Mariah Carey’s 1995 hit “One Sweet Day” was a collaboration with the R&B vocal group Boyz II Men. The song appeared on Carey’s fifth studio album, Daydream, and was released as a single in November 1995.
Carey began developing the song after the death of her friend and former collaborator David Cole. She wanted to write about losing loved ones, while Boyz II Men were working on a similar idea. Their concepts became one song, combining Carey’s lead vocals with the group’s tightly layered harmonies.
Produced by Carey and Walter Afanasieff, “One Sweet Day” became a major commercial success. It debuted at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 and remained there for 16 consecutive weeks, a record at the time. The lyrics imagine reunion with a lost loved one in the afterlife.
The collaboration is sometimes misremembered because other vocal groups, including All-4-One and Jodeci, were also prominent in 1990s R&B. However, Boyz II Men are the featured group on this specific recording.