"#Beautiful" is a song recorded by American singers Mariah Carey and Miguel. It was released as the lead single from Carey's fourteenth studio album, Me. I Am Mariah... The Elusive Chanteuse (2014). "#Beautiful" was written by Carey, Miguel, Nathan Perez, Brooke Davis, Mac Robinson, and Brian Keith Warfield, with Carey, Miguel and Perez producing the song. Released on May 6, 2013, Carey and Miguel did not reveal that they had collaborated on the song, until April 25, 2013, when Carey revealed the title in a 25-second teaser video during season twelve of American Idol. It was also on Idol, on May 9, that Carey premiered the official music video for "#Beautiful", before uploading an alternative edit to her VEVO account, that is set to the explicit version of the song.

"#Beautiful" is a mid-tempo and stripped down R&B track. It was well-received by music critics, many of whom were complimentary of Carey and Miguel's chemistry as well as the song's summery nature. After garnering an audience impression of 31 million in its first two days of radio airplay, the song debuted at number 44 on the US Radio Songs chart. Carey taped a performance of the song along with a medley of her greatest hits on May 15, 2013; the taping aired the following day on the Season 12 finale episode of American Idol.

"#Beautiful" peaked at number 15 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and at number three on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart in the United States. It received a double Platinum certification from the Recording Industry Association of America and is her thirteenth single which shipped over a million copies. It also peaked at number six on the Australian Singles Chart and has also received a platinum certification by the Australian Recording Industry Association and gold certification from Recorded Music NZ.

Background and release

"#Beautiful" was written and produced by Mariah Carey and Miguel. Rumors that Carey and Miguel had collaborated on a song together began when the pair were tweeting to each other on April 3, 2013, when Carey tweeted to Miguel praising his Saturday Night Live performance. She also revealed that they had crossed paths in a recording studio. On April 18, 2013, Carey revealed that she had finished mixing the lead single from her upcoming fourteenth studio album. On April 21, 2013, sound mixer Fletcher Allison revealed that he had been on set of a music video directed by Joseph Kahn which involved Carey and Miguel; the tweet was later deleted. The deleted tweet read "Working on a Mariah Carey and Miguel video for the man Joseph Kahn ... Wouldn't trade this for 1,000 Coachellas". Miguel refused to confirm if the collaboration between himself and Carey was true or not. When asked by an interviewer what he thought a collaboration with Carey would sound like, if the rumors were true, he responded with "I think it would sound beautiful. I think it's a great juxtaposition". He continued to reveal that he has admired Carey for a very long time and admired her as an artist, saying "I mean I fell in love with Mariah Carey when she walked out of the pool in [the 'Honey' video in 1997]. That 'Honey' video, that was it. And I've had a huge crush on her ever since. And, so, if we ever do have a chance, you know all respect to [Carey's husband] Nick [Cannon], all love. I think I have a huge crush more on her as a musician, and I think it would be really great".

On April 25, 2013, Carey premiered a 25-second teaser video on American Idol. Over a guitar lick, the video revealed that Miguel would appear as a featured artist and that the song would be called "#Beautiful", accompanied by a message which read "The new era begins". Other aspects of the teaser showed a motorbike and Carey giggling. The song premiered on May 6, 2013, and was released for digital download on the US iTunes store the next day. It officially impacted US Mainstream and Rhythmic radio on May 7, 2013. On the day of its premiere on May 6, 2013, Clear Channel Media and Entertainment launched the single with a day-long world premiere event across more than 230 Clear Channel radio stations nationwide. Beginning 7am, "#Beautiful" played at the top of each hour until 11pm on Top 40, Rhythmic, AC, Hot AC and Urban stations.

Artwork The artwork for "#Beautiful" was released on May 3, 2013. It features Carey stroking her face with her eyes closed and Miguel peering back over his shoulder at her through Aviator sunglasses. Sam Lansky for Idolator wrote that the release of the artwork confirmed that the song truly is called "#Beautiful" (hashtag beautiful), not "Beautiful", which is #dark (hashtag dark) and #depressing (hashtag depressing)." He expressed disappointment at how the pictures of Carey and Miguel are from the music video teaser and is not something new or different, writing that is displays Carey running her hands up her neck and messing about with her hair. Lansky was also critical of the artwork's font, writing "And the same old font that she's been using for a decade? And a butterfly icon replacing an ampersand? No. No, Mariah. Branding is one thing, but you are due for an upgrade". He concluded his review of the artwork by saying that the bar is set low because of one of Carey's previous single, "Triumphant (Get 'Em)", failing to achieve commercial success, and that if "#Beautiful" was revealed to be a good song, he would forgive her.

