Mariah Carey’s hit single “I Don’t Wanna Cry” is from the 1990s.
The song was recorded for Carey’s self-titled debut album, Mariah Carey, which Columbia released in June 1990. It was written by Carey and producer Narada Michael Walden, and its torch-song lyrics focus on the end of a romantic relationship.
There is a small timing detail behind this question: although the song appeared on the 1990 album, Columbia released it as a single in March 1991. It therefore belongs firmly to the early 1990s, even though its original album appearance was in the final year of the 1980s-to-1990s transition.
“I Don’t Wanna Cry” became Carey’s fourth consecutive number-one single on the Billboard Hot 100 and spent two weeks at the top. That achievement made her the second act after the Jackson 5 to begin a career with four consecutive US number-one singles. It is sometimes confused with “Vision of Love,” her debut single, which was released in 1990 and also topped the chart.