enough to further develop her club profile. Spiritually uplifting lyrics are a bonus." Cashbox commented, "The overall sound of the single is quite different from her previous fast-paced cuts and should pick up with little or no promotion." Gavin Report said it is "a brightly lit pop n' soul single with hit written all over it." Pan-European magazine Music & Media noted, "Dryly thumping beats, trebly rhythm guitar and dabs of synthesized violins make for a song with Chic-like feel. With its '70s dance influenced production aiming for the feet instead of the emotions, Carey stands a fair chance of having an uptempo dance/EHR hit on her hands." In a review for Carey's Greatest Hits in December 2001, Devon Powers from PopMatters called the song's lyrics "power through prayer" and described some of its vocals as having "churchy overtones". Rob Tannenbaum from Rolling Stone described the track as "a teary tale of how she kept her religious faith despite hard times", while complimenting its "overheated [vocal] growling." Chicago Tribune editor Jan DeKnock called it "upbeat" and "inspirational", while Mellisa A. Jacque from the St. Petersburg Times wrote "Carey evokes a deep-felt strength and love for life, and the music has a jazzy feel in its sparsity". Chicago Sun-Times critic Michael Corcoran called it a "so-so composition" and described it as a "zombie dance-pop" production, though he said the song was salvaged by Carey's "stunning vocals". Copyright lawsuit Carey, Cole, Clivillés and Sony Music Entertainment were sued in June 1994 by songwriter Kevin McCord, who accused the party of incorporating significant musical elements from his 1979 song, "I Want to Thank You", into "Make It Happen". McCord said, "If you listen to the chords at the beginning of the song, the similarity is obvious. It's the exact same chords in a different key"; he also noted lyrical similarities. Carey's side initially claimed McCord had no standing to sue, but McCord's attorney showed the song's copyright owners had transferred their legal interest in "I Want to Thank You" to McCord "in an effort to adjudicate their claims". Though a Carey spokesperson maintained the copyright infringement allegations were false, McCord said he had turned down settlement offers from Carey's camp. McCord eventually accepted a settlement offer of about US$500,000. Chart performance Carey's debut album sold over 15 million copies globally and produced four chart-topping singles on the Billboard Hot 100. Although "Emotions" became