Mariah recorded a special concert at the legendary Proctor's Theatre in Schenectady, New York, on July 15 and 16, 1993. “We did it in this beautiful old theater,” she told The Boston Globe. “For the first eight rows, we gave away tickets to my fan club. I had people coming up to me saying they had driven all the way from Colorado. It's mind-boggling when somebody tells you they traveled that far to see you.”
Having never toured before, this was Mariah's first concert in front of a live audience. “When I put my first album out, I'd practically never performed — ever. I had to learn about performing on huge TV shows, so I was really really nervous,” she explained. “But now it's like when I perform I can let myself go more and just get into each song and really sing it from the heart. I'm not worried so much. Doing Unplugged really was a learning experience for me and it was a fun experience too because up until that point I really never did and extended concert. There was only about 6 songs, but that was a big deal for me.”
Mariah debuted four songs from her then-unreleased Music Box album (“Hero,” “Without You,” “Dreamlover” and “Anytime You Need A Friend.”), as well as performing hit singles “Emotions,” “Make It Happen,” “Love Takes Time” and “Someday.” She was also joined by Trey Lorenz for an intimate backstage performance of “I'll Be There” for the Police Athletic League.
The special was originally broadcast as Mariah's Thanksgiving Special on NBC on November 25, 1993, and was released on VHS and LaserDisc on December 14, 1993, including additional behind-the-scenes footage and the “Dreamlover” music video as a bonus. It was later released on DVD, on September 12, 2006, and became available digitally on December 7, 2021.
The live versions of “Dreamlover” and “Hero” were included as bonus tracks on different CD singles. To commemorate the 30th anniversary of Mariah's Music Box album, newly remastered HQ audio from the concert became available on September 8, 2023.
| Track # | Song | Run time |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Emotions
Written by Mariah Carey, David Cole, Robert Clivillés. |
4:18 |
| 2 | Hero
Written by Mariah Carey, Walter Afanasieff. |
4:17 |
| 3 | Someday
Written by Mariah Carey, Ben Margulies. |
3:58 |
| 4 | Without You
Written by William Peter Ham, Tom Evans. |
4:21 |
| 5 | Make It Happen
Written by Mariah Carey, David Cole, Robert Clivillés. |
4:31 |
| 6 | Dreamlover
Written by Mariah Carey, Dave Hall. |
4:03 |
| 7 | Love Takes Time
Written by Mariah Carey, Ben Margulies. |
3:55 |
| 8 | Anytime You Need A Friend
Written by Mariah Carey, Walter Afanasieff. |
3:51 |
| 9 | Vision Of Love
Written by Mariah Carey, Ben Margulies. |
4:00 |
| 10 | I'll Be There (featuring Trey Lorenz)
Written by Hal Davis, Berry Gordy, Willie Hutch, Bob West. |
4:26 |
Here Is Mariah Carey was originally available on VHS and LaserDisc. It was released on DVD on September 12, 2006.
