"Always Be My Baby" is a pop/R&B song written and produced by American singer Mariah Carey, producer/rapper Jermaine Dupri, and songwriter Manuel Seal. Released in 1996 as the third single in the U.S. (fourth in other markets) from Carey's fourth studio album Daydream(1995), the song reached number 1 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart, number 2 in Canada, and peaked within the top twenty of the majority charts on which it appeared. The lyrics chronicle a relationship that has ended, the protagonist asserts that her former lover will "always be her baby," and will come back to her once he realizes that he misses her. The song received a 1996 Grammy Award nomination for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance.

"Always Be My Baby" debuted On Urban Radio On Feb 27,1996, stayed at that position for four weeks, and reached #1 for two weeks before returning to the #2 position for an additional five weeks, bringing the total to nine weeks at #2. The song became Carey's eleventh #1 single in the United States, tying her with pop singers Whitney Houston and Madonna as the female solo artist with the most #1 singles. Due to the song spending nine weeks at the #2 position, "Always Be My Baby" is to date Carey's longest stay at #2 and the fourth longest stay at that position.

Whereas "Fantasy" and "One Sweet Day" were sales-record singles, "Always Be My Baby" was a major airplay hit. The song also managed to reach #1 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs; it was also the most-played single on American radio in 1996 and was the number-one airplay single of 1996 according to the Hot 100 Airplay year-end charts, but despite this achievement, it never reached #1 on that chart throughout the year. Due to its extensive airplay, the single became Carey's first number 1 on the Hot Adult Top 40 Tracks; it also reached the top five on the Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks and the Top 40 Mainstream charts.

Outside the United States, the song became another success, but it was unable to match the chart success of "Fantasy" in most markets. Although generally performing less well than "One Sweet Day," it reached the top five in Canada and the United Kingdom, where it fared better than all of Carey's releases from Daydream. In Australia, it reached the top twenty.

The music video for "Always Be My Baby" was the second to be directed by Carey. She is the seemingly happy narrator of a tale of young love, as a young boy and a girl elope in the middle of the night. The video was filmed on location at Carey's sponsored charity, the Fresh Air Fund upstate New York camp.,

The main remix of this song, also known as "Always Be My Baby" (Mr. Dupri Mix), features re-sung vocals with most of the melodic structure retained while using a sample of the song "Tell Me If You Still Care" by The SOS Band, including vocals from Da Brat and Xscape. (Da Brat would later go on to rap on remixes of "Honey" (1997), "I Still Believe" (1998), "Heartbreaker" (1999), "Loverboy" (2001), and "4real4real", an international bonus track for Carey's album, E=MC².) A video was created for the Mr. Dupri Mix, which shows Carey, Da Brat, and Xscape hanging out around Carey's former mansion. It is in black and white and has the shot of Carey in a beret that would become the cover for this single.

Dance remixes with re-recorded vocals were created by David Morales and Satoshi Tomiie of Def Mix Productions. There was also a reggae remix featuring Li'l Vicious. The North American Single includes a song called "Slipping Away" which was recorded for the "Daydream" album, but failed to make it onto the final track listing. The song is written by Mariah Carey and co-produced by Dave Hall.

On season 7 of American Idol, David Cook performed a rock arrangement of the song during the April 15, 2008 episode, in which Carey mentored the contestants on her songs. His version received high praise from all three judges, and even Carey herself. Cook's version charted and peaked on the Billboard Hot 100 at number 67.

European CD single #1

European CD single #2

North American CD single

Australian/European/U.S. CD maxi-single #1

Australian/European CD maxi-single #2

Japanese CD single

UK maxi-single #1

UK CD maxi-single #2