The Memoirs of a Butterfly My All From Trace (by...

The Memoirs of a Butterfly

My All

From Trace (by Eddie Brannan):
”Butterfly is the latest in a long line of mega-selling albums from the Carey hit factory. It has the power-ballads for which she’s globally, incredibly, unimaginably famous, and which emerge from a long-standing collaborative arrangement with producer/arranger/composer/songwriter Walter Afanasieff. His name has appeared on all her albums to date, so it is no surprise to see his credit after quintessentially Mariah songs like My All, Fourth Of July, and the album’s title track.” June, 1998

One of the last tracks produced by Walter Afanasieff for Carey was My All. Carey recalls, “I had gone to Puerto Rico and was influenced by Latin music at that moment. When I came back, the melody was in my head. It was at a melancholy point in my life and the song reflects the yearning that was going on in me.” During an interview with Fred Bronson, Walter explained how the song was created: “I remember being in the back part of the studio, and we were sitting there late at night and writing. I was strolling through some sounds and came upon a particular sound from a steel acoustic guitar. I played these really beautiful chord changes that eventually led to ‘My All.’ She started singing and I started playing, and we came up with the basis for the song.”

Facts and Legacy

This was Mariah’s last single with the collaboration of Walter Afanasieff.
My All has two important remixes: My All/Stay Awhile (So So Def Remix), which sampled Loose Ends song “Stay a Little While”, and David Morales dance remix, My All (Classic Club Mix).
There’s a Spanish version, named Mi Todo.
Carey later mentioned on her website that she would no longer record Spanish versions of her songs until she could verify the correct lyrics and pronunciation.
There are two music videos from the song: one for the original song and other for My All/Stay Awhile (So So Def Remix).
My All was nominated for Best International Single on Mobo Awards and won a BMI Pop Music Award.

Charts and Sellings

My All was #1 in U.S. It reached top 5 in U.K.; top 10 in Belgium (Wallonia), European (Summary chart), France, Spain and Swiss; and; top 20 in Norway and Sweden.
It was certified with Silver in France and Platinum in U.S.
My All has sold more than 2,5 million copies around the world.

Source: Wikipedia, Heroes of Mariah, MC Archives, YouTube, Mariah Daily Journal and Mariah Carey Collection