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Mariah Carey & Whitney Houston - When You Believe

Music Video | 1998
ArtistMariah Carey
ArtistWhitney Houston
SongWhen You Believe
AlbumSoundtrack _Prince Of Egypt_
DirectorPhil Joanou
IntroNo
OutroNo
Sound MixStereo
Technical Specificationscolour - format unknown
Release date

Wiki

Synopsis

Whitney Houston enters a dark, Egyptian-themed performance space and begins the song before Mariah Carey joins her onstage. The singers perform in front of a cheering audience, framed by imagery inspired by The Prince of Egypt and footage from the film, including the parting of the Red Sea. Brief backstage-style clips appear between the staged performance sections. As the arrangement builds, a large choir joins the duet, and the two singers leave the venue together after receiving a standing ovation.

Factoids & Trivia

  • The main video was filmed on October 26 and 27, 1998, at the Brooklyn Academy of Music in Brooklyn, New York.
  • The song was created for DreamWorks' 1998 animated feature The Prince of Egypt. Stephen Schwartz wrote the original song, while Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds supplied additional music and lyrics for the pop version.
  • The video uses concert-style staging rather than attempting to recreate the film's story. Egyptian-inspired sets and projected imagery connect the singers' live performance to the animated movie.
  • A separate alternate video was made for the NBC special When You Believe: Music Inspired by The Prince of Egypt, broadcast on December 13, 1998. That version presents Carey and Houston together on a church-like stage with a large stone altar.
  • The single version of the song won the Academy Award for Best Original Song. Carey and Houston later performed it together at the 71st Academy Awards in March 1999.
  • The video was notable for presenting two singers who had often been compared by the media as collaborators rather than rivals. Their public appearances around the release also helped dispel longstanding speculation about tension between them.

Lyrics

Many nights we prayed
With no proof anyone could hear
In our hearts, a hopeful song
We barely understood

Now we are not afraid
Although we know there's much to fear
We were moving mountains long
Before we knew we could, oh yes

There can be miracles when you believe
Though hope is frail, it's hard to kill
Who knows what miracles you can achieve
When you believe, somehow you will
...
© Mariah Carey & Whitney Houston - When You Believe. This is an excerpt, provided as citation under fair-use.
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