Mariah Carey
Mariah Carey was born on the 27th of March 1969, in Huntington, New York. Her name came from the song They Call the Wind Maria, which appeared in the 1951 Broadway musical Paint Your Wagon. She grew up as the youngest of three children with a mother named Patricia who worked as an opera singer and vocal coach. Her father Alfred Roy Carey was an aeronautical engineer with African-American and Afro-Venezuelan heritage. The family faced racial tensions that prevented them from integrating into their community. Neighbors once poisoned their dog and set fire to their car because of these prejudices. After her parents divorced, she spent much time alone at home while singing at age three. She often imitated her mother's performance of Verdi's opera Rigoletto in Italian. Her older sister Alison moved in with their father while Mariah lived with their mother. During elementary school she excelled in music and literature. She began writing poetry and lyrics while attending Harborfields High School in Greenlawn, New York. She graduated there in 1987 after working part-time jobs to pay rent.
In December 1988 Carey handed her demo tape to Tommy Mottola, head of Columbia Records. He listened to it during the ride home and immediately asked his driver to turn around. He spent two weeks searching for her before signing her to Columbia. The label spent over $1 million promoting her debut studio album titled Mariah Carey. On the 5th of June 1990, she made her first public appearance at the 1990 NBA Finals. She sang America the Beautiful and hit a whistle note toward the song's conclusion. CBS Sports anchor Pat O'Brien declared that The palace now has a queen. The album topped the US Billboard 200 for eleven consecutive weeks. It became the best-selling album in the United States in 1991 with worldwide sales of 15 million copies. Four singles from the record reached number one on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart. They were Vision of Love, Love Takes Time, Someday, and I Don't Wanna Cry. Her second album Emotions was released on the 17th of September 1991. Its title track became her fifth chart topper on the Billboard Hot 100. This achievement made her the first artist whose first five singles reached the chart's summit.
Carey married Tommy Mottola on the 5th of June 1993 after years of dating. Her subsequent release Music Box began a songwriting partnership with Walter Afanasieff that extended until 1997's Butterfly. The album was released on the 31st of August 1993, to mixed reviews from music critics. Ron Wynn of AllMusic concluded that sometimes excessive spirit is preferable to an absence of passion. Music Box remains Carey's best-seller with worldwide sales of over 28 million copies. In mid-1994 she recorded Endless Love with Luther Vandross. Merry Christmas was released on the 1st of November 1994, becoming the best-selling Christmas album. It has global sales of over 15 million copies. Her fifth studio album Daydream found her consolidating creative control over her career. Songs from prior albums had been primarily shaped by Mottola's conceptualization of what Carey should sound like. Daydream featured a departure from pop and gravitated heavily towards R&B and hip hop. Its lead single Fantasy became the first single by a female artist to debut at number one on the Billboard Hot 100. One Sweet Day remained atop the chart for 16 consecutive weeks. It opened at the top spot as Carey's second track to do so.
In July 2001 Carey suffered a physical and emotional breakdown. She began posting disturbing messages on her website and behaved erratically in live promotional outings. On July 19, she made a surprise appearance on MTV's Total Request Live. As host Carson Daly began taping following a commercial break, she came out pushing an ice cream cart while wearing a large men's shirt. She performed a striptease that revealed a tight ensemble. Days later she posted irregular voice notes on her website. On July 26, she was hospitalized due to exhaustion and a physical and emotional breakdown. She was admitted to a hospital in Connecticut and remained under doctor's care for two weeks. Virgin Records delayed the release of Glitter and its soundtrack. Critics panned both projects commercially. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch condemned it as an absolute mess that'll go down as an annoying blemish on her career. Her record deal with Virgin Records was bought out for $28 million. She signed a contract with The Island Def Jam Music Group valued at more than $24 million. In 2005 she released The Emancipation of Mimi which topped charts in the United States. It became her fifth number-one album and first since Butterfly in 1997.
