Throwback Thursday 'Fantasy' by Mariah Carey (1995)

Here we go again!

Anytime a new song covers or samples an old song, it is my duty to remind the people of the original. Or in this case, the other big song that sampled the original.

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Latto's song "Big Energy" may sound familiar and that is because it samples Mariah Carey's "Fantasy" from 1995.

Did you hear the nod to Mariah? In the beginning, Latto says, "I could be your fantasy."

Now, Mariah Carey sampled Tom Tom Club's "Genius of Love", so in turn, both Latto and Mariah sampled Tom Tom Club. (See that video below.)

Mariah Carey's "Fantasy" was off of her fifth album, Daydream.

"Fantasy" was HUGE and basically changed music forever because she used a sample in a pop song and because Mariah did a remix version of the song with Ol Dirty Bastard. "Fantasy" was the first song in recent history to mix pop, R&B, and hip-hop!

"Fantasy" was Mariah Carey's ninth #1 single on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart.

According to Wikipedia, "It became the first single by a female artist to open atop the chart, and only the second single to do so after "You Are Not Alone" by Michael Jackson.^[3] It debuted at number one due to the strong sales, which were expected to exceed 229,000 copies.^[11] It spent eight weeks at the top of the chart, from September 24 to November 18, 1995, Carey's longest stay at the time alongside "Dreamlover" (1993).^[3] It replaced "Gangsta's Paradise" by Coolio, and was replaced by Whitney Houston's "Exhale (Shoop Shoop)", which also debuted atop the Hot 100."

Other notable accomplishments include:

"Fantasy" spent 23 weeks in the top 40.
"Fantasy" debuted at #11 on the Mainstream R&B/Hip-Hop chart thus setting a record for the chart's highest debut. (Drake's "Nice for What" broke that record in 2018.)
"Fantasy" had such strong sales that it was certified triple-platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) (Mariah Carey's first single to do so.)
"Fantasy" was the second best-selling single of 1995 in the US, with sales of 1,500,000.
"Fantasy" was ranked seventh on the Hot 100 year-end charts for 1995
"Fantasy" was ranked 49th on the 1996 year-end charts.
"Fantasy" ranked at number 15 on the Hot 100 decade-end chart for the 1990s.

Oh, and Mariah Carey directed the music video herself.

Fun Fact: The amusement park (Playland in Rye, New York) in the music video is the same one from the Tom Hanks movie, Big.

Have You Ever Explored the 'War Eagle Monument' on the South Dakota/Iowa Border?

Originally being from the Sioux City area, I grew up knowing about the War Eagle Monument perched on a bluff along I-29. There was at least one field trip for every kid in the area to the monument.

However, speaking with folks from Sioux Falls, they didn't seem to know what I was talking about. All they know about I-29 in Sioux City was that it was usually under construction.

When crossing into Iowa from South Dakota on I-29, look up!