# Without You (Mariah Carey recording)
"Without You" is a ballad recorded by the American singer [Mariah Carey](https://www.edgepedia.org/mariah-carey) as a cover of the 1970 [Badfinger](https://www.edgepedia.org/badfinger) song, modeled on [Harry Nilsson](https://www.edgepedia.org/harry-nilsson)'s 1971 hit version, and released in early 1994 as the third single from her third studio album *Music Box* (1993).[4](https://www.officialcharts.com/chart-news/official-charts-flashback-1994-mariah-carey-without-you__4716/) Although it peaked at number three on the United States Billboard Hot 100, it became Carey's first number-one single in the United Kingdom and topped the charts across much of Europe.[1](https://www.mariahcareynetwork.com/music/singles/withoutyou.html)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Artist / album | Mariah Carey, third single from *Music Box* (1993)[1](https://www.mariahcareynetwork.com/music/singles/withoutyou.html) |
| Songwriters | Pete Ham and Tom Evans of Badfinger (written and first recorded 1970)[2](https://www.allmusic.com/song/without-you-mt0011399202) |
| Model | Carey's version follows Harry Nilsson's arrangement rather than Badfinger's original[3](https://classicrockartists.com/without-you-badfinger/) |
| US release | Double A-side with "Never Forget You," January 25, 1994[1](https://www.mariahcareynetwork.com/music/singles/withoutyou.html) |
| US peak | Number three on the Billboard Hot 100; 13 weeks in the Top 10[1](https://www.mariahcareynetwork.com/music/singles/withoutyou.html) |
| UK peak | Number one for four weeks; Carey's first UK chart-topper[4](https://www.officialcharts.com/chart-news/official-charts-flashback-1994-mariah-carey-without-you__4716/) |
| Producers | Walter Afanasieff and Mariah Carey[1](https://www.mariahcareynetwork.com/music/singles/withoutyou.html) |
| Later certification | Platinum from the RIAA on March 27, 2022[1](https://www.mariahcareynetwork.com/music/singles/withoutyou.html) |
## Origins of the song
"Without You" was written by [Pete Ham](https://www.edgepedia.org/pete-ham) and [Tom Evans](https://www.edgepedia.org/tom-evans-musician) of the Welsh rock band Badfinger and first appeared as an album track on the band's 1970 LP *No Dice*.[2](https://www.allmusic.com/song/without-you-mt0011399202) The original recording is a melancholy love ballad whose desperation peaks on the chorus, where the narrator declares he cannot live without his lover.[2](https://www.allmusic.com/song/without-you-mt0011399202) Harry Nilsson heard the song at a party in Laurel Canyon and, according to legend, initially assumed it was a Beatles song.[5](https://www.mcarchives.com/artikel.asp?id=12438) His version, released on 11 October 1971 on *Nilsson Schmilsson*, transformed the track into a large-scale orchestral power ballad after producer [Richard Perry](https://www.edgepedia.org/richard-perry) persuaded him to abandon his plan for a stark solo-piano arrangement.[6](https://www.musicradar.com/artists/singers-songwriters/he-wanted-his-version-of-the-song-to-be-a-stark-heavy-solo-piano-thing-but-they-convinced-him-to-turn-it-into-a-grand-crashing-theatrical-monster-ballad-complete-with-orchestra-the-story-of-nilssons-without-you) Nilsson's recording reached number one on the UK Official Singles Chart in 1972, where it stayed for five weeks, and won a Grammy for Best Male Pop Vocal in 1973.[4](https://www.officialcharts.com/chart-news/official-charts-flashback-1994-mariah-carey-without-you__4716/) • [7](https://edcyphers.com/2012/02/25/songs-with-stories-2/)
