"If It's Over" is a song written by American singers and songwriters Mariah Carey and Carole King, with the former and Walter Afanasieff helming its production. It was originally released on September 17, 1991, on Carey's second studio album, Emotions. Lyrically, the song tells of a romance that has withered, and finds the protagonist asking her lover "if it's over, let me go." Several months after the release of Emotions, Carey performed the song during her appearance on the television show MTV Unplugged. Following the release of the MTV Unplugged EP, the song's live version was used as the second single released from the EP in late 1992. The live single version omits the second verse and chorus, as the songs were shortened for the show. It received a very limited release, being featured as an airplay only single in certain territories. Its only peak was in the Netherlands, where it reached number eighty. Carey performed "If It's Over" live during the 34th annual Grammy Awards and on Saturday Night Live. Background and recording During promotion for Carey's self-titled debut album (1990), she appeared on The Arsenio Hall Show to perform her first single, "Vision of Love". During the very much talked about performance, singer-songwriter Carole King had been watching Carey perform, taking interest in her and her material. One year later, during the recording sessions for Carey's second studio album, Emotions (1991), King contacted Carey, asking if she would be interested in covering "(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman", a song she had written alongside Gerry Goffin for Aretha Franklin. Carey declined, feeling uneasy about covering a song one of her musical influences executed so perfectly. Still determined to work with Carey, King flew out to New York City for one day, in hopes of writing and composing a ballad of some sort. Throughout the day, the two songwriters exchanged musical ideas and melodies on the piano until "If It's Over" came into conception. In an interview following the collaboration, King said the following regarding Carey: "I love her voice. She's very expressive. She gives a lot of meaning to what she sings." Composition "If It's Over" is a downtempo ballad, which incorporates several genres and influences into its sound and instrumentation. Of them are R&B, soul and jazz, as well as drawing inspiration from 1950s and 1960s music and style. The song was written by Carey