Up Where We Belong just feel it." Hackford said that "the final version was absolute magic—or at least Joel and I thought so." They now had to present this song that they weren't budgeted to make to the executives at Paramount. "When we played it for Michael Eisner and Don Simpson, they hated the record and said it would never be a hit." Simpson even bet Sill $100 that it wouldn't be. Hackford and Sill "called another prominent record executive, who said, 'Forget it. Jennifer Warnes has never had a hit song and Joe Cocker's a has-been. Eisner and Simpson made Hackford "meet with
We Belong Together a smash", complimenting its understated beat and Carey's vocals. "Billboard"'s Michael Paoletta described "We Belong Together" as one of the album's strongest cuts, claiming that it highlighted the strongest focal point on the song: Carey's voice. Slant Magazine ranked it 2nd on their best songs of 2005 list. Between 2001 and 2004, Carey's popularity had substantially declined and many had considered her career as over. The song spent fourteen non-consecutive weeks at number one on both the US "Billboard" Hot 100—after making its debut at number 81—and on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. It had major cross-over success, becoming the