After being featured on Carey's demo tape for Columbia Records, the song was re-recorded and produced by Rhett Lawrence and Narada Michael Walden.

"Vision of Love" received universal acclaim from music critics, being praised for Carey's showy vocals and her wide singing range.

The New Yorker named "Vision of Love" the "Magna Carta of melisma" for its and Carey's influence on pop and R&B singers and American Idol contestants.

[5] Additionally, Rolling Stone said that "the fluttering strings of notes that decorate songs like "Vision of Love," inspired the entire American Idol vocal school, for better or worse, and virtually every other female R&B singer since the nineties.

[7] After composing a song with her friend Gavin Christopher (of "Once You Get Started" fame), Carey met drummer and songwriter Ben Margulies.

After initially meeting and becoming friends, the pair began spending time in his father's old studio, writing material and composing new songs.

On the final chorus, her voice flew towards those trademark high notes before the instruments drop out, leaving Mariah to sing her way out to the tune's climax alone.

Michael Slezak wrote: "Though it's not clear if she's celebrating a secular love or her relationship with a higher power, this exuberant ballad is a near-religious listening experience.

"[12] "Vision of Love" received universal acclaim from music critics, who complimented its lyrical content as well as Carey's vocals and use of melisma.

In 2019, Bill Lamb from About.com stated that "echoes of Whitney Houston's influence are evident, but the sheer power and swooping highs are all Mariah's own.

An editor, Bill Coleman, noted further that it "has all the elements necessary to propel newcomer to diva status: infectious melodies, lush instrumentation, and a vocal performance brimming with unbridled power and confidence.

"[4] In a retrospective review on the album in 2005, Michael Slezak from Entertainment Weekly called the song "inspired" and complimented Carey's use of the whistle register.

[23] Rolling Stone said that "the fluttering strings of notes that decorate songs like "Vision of Love", inspired the entire American Idol vocal school, for better or worse, and virtually every other female R&B singer since the nineties.

"[24] In a separate review from Slant, he wrote, "The last half of 'Vision Of Love' (starting with the belted bridge) is a series of crescendos that get so intense that another Mariah has to step in to keep up the momentum."

"[24] Jonathan Bernstein from Spin declared it as a "remarkable" debut single, and "a song so unsingable that aspiring chanteuses the world over have respirators ready in case they fail to make it through to the other side of the bridge.

In October 2019, the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) certified the song platinum, denoting shipments of one million units.

After fluctuating within the chart for 24 weeks, it was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of New Zealand (RIANZ), denoting shipments of over 7,500 units.

After the reports were made, Don Ienner, the president of Sony, refuted the claims, calling them "total bullshit" although admitting, "If we're going to take the time and effort that we did with Mariah, on every level, then we're going to image her the right way.

After the song's second verse, a large microphone is seen in the middle of the room, where scenes of Carey singing and standing on the window's ledge interchange.

"[43] Serving as her debut single, Carey performed "Vision of Love" on several live television and award show appearances, both stateside and throughout Europe.

Carey's first live performance of the song was on The Arsenio Hall Show, where she was joined on stage by the Billie T. Scott Ensemble, a trio of male background vocalists.

[43] Additionally, she sang it during a televised appearance at New York City's TATU Club, where she also gave a live rendition of Ben E. King's "Don't Play That Song (You Lied)".

[43] In Europe, Carey performed "Vision of Love" on Wogan in the United Kingdom, and Sacrée Soirée and Le Monde Est A Vous in France.

[citation needed] She featured her signature curly locks, and was joined by Trey Lorenz, Melonie Daniels and Kelly Price.

[citation needed] For the European leg on the tour, Carey wore a long white gown, and was joined by additional background vocalists.

[citation needed] Carey included the song on her set-list for her Butterfly World Tour (1998), where she once again featured the same trio of supporting singers.

[citation needed] Once again Lorenz was featured on stage, however with the addition of two different female back-up singers, MaryAnn and Sherry Tatum.

Powers added that "From its first moments, the song demands to be legendary—a gong crash smolders low as Mariah's gospel-inspired vocals hum confidently, grandly.

[53] Stereogum writer Tom Breihan noted that the song, "pretty much set the stage for a whole decade of showy, pyrotechnic '90s R&B vocals.

[5] Similarly, pop singers Rihanna and Christina Aguilera cited the song and Carey as big influences on their singing careers.