How Mariah Carey’s Sister Inspired ‘One Sweet Day’

Mariah Carey‘s sister, Alison Carey, is in the news because she recently died. Some fans might not know that Alison inspired one of Mariah’s most famous ballads: “One Sweet Day,” a collaboration with the R&B group Boyz II Men. A member of Boyz II Men revealed that the group had their own interpretation of the song.

Mariah Carey was worried she’d lose her sister when she wrote ‘One Sweet Day’

According to Heavy.com, Alison was HIV positive. That had a massive effect on “One Sweet Day.” Notably, the song came out in 1995, a time when the HIV/AIDS pandemic was a huge problem in the United States and affected a lot of popular culture. While many fans were probably ignorant of the song’s themes, it comforted some of the people suffering through the pandemic.

During a 2016 interview with Billboard, songwriter Walter Afanasieff discussed the writing of “One Sweet Day” and the ballad’s theme of death and the afterlife. “While Mariah and I were writing the beginning stages of ‘One Sweet Day,’ it became a very, very personal song to Mariah because of the subject matter,” he said. “She was going through a very hard time; I believe it was because of her sister. There was a lot of fear that her sister was very ill and that she would lose her. From that place of loss or even just the potential for loss, she started to write these feelings.” 

Boyz II Men didn’t think the song was about Mariah Carey’s sister

The tune became a duet between the “Obsessed” star and Boyz II Men. A member of the band, Nathan Morris, discussed his feelings about “One Sweet Day.” “What it meant to us wasn’t same thing it meant to Mariah — even though we all did the song together,” he revealed. “From our side, our emotional attachment was to our road manager Khalil Rountree, who had gotten murdered on the road with us. Mariah was coming from a different place, but it’s one of those songs where as long as the sentiment is the same, it doesn’t matter what the actual incident is or was.”

Morris said that a collaboration between Carey and Boyz II Men was “a no-brainer,” as both artists were at their career peaks. However, there was still a chance that the final record would turn out bad. Despite this, he felt “One Sweet Day” was “powerful.” He regretted not being able to perform it live with the “Touch My Body” singer more often, blaming scheduling conflicts on Carey’s business. Regardless, he had no ill feelings toward Carey.

‘One Sweet Day’ took over the world

“One Sweet Day” was so popular it’s hard to put that popularity into words. Luckily, Billboard can do that for us. “One Sweet Day” topped the Billboard Hot 100 for 16 weeks, lasting on the chart for 27 weeks in total. To this day, that is a hugely impressive run. Carey included “One Sweet Day” on her album Daydream. The record was No. 1 on the Billboard 200 for six weeks, lasting on the chart for 81 weeks in total.It remains one of her most popular albums.

Carey got vulnerable with “One Sweet Day” and the song became one of her most beloved hits.