In 2001, Mariah recorded a medley of song “Never Too Far,” from the Glitter movie soundtrack, with her 1993 number-one single “Hero.” All the proceeds from the single sales were donated towards the New York City Police Foundation's Heroes Fund, a charity for victims of the September 11 attacks and their families, police officers and relief workers. “I started [performing] at different charity events where I did a combination of ‘Never Too Far’ and ‘Hero,’ ” Mariah said. “We made it into a medley and kinda put them both in the same key and just made it work, and people responded really well to it. It's been interesting for me, since the events of September 11, the way people have been playing ‘Hero’ and talking to me about ‘Never Too Far,’ 'cause that song is also about loss. I figured that it would be a nice thing to do, to put them both out for Christmas. I feel like it's our responsibility to do what we can right now in terms of music, just being artists and being human beings.”
After being commercially released on December 11, 2001, “Never Too Far / Hero Medley” made its debut on the Billboard Hot 100 during the week of December 29, becoming Mariah's twenty-sixth entry on the chart, where it peaked at number eighty-one.
Al B. Rich and Mike Rizzo were commissioned to remix the song, but the mixes remain were never released.
| Song | Remix | Run time |
|---|---|---|
| Never Too Far / Hero Medley | Extended Mix
|
7:43 |
| Never Too Far / Hero Medley | Radio Mix
|
3:43 |
| Never Too Far / Hero Medley | Radio Mix — With Intro
|
4:02 |
| Never Too Far / Hero Medley | Al B. Rich Inspiration X-Tended Mix
Produced by Al B. Rich. |
8:20 |
| Never Too Far / Hero Medley | Al B. Rich Inspiration Mix — Radio Edit
Produced by Al B. Rich. |
4:38 |
| Never Too Far / Hero Medley | Mike Rizzo Extended Club Recall Mix
Produced by Mike Rizzo. |
7:42 |
| Never Too Far / Hero Medley | Mike Rizzo Radio Recall Mix
Produced by Mike Rizzo. |
3:49 |
Mariah's performance of “Never Too Far / Hero” at the United We Stand benefit concert was used as the song's music video.
In the United States, the “Never Too Far / Hero Medley” CD Single, including the previously unreleased song “There For Me,” written with Diane Warren and David Foster, was released on December 11, 2001.
You're with me
Till the bitter end
What we have transcends
This experience
Too painful to
Talk about
So I'll hold it in
Till my heart can mend
And be brave enough to love again
A place in time
Still belongs to us
Stays preserved in my mind
In the memories there is solace
Oh
Never too far away
I won't let time erase
One bit of yesterday
'Cause I have learned that
Nobody can take your place
Though we can never be
I'll keep you close to me
Always remember
Love
There's a hero
If you look inside your heart
You don't have to be afraid
Of what you are
If you reach into your soul
And the sorrow that you know
Will melt away
And then a hero comes along
With the strength to carry on
And you cast your fears aside
And you know you can survive
So when you feel like hope is gone
Look inside you and be strong
And you'll finally see the truth
That a hero lies in you
Lord knows
Dreams are hard to follow
But don't let anyone
Tear them away
Hold on
There will be tomorrow
In time
You'll find the way
And then a hero comes along
With the strength to carry on
And you cast your fears aside
And you know you can survive
So when you feel like hope is gone
Look inside you and be strong
And you'll finally see the truth
That a hero lies in you
Nobody can take your place
You're never too far
Written by Mariah Carey, James Harris III, Terry Lewis, Walter Afanasieff.
Produced by Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis, Randy Jackson and Mariah Carey.
