"Mariah Carey is the best-selling female artist of all time with more than 200 million albums sold to date and 19 Billboard Hot 100 #1 singles (18 self-penned), more than any solo artist in history. Mariah is a singer/songwriter/producer recognized with multiple Grammy Awards, numerous American Music Awards, Billboard's 'Artist of the Decade' Award, the World Music Award for 'World's Best Selling Female Artist of the Millennium' and BMI's 'Icon Award' for her outstanding achievements in songwriting, to name a few – with her distinct five-octave vocal range, prolific songwriting, and producing talent, Mariah is truly the template of the modern pop performance. " (Excerpt from the description on Maria Carey's YouTube channel.)
Mariah's "Hero" is regarded as one of her most inspirational songs. The core message: the hero is not someone to be found outside but within oneself. He is neither a world-saving superman nor a genius who builds a business empire like Steve Jobs or destroys a world-threatening evil project like James Bond. Heroism is in everyone who finds the inner strength to keep moving towards the realisation of one's dream, feeling also the presence of the Divine. Love is also not to be found outside but by searching within. The spirit of the song is to emphasise a soul-centric inner life to transform the external life.
Interestingly, the concept of transformation of life by the discovery and influence of the soul within a human being is an essential aspect of Sri Aurobindo's (1872-1950, India) vision of human evolution. The Mother (1876-1973, born in Paris, France), who created Sri Aurobindo Ashram and founded Auroville in India, while encouraging the publication of a book titled "On the Way to Supermanhood" written by an Ashram inmate, Satprem, observed in 1971: "I personally have the feeling there is a close and invisible connection between America’s aspiration, as it is now, and the book." Mariah Carey's song of 1993 might be inspired by that aspiration.
Released on 19th October 1993, "Hero" was a creation of Mariah Carey and record producer Walter Afanasieff and was part of their album "Music Box". The song was a global success, reaching the top five in Canada, France, Ireland, New Zealand and Norway, the top ten in Australia and the United Kingdom, and number one in America.
The "Hero" video posted on "Timeless Music and Talks" now is Mariah Carey's rendition on 29 September 1993, in the year of its release. However, perhaps the best Mariah Carey rendition of "Hero" is the one posted on her channel 15 years ago. It's stunning to see the vast improvement in the singer's presentation of the song – theme articulation, smoothness of singing and hold over the audience – compared to the launch year renditions. This is the link to that: https://youtu.be/0IA3ZvCkRkQ?si=6ZdO3_L8XlkWvz3w
The lyrics of the song are displayed on the video as subtitles so that the wider audience can understand and appreciate it better.
Click the link to watch the music video: https://youtu.be/sa7YbaXKZng
