"Can't Let Go" is a song by American singer-songwriter Mariah Carey from her second studio album, Emotions (1991). It was released as the album's second single on October 23, 1991, by Columbia Records in the United States and the first quarter of 1992 elsewhere. It was written and produced by Carey and Walter Afanasieff. The protagonist of this synthesizer-heavy ballad laments an ex-lover who has moved on, and though she tries she "can't let go." Carey had fallen out with her songwriting partner Ben Margulies following a financial dispute, and her record label suggested that she work with the other producers of her debut album such as Rhett Lawrence, Ric Wake and Narada Michael Walden. She chose Afanasieff, who had produced her second single "Love Takes Time" (1990), and "Can't Let Go" was one of the songs they created. After the release of the single "Emotions," "Can't Let Go" was promoted on both The Arsenio Hall Show in September 1991 and Saturday Night Live in November 1991 when she was the musical guest in the episode which featured Linda Hamilton as the host. "Can't Let Go" was later included on Carey's compilation album The Ballads (2008). Music and lyrics "Can't Let Go" has a moderate tempo of 80 beats per minute. Carey's vocal range spans three octaves and seven semitones from the low note of F3 to the high note of C7. Critical reception AllMusic editor Ashley S. Battel wrote that "yearning cries for a lost love in "Can't Let Go" serves to send the listener on a musical journey through time filled with varying emotions. Larry Flick from Billboard described it as a "rhythmic R&B/pop ballad", adding, "Her now-trademark vocal acrobatics are showcased amid gospel-spiced harmonizing and dramatically executed instrumentation." Clark and DeVaney from Cashbox commented, "This time Carey is slowing down the pace from the first single "Emotions". In our opinion, this should have been the first single taken off the album. Her voice still has that crystal-clear sound that has hypnotized listeners of all sorts." Los Angeles Times editor Dennis Hunt felt that in this song, Mariah is playing a wounded lover. Rob Tannenbaum of Rolling Stone wrote that "moody grandeur" of this song will sound great on radio. On the song, Sian Pattenden from Smash Hits described Carey as "the Nanette Newman of pop". Chart performance Carey's first five American singles had reached number one on