If you are a fan of Christmas and Holiday music, you indeed would have an album by Mariah Carey in your music collection. Often regarded as the ‘Queen of Christmas’ and ‘Songbird Supreme,’ Carey is renowned for her singing style and her five-octave vocal range.
What is prominent in most of her songs is the signature use of the whistle register.
Born on March 27, 1969, Mariah Carey is an American singer, actress, songwriter, and record producer.
Early Life
Carey’s mother herself was a former opera singer, and Mariah started singing when she was three by imitating her mother’s songs.
The Broadway musical song, ‘They call The Wind Maria,’ inspired her name, ‘Mariah.’ Such was the influence of music on her and her life.
At school, Mariah was good at literature and music. She started writing lyrics and poetry while still in high school. She learned music from her former opera singer mother, who encouraged her to sing what she liked rather than pressuring her to sing classical opera.
Still, in high school, Carey began working as a demo singer and would often have to bunk school for work. She got opportunities aplenty while still in high school.
Later, she moved to New York, where she landed a gig with freestyle singer Brend K. Starr, for whom she did backup singing.
Career Beginnings
Mariah Carey was indeed talented, no doubt about that. An instance goes by that there was a bidding war between record labels to sign her up on their roster. Ultimately, she signed with Colombia Records.
Carey sang ‘ America the Beautiful’ for her first public appearance in 1990 at the 1990 NBA Finals. CBS Sports anchor Pat O’Brien declared, “The palace now has a queen,” after listening to her piercing whistle note at her performance’s finale.
Her debut studio album, ‘Mariah Carey,’ was released in 1990 to a slow start; however, later, it topped the Billboard for eleven weeks at a stretch. Five singles from her debut album reached number one on Billboard Hot 100.
She won two Grammys that year- Best New Artist and Best Female Vocal Performance- for her debut album and single ‘Vision of Love,’ respectively. Her self-titled debut album sold over 15 million copies globally.
Music Career
She released her second studio album, ‘Emotions,’ Although the album was successful, it didn’t quite match up to the success of her previous album, both critically and commercially.
With her subsequent albums, she received global success. Music Box, Merry Christmas, and Daydream were commercially successful. These albums churned out some successful singles in ‘Hero,’ ‘All I Want For Christmas Is You,’ ‘Without You,’ ‘Always Be My Baby,’ and ‘Fantasy.’
Her single, ‘One Sweet Day,’ topped the US Billboard Hot 100 decade end chart.
With her next album, Butterfly, she incorporated hip-hop elements into her music. The World Music Awards named her the ‘Bestselling Female Pop Artist of the Millenium,’ while Billboard honored her as the ‘Artist of the 1990s Decade.;
Carey left Columbia Records and signed a $100 million contract with Virgin Records in 2001. Following the failure of her 2001 movie, Glitter, she signed a contract with Island Records.
Comeback
After a low phase, Carey bounced back with her 2005 album titled The Emancipation of Mimi. The album became the bestselling album in the US and the second-bestselling album globally. Her single, ‘We Belong Together,’ topped the Billboard Hot 100.
For her role of Ms. Weiss in the 2009 movie Precious, she won the Breakthrough Actress Performance Award. Carey appeared as a judge on the singing reality show ‘American Idol’ and in films like The Butler, A Christmas Melody, and The Lego Batman Movie.
Carey published her memoir ‘The Meaning of Mariah Carey’ in 2020.
Achievements
Over the years, Carey won several accolades.
With a record sale of 220 million copies worldwide, Mariah Carey is one of the best-selling music artists of all time. She also holds the record for most number-one singles by a solo artist. Nineteen of her songs have topped the Billboard Hot 100.
Based on album and song chart performances, Billboard named Carey ‘the greatest female artist of all time.’
Mariah Carey is the recipient of five Grammys, ten American Music Awards, fifteen Billboard Music Awards, and nineteen World Music Awards.
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