (NYC, New York)
  • Soapbox Studios (Atlanta, Georgia)
GenreR&B
Length3:54
LabelIsland Def Jam
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
  • Carey
  • Stewart
  • Wright
Mariah Carey singles chronology
"Up Out My Face"
(2010) 		"Angels Cry"
(2010) 		"Oh Santa!"
(2010)
Ne-Yo singles chronology
"Never Knew I Needed"
(2009) 		"Angels Cry"
(2010) 		"Super High"
(2010)
Music video
"Angels Cry" on
YouTube

"Angels Cry" is a song by American singer and songwriter Mariah Carey from her twelfth studio album, Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel (2009). It was written and produced by Carey, Tricky Stewart and James "Big Jim" Wright, with additional songwriting from Crystal Johnson. On the album's track listing, "Angels Cry" is preceded by a one-minute, four second prelude called "Angel (The Prelude)", which consists of Carey performing purely in her whistle register. The prelude then leads into "Angels Cry", a song about trying to fix a broken relationship because true love only happens once. Carey released "Angels Cry" as a remix single featuring Ne-Yo in January 2010 for a proposed Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel remix album called Angels Advocate, which was ultimately shelved.

Background and release

"Angels Cry" was written and produced by

Studio at the Palms in Las Vegas in addition to Honeywest Studios.[1] The prelude consists of Carey performing only whistle notes.[3]

Carey revealed that she intended to re-release Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel as a remix album in early 2010, titled

urban contemporary radio in the United States on January 26, 2010.[6][7] It was made available for digital download on February 23, 2010, in Canada and the United States.[8][9] A release date of February 23, 2010, for the album was slated, and then pushed back to March 9.[5] It was then further pushed back to March 30.[10] However, it was confirmed in March 2010 that production of Angels Advocate had halted and the project was shelved indefinitely.[4][11] Island Def Jam stated that the singer was instead working on a new project and "new surprises".[4] Metro revealed that Carey was possibly recording a Christmas album.[12]

Composition and reception

Ne-Yo was featured on the remix of "Angels Cry"

"Angels Cry" is an

Plugged In thought that the lyrics were "depressing,"[15] while Lauren Murphy of Entertainment IE felt that the lyrics "When you and I say goodbye, I felt the angels cry" were too sentimental.[16] Although Ann Powers of Los Angeles Times thought that the song had a "sad" tone, she praised its production.[17] Musically, the remix does not greatly differ from that of the original apart from a new second verse by Ne-Yo.[18]

About.com placed "Angels Cry" in his list of the album's best tracks.[21]

Leonie Cooper of

Idolator also felt that the track was a "typically Mariah-esque ballad".[18] Michael Cragg of musicOMH was critical of the song, writing that it is a "limp ballad" which he thought was trying too hard at recreating some of Carey's previous material, and concluded by writing that it "ultimately ends up making you want to hear the original version more than anything".[23]

Chart performance

In the United States, the remix peaked at number twenty-six on the

UK R&B Chart.[28][29] In South Korea, it peaked at number 72 on the main Digital Chart.[30]

Music video

The accompanying music video for the remix of "Angels Cry" was directed by Carey's then husband, Nick Cannon.[31] In December 2009, Cannon spoke of the video's concept, saying "This video is going to be simplistically genius! No bells and whistles, just documenting history and brilliance. Two of the worlds [sic] greatest song writers in the studio crafting a masterpiece. I hope the world is ready to hear 'Angels Cry'".[32] It premiered simultaneously with the video for "Up Out My Face" with Nicki Minaj on Vevo on January 28, 2010.[31] The video shows Carey and Ne-Yo collaborating on the song together in a recording studio.[33]

The video starts with Carey walking in the rain to meet Ne-Yo who is waiting for her in the studio. Clips of Carey singing in desperation in the rain are intercut with footage of her recording her vocals in the recording booth. For his scenes, Ne-Yo sings as he stands next to as well as plays the piano as Carey reminisces by herself, while other scenes show him in the booth with Carey as they sing their parts together. Ne-Yo’s ex-fiancée Monyetta Shaw can also be seen in the video, Carey is seen holding her fragrance and gives Shaw a sample on her neck which Ne-Yo proceeds to get a whiff of. At the video's climax, both singers are belt the final note in the booth, which is followed by them walking out of the studio where it has stopped raining and the sun is shining. Robbie Daw wrote that the video gave him "chills". He also commented on the use of

M and her own brand of champagne.[34] Melinda Newman of HitFix thought that the video appeared to have a bigger production budget than that of the video for "Up Out My Face" with Minaj, but noted that it was still "low-key" for a Carey video.[31] Newman further commented that while the singer appears to be wearing albeit little make-up, she looked more natural and "beautiful" than ever.[31] Leonie Cooper thought that the video made the "bland" song more appealing: "the video, with a moist Mariah mithering in the rain, preposterous sequinned gold boots, a puppy in the studio, and shameless pimping of her latest perfume, kind of makes up for it."[22]

Charts

Chart (2009–10) Peak
position
Japan (
Japan Hot 100)[27]
 89
South Korea (
Gaon)[35]

Mariah only 		77
South Korea (
Gaon)[36]

Remix with Ne-Yo 		4
UK Singles (OCC)[28]
 81
UK R&B (OCC)[29]
 28
US Adult Contemporary (Billboard)[24] 26
US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (Billboard)[26] 90

Certifications and sales

Certifications and sales for "Angels Cry"
Region Certification Certified units/sales
Brazil (Pro-Música Brasil)[37] Gold 30,000‡

