How Mariah Carey Felt About Working With Whitney Houston for ‘The Prince of Egypt’
The very idea of Mariah Carey and Whitney Houston collaborating is breathtaking. Carey discussed what it was like getting to know Houston while they worked on the movie The Prince of Egypt. She also revealed that something about the creative process irked her.
Mariah Carey and Whitney Houston did a song by a Broadway titan for ‘The Prince of Egypt’
In her 2020 book The Meaning of Mariah Carey, the “Touch My Body” singer recalled producer Jeffrey Katzenberg asking her to perform “When You Believe” with Houston for The Prince of Egypt. Katzenberg was a Disney producer who later went on to co-found DreamWorks SKG. Neither singer had anything to do with the writing of the song. “When You Believe” was by Stephen Schwartz, who is known for writing tunes for Pocahontas, The Hunchback of Notre-Dame, and Enchanted. He also wrote the Broadway musicals Wicked, Pippin, and Godspell. While he’s a legend in the world of musical theater, he has less experience writing pop songs.
“It was a major pop-culture moment that Whitney and I were collaborating, but I was personally so happy we did because we ended up having a wonderful time together,” Carey wrote. “Everybody wanted to pit us against each other in some ‘battle of the divas’ — a tired but pervasive pathology in music and Hollywood that makes women compete for sales like emotional UFC fighters. This narrative just supports the stereotype of all women being petty and not in control of our feelings, yet totally controllable by the boys in the industry.”
The ‘Hero’ singer said her Whitney Houston duet is about the power of sisterhood
In The Meaning of Mariah Carey, the “Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)” singer says she was fond of “When You Believe.” Carey revealed that “When You Believe” was meaningful to her and Houston because of their shared Christian faith. “We had fun and laughed a lot,” she recalled. “Doing the video was great fun too; we had many incredible moments together.
“Every day we spent together was special, and I’ll always cherish the memory of that time and of all that she left behind,” she said. “‘When You Believe’ stands as a testimony to the power of faith and, to me, sisterhood here on earth as it is in heaven.”
Mariah Carey was upset nobody asked her to write the song
During a 2018 episode of Watch What Happens Live!, Carey expressed mixed feelings about the song. She was happy to work with Houston, her idol. However, she was annoyed that DreamWorks didn’t ask her to write a hit for the film herself. When she recorded “When You Believe,” Carey had released 13 No. 1 singles. She co-wrote all of them, except for a cover of The Jackson 5’s “I’ll Be There.” If anyone knew how to write a 1990s hit, it was Carey.
Today, “When You Believe” is mostly remembered for its star power. It’s not as ubiquitous as some other songs by Carey or Houston. Maybe it would be more popular if Carey was allowed to write or co-write it!
“When You Believe” is a great pop culture moment, even if it’s not a great song.
