Mariah Carey

Mariah Carey is an American pop singer, songwriter, and actress. Born on March 27, 1970, in Huntington, New York. Mariah’s father, Alfred Roy Carey, is an African American and Afro-Venezuelan aeronautical engineer. While her mother, Patricia Carey, is a voice coach and opera singer. She has two older siblings: a brother, Morgan, and a sister, Alison.  Her parents got divorced when she was three years old. She imitates her mother’s operatic singing as early as two and starts her singing lesson at the age of four. Consequently, Carey would develop a voice that spanned five octaves. After she graduates in 1987, Mariah moved to Manhattan and work there as a waitress and a coat check girl and studied cosmetology. Then she’s writing songs at night to pursue her music career. In the year 1988, Tommy Mottola signed her after listening to the demo tape she made.

Mariah released her debut album in 1990, which includes Vision of Love, Love Takes Time, Some Day, and I Don’t Wanna Cry. She showcased her wonderful vocal range and blended several musical genres, including gospel, pop, and rhythm and blues (R&B). As a result, Mariah won the Grammy Awards for the best new artist and best female pop vocalist in 1991. Also, in the same year, Mariah released her follow-up album, Emotions, and became her fifth number 1 singles.  Mariah appeared on MTV’s Unplugged in March 1992. She released her next hit albums Music Box in 1993 and Daydream in 1995. Both albums sold some 10 million copies in the U.S., as well as the holiday-themed album Merry Christmas in 1994.

Mariah released her new album Butterfly in 1997, which reflected her new independence. The album includes 11 compositions written by Mariah and it is heavily influenced by hip-hop and rap, and the related music videos revealed a more sexual Mariah. She became the highest paid artist when she signed the $80 million contract with Virgin Records in 2001. And in 2002, Virgin Records terminated its contract with Mariah. Later that year, Mariah signed with Island/DefJam.  Mariah released her eighth album, Charmbracelet, which debuted 3^rd place on the charts. She followed up with her 10^th studio album, The Emancipation of Mimi, which became the best-selling album in the U.S. in 2005. Mariah surpassed Elvis Presley with 2008’s Touch My Body from her 11^th studio album. As a result, she becomes the 2^nd only to the Beatles for the most number 1 hit singles in the U.S.

Mariah’s other albums include Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel (2009), Merry Christmas II You(2010), and Me. I Am Mariah. . . The Elusive Chanteuse (2014). Mariah proved she remained one of the top acts in the business with the release of her 15^th studio album, Caution (2018). As a result, her albums sold more than 200 million worldwide. In fact, she is the third best-selling female artist of all time.