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Release history

Country Date Format Label
United States January 26, 2010 Rhythmic contemporary[6] Island Def Jam
Urban contemporary[7]
Canada February 23, 2010 Digital download[8][9]
United States

References

  1. ^ a b Carey, Mariah (2009). Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel (Liner Notes). Island Records (Compact Disc). Mariah Carey. New York.
  2. ^ "Mariah Carey – Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel". iTunes Store. September 29, 2009. Retrieved September 26, 2015.
  3. ^ Farber, Jim (September 29, 2009). "Mariah Carey's 'Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel' obscures any chance at vocal perfection". New York Daily News. Retrieved September 27, 2015.
  4. ^ a b c Hasty, Kate (March 22, 2010). "Mariah Carey's 'Angels Advocate' remix album served indefinitely". HitFix. Retrieved September 17, 2015.
  5. ^ a b c Vena, Jocelyn (January 15, 2010). "Mariah Carey's Angels Advocate Release Date Pushed Back". MTV News. Retrieved September 17, 2015.
  6. ^ a b "Rhythmic Contemporary Week Of: January 26, 2010". Radio & Records. January 26, 2010. Archived from the original on April 2, 2012. Retrieved September 27, 2015.
  7. ^ a b "Urban Contemporary Week Of: January 26, 2010". Radio & Records. January 26, 2010. Archived from the original on April 2, 2012. Retrieved September 24, 2015.
  8. ^ a b "Angels Cry (Remix) [feat. Ne-Yo] – Single". iTunes Store. November 28, 2010. Retrieved September 28, 2015.
  9. ^ a b "Angels Cry (Remix) [feat. Ne-Yo] –Single". iTunes Store. February 23, 2010. Retrieved September 28, 2015.
  10. ^ Concepcion, Mariel (January 28, 2010). "Mariah Carey's 'Angels Advocate' Remix Album Due March 30". Billboard. Retrieved September 17, 2015.
  11. ^ Vozick-Levinson, Simon (March 23, 2010). "Mariah Carey: 'Angels Advocate' remix album cancelled". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved September 17, 2015.
  12. ^ "Mariah Carey scraps Angels Advocate remix album". Metro. March 24, 2010. Retrieved September 17, 2015.
  13. ^ Bein, Kat (January 30, 2018). "10 Songs About Angels". Billboard. Retrieved January 12, 2019.
  14. ISSN 0006-2510
    . Retrieved August 28, 2015.
  15. ^
    Plugged In. Archived from the original
    on October 20, 2009. Retrieved June 22, 2014.
  16. ^ Murphy, Lauren (October 14, 2009). "Mariah Carey – Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel". Entertainment IE. Retrieved September 28, 2015.
  17. ^ Powers, Ann (September 29, 2009). "Album review: Mariah Carey's 'Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel'". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved September 26, 2015.
  18. ^
    Idolator
    . Retrieved September 28, 2015.
  19. ^ a b c "Single Reviews: Mariah Carey ft Ne-Yo – Angels Cry". Digital Spy. March 21, 2010. Archived from the original on March 22, 2010. Retrieved March 21, 2010.
  20. ^ "Mariah Carey Up Out My Face (Remix)". DJ Booth. Retrieved September 27, 2015.
  21. About.com. Archived from the original
    on July 13, 2014. Retrieved September 25, 2015.
  22. ^ a b Cooper, Leonie (March 27, 2010). "Singles out this week". The Guardian. Retrieved September 28, 2015.
  23. ^ Cragg, Michael (November 16, 2009). "Mariah Carey – Memoirs of An Imperfect Angel". musicOMH. Retrieved September 28, 2015.
  24. ^ a b "Mariah Carey Adult Contemporary Chart History". Billboard. Retrieved September 28, 2015.
  25. ^ a b Trust, Gary (March 10, 2010). "Chart Beat Wednesday: Muse, Billy Currington, Mariah Carey – Chart Beat". Billboard. Retrieved September 28, 2015.
  26. ^ a b "Mariah Carey Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs Chart History". Billboard. Retrieved September 28, 2015.
  27. ^ a b "Billboard Japan Hot 100: March 22, 2010". Billboard. Archived from the original on October 26, 2017. Retrieved November 26, 2018.
  28. ^ a b "Mariah Carey Chart History". Official Charts Company. Retrieved September 28, 2015.
  29. ^ a b "Official R&B Singles Chart Top 40 – 11 April 2010 – 17 April 2010". Official Charts Company. April 17, 2010. Retrieved September 28, 2015.
  30. Gaon
    . Retrieved January 26, 2021.
  31. ^ a b c d Newman, Melinda (January 28, 2010). "Mariah Carey debuts two new videos from forthcoming remix album". HitFix. Retrieved September 27, 2015.
  32. ^ "Mariah Carey & Ne-Yo's 'Angels Cry (remix)' Video Stills". Rap-Up. December 22, 2009. Retrieved September 29, 2015.
  33. ^ "Video: Mariah Carey f/ Ne-Yo – 'Angels Cry'". Rap-Up. January 27, 2010. Retrieved September 29, 2015.
  34. ^ Daw, Robbie (January 28, 2013). "Mariah Carey is All Wet in Angels Cry". Idolator. Retrieved September 29, 2015.
  35. Gaon Music Chart
    (in Korean). Retrieved February 16, 2022.
  36. Gaon Music Chart
    (in Korean). Retrieved February 16, 2022.
  37. ^ "Brazilian single certifications – Mariah Carey – Angels Cry" (in Portuguese). Pro-Música Brasil. Retrieved February 29, 2024.

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Angels_Cry_(song)&oldid=1217102339"