"I Still Believe" is a song written and composed by Antonina Armato and Giuseppe Cantarelli, and originally recorded by pop singer Brenda K. Starr for her eponymous second studio album, Brenda K. Starr (1987). It is a ballad in which the singer is confident she and her former boyfriend will be together again one day. It is Starr's biggest hit in the United States, reaching the top-twenty on the Billboard Hot 100 and being considered her signature song. "I Still Believe" was covered by American singer Mariah Carey, a former backup singer for Starr before she achieved success, for her #1's album in 1998 and released as a single in 1999. It was also recorded by Cantopop singer Sandy Lam in 1989. Background and authorship/composition After releasing her first record, I Want Your Love (1985), and not achieving success with it, Brenda K. Starr recorded "I Still Believe" as one of the songs for her self-titled second album, which was released in 1987. The song was written and composed by Antonina Armato and Giuseppe Cantarelli, and produced by Eumir Deodato. It is a pop ballad based on a real life relationship of one of its songwriters, Armato: Armato's former boyfriend had proposed to her, but she felt that the timing was not right. He was not pleased, and pushed her into an ultimatum: to get married or break up. Even though Armato loved her boyfriend at the time, she stuck to her convictions and the couple broke up. To deal with her emotional pain, Armato wrote and composed the song in collaboration with Cantarelli. Reception Justin Kantor of Allmusic praised the track for being "passionately dramatic and heartfelt". It was released as the second single from Starr's self-titled album in 1988, and peaked at number 13 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100, becoming Starr's first—and only—top twenty single on the Hot 100. Its music video comprises scenes of Starr singing the song in a warehouse intercut with scenes of her walking past many romantic couples. Starr also recorded the song in Spanish, as "Yo Creo En Ti," which she released as a single. In 1998, she recorded a salsa version of the song on her album No Lo Voy a Olvidar, as "I Still Believe/Creo en Ti." The Spanish version peaked at number 20 on the Billboard Latin Tropical Airplay chart. Charts Weekly charts Year-end charts Mariah Carey version Background