Jermaine Dupri says he encouraged Mariah Carey to make this music addition to “We Belong Together”

When Jermaine Dupri wrote and produced Mariah Carey‘s 2005 hit “We Belong Together,” he had to encourage the singer to do one of the many things she’s known for doing well: add her signature high note to the track. 

In an interview with The Estelle Show on Apple Music in honor of the 30th anniversary of his label So So Def, the iconic producer said the demo version of the song hadn’t included the special note, but he was determined to incorporate it into the song. 

“When we did ‘We Belong Together,’ this song became song of the decade,” he said. “But prior to it becoming song of the decade, I had to tell Mariah, ‘You got to hit that note at the end. People want to hear Mariah Carey do the note.'”

Dupri remembers telling the Grammy winner “you hit that note, then we good.”

“If I’m not mistaken, L.A. [Reid] definitely said, ‘If she hits the note at the end, this song is a rocket,'” he recalled.

And Mariah did hit that note. And the song did take off. 

“We Belong Together” spent 14 nonconsecutive weeks at number one on Billboard‘s Hot 100 chart and 14 consecutive weeks atop the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. The song received numerous accolades, including wins at the Radio Music, Soul Train, Teen Choice and Vibe awards. At the 48th Grammy Awards, Carey was nominated in eight categories, with the song winning Best R&B Song and Best Female R&B Vocal Performance.