A midtempo pop and R&B ballad, "Always Be My Baby" describes the attachment the singer feels towards an estranged lover, while confidently asserting that they will eventually reunite.

The song was a commercial success, becoming Carey's eleventh chart-topper on the Billboard Hot 100, tying her with Madonna and Whitney Houston for most number-one singles by a female artist at the time.

The accompanying music video for "Always Be My Baby" features scenes of Carey frolicking by a campsite in upstate New York, as well as swinging on a Cooper Tire over a lake.

Additional inter-cuts include scenes of two children, one male and female, sneaking out at night and spending time together by a campfire similar to Carey's location.

[3][4] According to Carey, she opted to work with Dupri because he had a "very distinct vibe",[1] and said they share a lot of musical influences and childhood favorite songs.

As Seal played different keys on the piano, Carey led him with the melody she was "hearing inside her head" and began humming the phrase "always be my baby".

[8] Instead of remaining in the studio until the song was finished, they worked from 9:00 am to 5:30 pm, at which time Mottola would end their session to take Carey to dinner, regardless of the progress they had made.

[15] Rolling Stone's Brittany Spanos identified the track as one of the "more straightforward pop hits from the early portion of [Carey's] career, featuring a catchy chorus and one of her most tender vocal performances".

[17] Spin's Brenton Blanchet described it as "not quite a ballad and it's not quite a doo-wop anthem", although its "do-do-dos" might convince listeners otherwise,[18] and Pitchfork observed Motown influences in its chorus.

[19] Pitchfork's Jamieson Cox observed that "there are moments ... where all you hear is Mariah singing over rock-solid piano chords", finding its arrangement and simplicity "almost surprising given her taste for the ostentatious".

[20] Chris Gayomali of GQ said that, musically, the song begins conventionally before surprising listeners by introducing elements such as a guitar-played intro and Carey harmonizing with herself in different octaves, before culminating in a key change where the singer "just really starts going full-throttle".

[21]Jordan Runtagh of People and Tom Breihan of Stereogum described the ballad as a hybrid between a love and breakup song,[4][6] with the latter saying Carey expresses "near-psychotic levels of self-confidence" by remaining unbothered despite having been dumped.

[12][22] According to Billboard's Jason Lipshutz, Carey sings from a position of understanding that she can not salvage her relationship; she promises she will thrive, regardless of whether or not her partner returns.

[11] Another writer for Billboard, Charné Graham, agreed that Carey takes "a more optimistic" approach to heartbreak, describing her declarations that her partner's departure is only temporary as "almost-threatening".

[22] Instrumentation includes piano, "tinny" keyboards,[9] drums,[27] and acoustic guitar that "ides the beat a little bit", according to Breihan,[6] and "has the artificial shimmer of a romanticized memory", according to Nelson.

He added that "the pop princess reminds us that she has the loose-wristed soul to go with those deliciously soaring and dramatic high notes amid a sweet arrangement of easy acoustic guitars, rolling piano lines, and chipper jeep beats.

[30] Ken Tucker from Entertainment Weekly complimented the song's "relaxed swing", and felt that its instrumentation helped make it a standout from the album.

[31] Alan Jones from Music Week stated that "it's a concise, fairly subdued and very catchy tune and a fine showcase for Carey, who resists the temptation to indulge too heavily in vocal gymnastics.

[41] In 2020, Billboard placed it first in a ranking of the singer's 100 greatest songs, describing "Always Be My Baby" as a "practically unmatched" track that "crystallizes Carey's pop genius and has imprinted itself on millions".

[42] Ranking "Always Be My Baby" Carey's second best number-one, Glenn Gamboa of Newsday noted that the song "shows that she can be chill and laid-back enough to make 'doobedoo oh' work as a chorus".

[18] Alexis Petridis of The Guardian ranked it Carey's sixth-greatest single, noting that 2005's "Don't Forget About Us" is a spiritual successor due to appearing to revisit "lyrical heartbreak set to music that feels sunlit".

[27] Nicholas Hautman of Us Weekly said the song's success, which was Carey's first collaboration with Dupri, ultimately led to "one of the strongest partnerships in modern-day music".

[54] The song became Carey's 11th chart topper in the United States, tying her with Madonna and Whitney Houston as the female solo artist with the most number-one singles, a record she soon passed.

Towards the end of the video, scenes of the studio are shown, intermingled with snippets of Carey walking inside the mansion she shared with then-husband Tommy Mottola.

[citation needed] During her Rainbow World Tour, Carey wore a two piece outfit, a pair of pants and top, with golden heels.

[citation needed] On her Elusive Chanteuse Show in 2014, Carey often used the song as her encore, entering the stage in a tight-fitted blue gown and black gloves.

Carey also included the song in her 2018–2019 Las Vegas residency The Butterfly Returns, where she was accompanied by her children Moroccan and Monroe in selected dates.

[69] In 2015, girl group Fifth Harmony heavily sampled "Always Be My Baby" in their song "Like Mariah", a track from their debut studio album, Reflection, that features rapper Tyga.

Known as the "Mr. Dupri Mix", it features re-sung vocals with all of the lyrics and most of the melodic structure retained while using a sample of the song "Tell Me If You Still Care" by The SOS Band.

In 2021, Carey recorded a new version of the song which was included in the HBO Max's animated television special, The Runaway Bunny based on the book of the same name.