 While the album 's development was underway , Carey expressed interest in working with Jermaine Dupri , whom she had been a fan of since his 1992 song , " Jump . " Soon after , Carey , Dupri , and Manuel Seal began composing a song for the album . As Seal played the piano , Carey began humming and playing with certain notes in the B @-@ section , until she came up with the chorus for " Always Be My Baby . " After the rest of the song was written and composed , Carey recorded the song alongside longtime background singers Kelly Price , Shanrae Price , and Melonie Daniels . Together , they built " a wall of background voices " in which she would cover with her final belting notes . The song featured a downbeat rhythm , while its composition was described as " sassy and soft R & B " which displayed a " sexy and slow jam . " " Underneath the Stars " was the first song recorded for Daydream . The song featured a " ' 70s soul vibe " as well as synthetic record scratches , in order to the give the song an authentic ' 70s sound . Carey felt the additions were simple steps taken to further display a contemporary R & B groove . Additionally , she felt the song paid homage to the style of Minnie Riperton , who was one of Carey 's biggest vocal influences growing up . The song had a soft sound , and had " a lot [ sic ] of texture " and bass , showing a more creative side to Carey . 
