Fantasy

While writing songs for her fifth album, Daydream, Mariah Carey heard Tom Tom Club's "Genius of Love" on the radio and decided to build an up-tempo track around its hook. The song that resulted, "Fantasy," was written and produced by Carey with Dave Hall, who developed a groove he felt would highlight her voice. Carey said the feeling the sample gave her reminded her of growing up and listening to the radio, and it matched the melody and basic idea she already had. When the pair called Tom Tom Club, the group was intrigued and immediately signed over the rights. Hall later recalled the song took little time to make, with Carey "busting it out" within two days. After a rough copy was played for Columbia CEO Tommy Mottola, Carey's husband, he loved it and agreed to include it on the album.

Columbia Records released "Fantasy" on August 23, 1995, as the lead single from Daydream. The lyrics describe a woman in love with a man who fantasizes about an impossible relationship each time she sees him. A remix featuring rap verses from Ol' Dirty Bastard was arranged by Carey to help her cross over into the hip-hop market, part of a broader move toward urban R&B on the album.

The single topped charts in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the United States. In the US, it became the first song by a female artist to debut at number one on the Billboard Hot 100, where it stayed for eight consecutive weeks and became Carey's ninth chart-topper. She directed the music video herself, her first time directing, rollerblading through Playland Amusement Park in Rye, New York.