Composition and lyrical interpretation

"#Beautiful" is a mid-tempo and stripped down pop, R&B and soul music song which lasts for a duration of three minutes and 22 seconds. Carey's "big vocals" combined with Miguel's "signature eclectic rock and roll sound" results in "#Beautiful" having an old school vibe to it reminiscent of the Stax Records/Motown Records era, according to a reviewer for The Honesty Hour. The instrumental of the song begins with a "simple, twangy guitar lick"; Brian Mansfield for USA Today compared the opening to something that Steve Cropper may have created for American singer Carla Thomas "back in the day". It features a prominent an "immediately embeddable" and "creeping" guitar line with "cracking" percussion and bass line which "screams" Motown, according to Jason Lipshutz for Billboard.

The song opens with a verse performed by Miguel, which begins with the lyrics "Hop on the back of my bike, let the cool wind blow through your hair". At first, it does not appear to sound as though it is a song by Carey, as Miguel performs the first 90 seconds. Carey and Miguel embark on a motorbike cruise at sunset, as he sings about her beauty in the lyrics "let the moonlight kiss your skin". After the first 90 seconds, Carey assumes the lead artist role and performs the rest of "#Beautiful". Carey responds with "I like when you run red lights, don't stop till you thrill me", which Randall Roberts for Los Angeles Times thought would alarm mothers and police officers. After Carey sings the line "Take me anywhere", she releases a little giggle. "#Beautiful" ends with a textured layering of both Carey's and Miguel's vocals which gradually fade as the song draws to a close.

Critical reception '"#Beautiful" received positive reviews from music critics. Randall Roberts for the Los Angeles Times wrote that when he read that another music critic Maura Johnston had declared "#Beautiful" as 2013's "song of the summer" on the day its premiere, he was dismissive of the claim, and did not feel it was necessary to rush to listen to the song. He expressed "skepticism and dread" at the thought, as he felt that a song with a hashtag in the title, the song being called "#Beautiful", which he feels is an over used word, Roberts branded the song as "Silly, trendy and typical" before listening to it. He further wrote that when he put his headphones into his computer, he was worried that Carey would sing the word "hashtag" in the lyrics, but after listening to the song in its entirety, he proclaimed it as a "perfect pop song". He was complimentary of the songs instrumental and production, and described it as "seductive". Roberts also wrote that although Carey does not enter the song until a third of the way through, she matches Miguel's "glorious tone with the confidence of someone who knows she can lift her verse to equal whatever comes her way" with a "glorious tone". A reviewer for Rap-Up wrote that "#Beautiful" is perfect for the summer.

Jenna Hally Rubenstein for MTV Buzzworthy wrote that the song features "Miguel's soothing R&B pipes and Mariah's 1991-sounding ethereal vocals" and continued to compliment the songs overall appeal. Brian Mansfield for USA Today felt that the Stax/Motown influence is what makes "#Beautiful" "such a winner", as it represents Carey's return to form in an altogether unexpected way. Jordan Sargent for Spin praised the song, writing that "#Beautiful" is what summer is made of. A reviewer for Idolator called the song a "nod to old-school R&B" and wrote that Carey takes advantage of Twitter and the appeal of it by including a hashtag in the song's title. Carrie Battan for Pitchfork Media was critical of the use of the hashtag in the song's title, but applauded it for featuring Miguel, and said that the song had "the finger-snapping R&B throwback charm that sounds primed for repeat play through the summer". Aisha Harris of Slate also said "#Beautiful" could be one of the hits of the summer, calling it "a breezy duet" that "is pure pop, and it sounds great." At the 2013 Teen Choice Awards, "#Beautiful" was nominated in the category of Best R&B Hip/Hip Song.

Versions and remixes Carey stated that there are 5 official remixes for "#Beautiful". The first remix has a new guest verse by rapper A$AP Rocky. The second remix is in spanglish and is titled "#Hermosa". The third remix is a dance remix by Louie Vega. The fourth remix features Young Jeezy. It has a reworked beat by DJ Mustard and features brand new re-recorded vocals by Carey. The fifth and final remix is another dance remix, this time by Sidney Samson. On July 23, 2013, Carey played a snippet of a 6th remix of the song, stating: "I re-sang new vocals for a hot new dance remix that is coming your way very very soon, and I wanted to play a little snippet, which is for laughs, very old school moments, here we go!".

Chart performance

"#Beautiful" debuted at number four on the US Bubbling Under Hot 100 chart on Thursday May 9, 2013. The following week, after airplay and digital sales were counted from the previous week, "#Beautiful" made its debut on the Billboard Hot 100 chart at number 24, the highest debut of the week. It has since peaked at 15, becoming Carey's 33rd Top 20 Hit, and being one of only 5 to miss the Top 10. It also gave Miguel his 3rd Top 20 hit, after Power Trip (2013) and Adorn (2012). "#Beautiful" debuted on the Adult Contemporary chart at number 23 and on the Adult Pop Songs chart at number 35. On the Hot Digital Songs chart, "#Beautiful" debuted at number 10 with first week digital download sales of 114,000. It is Carey's eighth top 10 single on the chart, and is her first song to do so since her 2009 single "Obsessed", which peaked at number seven. According to Nielsen SoundScan, "#Beautiful" had sold 1.5 million copies in the United States as of July 2017.