## Carey's decision to record it
**A restaurant hearing.** Carey said in 1993 that she had loved the song as a little girl, when it always made her cry, and that hearing it again in a restaurant during the *Music Box* sessions prompted her to record it: "I heard it again when I was in a restaurant and I was like, 'I love this song, this is such a great song, I haven't heard it in so long' and I just decided that I wanted to cover it."[1](https://www.mariahcareynetwork.com/music/singles/withoutyou.html) Her version stayed close to Nilsson's rendition rather than the Badfinger original, with production credited to [Walter Afanasieff](https://www.edgepedia.org/walter-afanasieff) and Carey herself.[3](https://classicrockartists.com/without-you-badfinger/) • [1](https://www.mariahcareynetwork.com/music/singles/withoutyou.html) Background vocals on the recording came from Melonie Daniels, Kelly Price, and Shanrae Price, with Afanasieff handling keyboards, acoustic guitar, bass, synthesizer, and programming.[8](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v8H-MXjRB2Y)
## Release and chart performance
[Columbia Records](https://www.edgepedia.org/columbia-records) issued "Without You" in the United States on January 25, 1994, as a double A-side with "Never Forget You," one week after Nilsson died of a heart attack on January 15.[1](https://www.mariahcareynetwork.com/music/singles/withoutyou.html) • [9](https://stereogum.com/2032633/the-number-ones-nilssons-without-you/columns/the-number-ones) The single peaked at number three on the Billboard Hot 100 and spent thirteen weeks in the Top 10.[1](https://www.mariahcareynetwork.com/music/singles/withoutyou.html) In the United Kingdom, after nine [Top 40](https://www.edgepedia.org/top-40) hits without a chart-topper, Carey debuted at number one in 1994 and held the position for four weeks; the song sold 470,000 copies there and ended 1994 as the country's seventh best-selling single.[4](https://www.officialcharts.com/chart-news/official-charts-flashback-1994-mariah-carey-without-you__4716/) • [1](https://www.mariahcareynetwork.com/music/singles/withoutyou.html)
The song's strongest commercial performance came in Europe and Australia. It topped the singles charts in Austria, Belgium, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, the Netherlands, Scotland, Sweden, and Switzerland.[1](https://www.mariahcareynetwork.com/music/singles/withoutyou.html) In Australia it became Carey's first Top 5 entry, peaking at number three during the week of April 3, 1994 and remaining in the Top 10 for twelve consecutive weeks.[1](https://www.mariahcareynetwork.com/music/singles/withoutyou.html) Decades later the recording continued to earn certifications: Platinum from the [Australian Recording Industry Association](https://www.edgepedia.org/australian-recording-industry-association) on September 19, 2019, Platinum from the [British Phonographic Industry](https://www.edgepedia.org/british-phonographic-industry) on December 11, 2020, and Platinum from the [Recording Industry Association of America](https://www.edgepedia.org/recording-industry-association-of-america) on March 27, 2022.[1](https://www.mariahcareynetwork.com/music/singles/withoutyou.html)
## Music video and performances
The music video consists of Carey's performance of the song from her 1993 television special *Here Is Mariah Carey*, taped at Proctor's Theatre in [Schenectady, New York](https://www.edgepedia.org/schenectady-new-york).[1](https://www.mariahcareynetwork.com/music/singles/withoutyou.html) • [10](https://musicbrainz.org/work/b44b2f21-0e6a-3ef2-8a20-3c8bdf06233c) She performed the song live at venues including [Madison Square Garden](https://www.edgepedia.org/madison-square-garden) in 1995 and the [Tokyo Dome](https://www.edgepedia.org/tokyo-dome) in 1996, and on the British show *Top of the Pops* in 1994.[1](https://www.mariahcareynetwork.com/music/singles/withoutyou.html) Vocal analysts have noted the extended sustained notes she added to the arrangement; at the 2024 MusiCares tribute to Carey, the singer Teddy Swims performed the song and called it "really terrifying" to take on.[11](https://apnews.com/article/82a298e8413b96dde3aed4e4db7ef265)
