It's A Wrap

Album: Memoirs Of An Imperfect Angel (2009)
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Songfacts®:

  • "It's a wrap" is a slang expression that means "it's finished" or "it's completed." The film and TV industry often use this phrase to signal the end of the day's work and the crew can wrap up and go home for the night.

    Here, Mariah Carey slams her cheating lover and tells him their romance has come to an end.
  • Carey is sick of waiting all night long for her lover to come home. When he finally turns up in the early hours like it's nothing, she tells him it's the final straw and their relationship is over.

    That was your last shot
    You ain't coming back
    It's the Martini I mean it baby
    It's a wrap


    The "Martini shot" is a term used in the film and television industry to refer to the final shot taken before production wraps for the day. The phrase is said to have originated from the idea that the end of the workday is cause for celebration, just like having a martini at the end of a long day.
  • Mariah Carey wrote "It's a Wrap" herself. Barry White also gets a writing credit because the song samples "I Belong to You" by The Love Unlimited Orchestra, penned by White.
  • Carey recorded the ballad for Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel. Though she didn't release it as a single, "It's A Wrap" became one of the star's most popular songs from the album.
  • Longtime Carey collaborator Big Jim Wright and Tricky Stewart co-produced the song with the singer. Stewart helmed much of the Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel album with his longtime writing and production partner The-Dream.
  • Carey included a remix version with Mary J. Blige as a deluxe edition bonus track on her 2014 album, Me. I Am Mariah… The Elusive Chanteuse. The new rendition was originally earmarked for Carey's canceled remix album, Angel's Advocate.
  • On January 15, 2023, Carey posted a video to TikTok of her singing to a slightly sped-up version of "It's A Wrap" with the support of four backup dancers. TikTok users started a dance challenge by posting videos of themselves performing their own choreography to the song, causing it to go viral. This led to a massive surge of streams for the ballad.

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