Mariah Carey

Top 100 Artist

With five Grammies, eleven albums, and eighteen years of experience to her name, it's no wonder that Mariah Carey is one of the most popular recording artists in American history - she ranks 15th in all-time album sales according to the Recording Industry Association of America, just behind Madonna and Bruce... More >

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With five Grammies, eleven albums, and eighteen years of experience to her name, it's no wonder that Mariah Carey is one of the most popular recording artists in American history - she ranks 15th in all-time album sales according to the Recording Industry Association of America, just behind Madonna and Bruce Springsteen. Born in Long Island, New York in 1970, Mariah began singing opera at the age of three, and was performing regularly as a studio background vocalist by the age of fifteen. A naturally talented vocalist, Mariah is able to sing an incredibly wide vocal range - she is one of few people alive who can sing in the "whistle register", the highest known vocal pitch.

Mariah's career took off in 1989, when she met music executive Tommy Mottola at a party. One of Mariah's friends gave Mottola a copy of Mariah's demo tape; upon leaving the party he began playing it in his car and was impressed enough to return to the party in search of Mariah. Though she had left the party, Mottola finally found her days later and signed her to a recording deal with Columbia Records. She released her first album Mariah Carey on Columbia in 1990, to great success - it has since sold over nine million copies in the United States alone.

She remained with Columbia for over a decade, departing from the label in 2000. While at Columbia she recorded five more albums: 1991's Emotions, 1993's Music Box, 1995's Daydream, 1997's Butterfly, and 1999's Rainbow. Music Box and Daydream both sold over ten million copies each, earning the RIAA's prestigious diamond certification. Mariah generally favored an R&B style throughout the period, citing Motown artists like The Jackson Five and Lionel Richie as inspiration. Popular singles from the period include "One Sweet Day", "I Don't Wanna Cry", "Dreamlover", "Hero", "Always Be My Baby", and "Heartbreaker."

After departing from Columbia Records (she found Columbia to be too stressful and controlling) in 2000, she signed to Virgin Records for a short period of time. Mariah produced one album while at Virgin, Glitter, the soundtrack for her first feature film of the same name. Both the album and the movie were panned by critics; this, compounded by her recent divorce, caused her considerable emotional distress, and she decided to leave both Virgin and the public spotlight for a time.

Carey signed to Island Records in late 2002, but did not produce any critically successful albums until 2005's The Emancipation of Mimi. Featuring production by industry legends Kanye West and Pharrell, the album features a somewhat more pop-inspired sound and spent 72 weeks on the Billboard Top 100 chart, thanks to the success of singles "It's Like That", "Get Your Number", and "Say Somethin'" Mariah released her most recent album E=MC2 in 2008, and has since released two singles in support of the album, "Touch My Body" and "Bye Bye."

From Discogs:

Mariah Carey (born in Long Island, New York, on 27 March, 1970) is a Grammy Award-winning American singer/songwriter noted for her remarkable vocal range. According to Billboard magazine, she was the most successful artist of the 90s in the United States.Music critic Jim Farber of Daily News said that Carey has "a range wide enough to cover all the octaves between an alto and a soprano and the agility to move between those roles with swiftness and aplomb", and her vocal trademark is her ability to sing in the whistle register. Carey has cited Minnie Riperton as the greatest influence on her singing technique and from a very early age, she attempted to emulate Riperton's high notes, to increasing degrees of success as her vocal range expanded. In 2003, her voice was ranked first in MTV and Blender magazine's countdown of the 22 Greatest Voices in Music, as voted by fans and readers in an online poll. Carey said of the poll, "What it really means is voice of the MTV generation. Of course, it's an enormous compliment, but I don't feel that way about myself."Inducted into Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2007.Mariah Carey Fan Club:P.O. Box 679BranfordCT 06405USA

From Lastfm:

Mariah Carey (born March 27, 1970 in Huntington, New York, United States) is a pop and R&B singer, songwriter, record producer, actress, model and entrepreneur. She made her recording debut in 1990 under the guidance of Columbia Records executive Tommy Mottola, and became the first recording artist to have her first five singles top the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart. Following her marriage to Mottola in 1993, a series of hit records established her position as Columbia's highest-selling act. According to Billboard magazine, she was the most successful artist of the 1990s in the United States.

Read more about Mariah Carey on Last.fm.

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From Wikipedia:

Mariah Carey (born March 27, 1970) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, actress, and philanthropist. She made her recording debut in 1990 under the guidance of Columbia Records executive Tommy Mottola, and released her self-titled debut studio album, Mariah Carey. The album went multi-platinum and spawned four consecutive number one singles on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart. Following her marriage to Mottola in 1993, a series of hit records, including Emotions (1991), Music Box (1993) and Merry Christmas (1994), established her position as Columbia's highest-selling act. Daydream (1995), made music history when the second single, "One Sweet Day" a duet with Boyz II Men, spent a record sixteen weeks on top of the Billboard Hot 100, and remains the longest-running number-one song in U.S. chart history. During the recording of the album, Carey began to deviate from her R&B and pop beginnings, and slowly traversed into hip hop. After her separation from Mottola, this musical change was evident with the release of Butterfly (1997).

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