Mariah Carey

Mariah Carey (born 27.3.1970)

Mariah Carey is an American R&B and pop singer / songwriter. She first found chart success in the 1990s and her musical career has continued for over a decade.

Mariah Carey: Childhood

Mariah Carey was born in New York. Her parents are Patricia Hickey (an opera singer and vocal coach) and Alfred Carey (an aeronautical engineer). Mariah's parents divorced when she was three and Carey's mother began teaching Mariah to sing.

After graduating from Harborfields High School, Mariah moved to New York City. In 1988, she attended a party at which she met Tommy Mottola, a Columbia Records executive. Mottola was given Mariah's demo tape and liked the tape so much that he tracked her down after the party and gave her a record deal with Columbia.

Mariah Carey: Musical career

Mariah Carey's eponymous debut album was released in 1990. She co-wrote the tracks on the album and has continued to do so since. Mariah Carey reached number one on the Billboard 200 chart. Four number one singles were released from the album and Carey won two Grammys - Best New Artist and Best Female Vocal Pop Performance (for 'Vision of Love.')

The second album, Emotions was a tribute to Motown. Released in 1991, Emotions did not sell as well as her debut, nor did it fare as well with the music press. However, when the title track was released as a single, Mariah Carey became the only act in history to have their first five singles go to number one in the US.

Eager to quash rumours that her voice was heavily effected in the studio, Carey overcame the stage fright that prevented her from touring and featured on MTV Unplugged in 1992.

In 1993, her third album, Music Box was released and spawned her first UK number one single, a cover of Badfinger's 'Without You'. 'Dreamlover' and ''Hero' were both US number ones.

The next year, Carey duetted with Luther Vandross on a cover of Lionel Richie and Diana Ross' 'Endless Love'. The track was a hit and Carey followed it up with a festive album, Merry Christmas. The original track, 'All I Want For Christmas Is You' was a huge worldwide hit (her first in Japan). The album became the most successful Christmas album of all time.

1995 saw the release of Mariah Carey's fifth album, Daydream. 'Fantasy', the single featuring rapper Ol' Dirty Bastard, debuted at number one and the album became her biggest selling release in the US, as well as gaining her six Grammy award nominations.

Butterfly was released in 1997 and although it was a success, failed to achieve the sales of her previous releases. In 1998, Mariah Carey recorded a duet with Whitney Houston. 'When You Believe' was recorded for the Prince of Egypt soundtrack and won an Academy Award.

Rainbow was Carey's seventh album, released in 1999. 'Heartbreaker', featuring Jay-Z, was a number one single and made Carey the only artist to have had a number one in each year of the 1990s.

Leaving Columbia records at the turn of the century, Carey signed a contract with EMI. The deal was reported to be worth $80 million.

When Carey eventually released Glitter, (the semi-autobiographical film and accompanying soundtrack that she had been working on for some time), it was largely derided by the press and proved to be Mariah's worst selling release.

Shortly after the release of Glitter, Columbia released a Greatest Hits album. However, this also failed to sell well. In 2002, Virgin bought out Carey's contract for $28 million. With a new contract under her belt, Carey released Charmbracelet. The album preformed badly in the album charts and her vocal abilities were criticised in the media. In 2004, however, she was awarded the Chopard Diamond award for selling more than 100 million albums worldwide.

The Emancipation of Mimi was Carey's 10th album, released in 2005. The album became the best-selling album of the year in the US. Two years later, she received a 'recording star' on the Hollywood Wall of Fame. She was inducted into the Long Island Music Hall of Fame the same year.

E=MC2, Carey's 11th album, as released in 2008. The lead single, 'Touch My Body' became her 18th number one in the Billboard Hot 100, making her second only to The Beatles, who have had 21 number one singles. E=MC2 was her sixth number one album.