## Reception and standing among the versions
The recording is one of the best-known of the song's many versions; according to ASCAP, "Without You" has been recorded by more than 180 artists.[6](https://www.musicradar.com/artists/singers-songwriters/he-wanted-his-version-of-the-song-to-be-a-stark-heavy-solo-piano-thing-but-they-convinced-him-to-turn-it-into-a-grand-crashing-theatrical-monster-ballad-complete-with-orchestra-the-story-of-nilssons-without-you) Critical assessments have divided along predictable lines. The Classic FM analysis by the soprano and broadcaster Catherine Bott argued that where Nilsson's style is quiet, lonely anguish, Carey's is a "deafening, public display of agony," and concluded that the cover proves she is "anything but a copycat artist."[12](https://www.classicfm.com/discover-music/music-theory/mariah-carey-singing-voice/) AllMusic's review, by contrast, called Carey's 1994 cover "unimaginative" while acknowledging its commercial reach multiplied the song's radio exposure.[2](https://www.allmusic.com/song/without-you-mt0011399202) On the crowd-sourced SecondHandSongs ratings, Nilsson's version leads at 4.42, with Carey's at 4.21 and Badfinger's original at 4.12.[13](https://secondhandsongs.com/work/4258/ratings)
The song has also remained visible in popular culture; it appears in the 2001 film *Bridget Jones's Diary* in a karaoke scene.[14](https://www.culledculture.com/mariah-carey-without-you/)
## References
1. [Without You, The Mariah Network](https://www.mariahcareynetwork.com/music/singles/withoutyou.html)
2. [Without You – Harry Nilsson, AllMusic (review by Richie Unterberger)](https://www.allmusic.com/song/without-you-mt0011399202)
3. [Without You Badfinger: The Story Behind Two No.1 Hits, Classic Rock Artists](https://classicrockartists.com/without-you-badfinger/)
4. [Official Charts Flashback 1994: Mariah Carey – Without You](https://www.officialcharts.com/chart-news/official-charts-flashback-1994-mariah-carey-without-you__4716/)
5. [The life of a song: "Without You", The Mariah Carey Archives](https://www.mcarchives.com/artikel.asp?id=12438)
6. [The story of Nilsson's Without You, MusicRadar (Neil Crossley, 2024)](https://www.musicradar.com/artists/singers-songwriters/he-wanted-his-version-of-the-song-to-be-a-stark-heavy-solo-piano-thing-but-they-convinced-him-to-turn-it-into-a-grand-crashing-theatrical-monster-ballad-complete-with-orchestra-the-story-of-nilssons-without-you)
7. [Story Behind The Song: Nilsson's 'Without You', Every Moment Has A Song](https://edcyphers.com/2012/02/25/songs-with-stories-2/)
8. [Mariah Carey – Without You (official audio), YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v8H-MXjRB2Y)
9. [The Number Ones: Nilsson's "Without You", Stereogum (Tom Breihan)](https://stereogum.com/2032633/the-number-ones-nilssons-without-you/columns/the-number-ones)
10. [Song "Without You", MusicBrainz](https://musicbrainz.org/work/b44b2f21-0e6a-3ef2-8a20-3c8bdf06233c)
11. [Mariah Carey's secret grunge album part of tribute at MusiCares event, AP News](https://apnews.com/article/82a298e8413b96dde3aed4e4db7ef265)
12. [A technical analysis of Mariah Carey's voice in 'Without You', Classic FM](https://www.classicfm.com/discover-music/music-theory/mariah-carey-singing-voice/)
13. [Best rated performances for Without You, SecondHandSongs](https://secondhandsongs.com/work/4258/ratings)
14. [Mariah Carey's New Single, "With You," Ironically Slightly Less Needy Than 1994 Single, "Without You", Culled Culture](https://www.culledculture.com/mariah-carey-without-you/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Music › Musical works and recordings › Compositions and songs › Cover versions and song lineage topics*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license