the music video for "the roof" garnered critical acclaim, and was ranked 18th on slant's "100 greatest music videos". sal ciquemani, from "slant", gave the video a positive review, complimenting carey's choice to pair the sultry song with a "sophisticated tale of a sexy rooftop encounter". the video re-tells a story of carey reminiscing a past love and a night they shared together on a rainy roof-top. the video's setting revolves around a dark limousine, a decrepit nyc apartment, and a rainy roof-top, where "carey is featured at her most vulnerable, with runny mascara and drenched in the cold rainy night." in the conclusion of his review of the video, ciquemani wrote: "when carey rises through the limo's sunroof and relishes the warm november rain, she's not drunk on the bubbly but on the memory of past delights."