Merry Christmas was released on the 1st of November 1994, becoming the best-selling Christmas album. Its lead single All I Want for Christmas Is You became a holiday standard. By October 2017 it had become the 11th best-selling single in history with over 16 million copies sold worldwide. Both the album and the single have been certified Diamond by RIAA. The song holds the longest-running number-one single of all-time on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. It spent 22 weeks at the top spot. It also held the Billboard Global 200 chart for 19 weeks. Carey has been dubbed the Queen of Christmas due to the enduring popularity of her holiday music. Multiple media sources refer to her as a holiday icon. She often incorporates holiday-themed outfits during her Christmas shows and music videos. Her name became synonymous with the season through this work. A mini-documentary titled Mariah Carey Is Christmas! premiered on Amazon Music in December 2019. It charted the creation and subsequent cultural legacy of All I Want for Christmas Is You. In 2023 she released an expanded version of Merry Christmas for its thirtieth anniversary.
Carey possesses a five-octave vocal range that defines her artistic identity. Jon Pareles of The New York Times described her lower register as a rich, husky alto extending to dog-whistle high notes. Sasha Frere-Jones of The New Yorker stated that Carey's sound changes with nearly every line. Her timbre mutates from a steely tone to a vibrating growl and then to a humid, breathy coo. She claims that she has had nodules on her vocal cords since childhood. These nodules enable her to sing in a higher register than others. Tiredness and sleep deprivation can affect them due to the nodules. She went through a lot of practice as a child to maintain balance during singing. Tim Levell from BBC News described her vocals as sultry close-to-the-mic breathiness. USA Today's Elysa Gardner wrote it is impossible to deny the impact her vocal style has had on today's young pop stars. Ron Givens of Entertainment Weekly noted how she seems to squeal and roar at the same time. Alex Macpherson of The Guardian noted that her voice on Butterfly is an instrument of texture rather than volume.
Carey was not involved in brand marketing initiatives until 2006 when she participated in endorsements for Intel Centrino personal computers. She launched a jewelry and accessories line for teenagers called Glamorized in American Claire's and Icing stores. She signed a licensing deal with cosmetics company Elizabeth Arden. In 2007 she released her own fragrance named M. The Elizabeth Arden deal netted her $150 million. For the fragrance she won a Basenotes Fragrance Award for Best Celebrity Women's Fragrance. She has released a series of fragrances including Luscious Pink in 2008 and Forever in 2009. On the 29th of November 2010, she debuted a collection on HSN which included jewelry, shoes and fragrances. In November 2011 she was announced as brand ambassador for Jenny Craig Inc. In 2018 she featured in an advertisement for Hostelworld with the tagline Even Divas are Believers. On the 25th of August 2019, she signed a $12 million contract with Walkers crisps brand. In December 2020 she launched a partnership with Virtual Dining Concepts for a biscuit line titled Mariah's Cookies. In 2021 she announced the launch of Black Irish, an homage to her heritage.
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Common questions
When and where was Mariah Carey born?
Mariah Carey was born on the 27th of March 1969, in Huntington, New York. Her name came from the song They Call the Wind Maria which appeared in the 1951 Broadway musical Paint Your Wagon.
What happened during Mariah Carey's mental health breakdown in July 2001?
On the 26th of July 2001, Mariah Carey was hospitalized due to exhaustion and a physical and emotional breakdown after exhibiting erratic behavior. She remained under doctor's care for two weeks at a hospital in Connecticut while Virgin Records delayed the release of Glitter and its soundtrack.
How many number-one singles did Mariah Carey have on the Billboard Hot 100 chart?
Four singles from her debut album reached number one on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart including Vision of Love, Love Takes Time, Someday, and I Don't Wanna Cry. One Sweet Day remained atop the chart for 16 consecutive weeks as her second track to open at the top spot.
Why is Mariah Carey known as the Queen of Christmas?
Merry Christmas became the best-selling Christmas album with global sales of over 15 million copies and its lead single All I Want for Christmas Is You holds the longest-running number-one single record on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. The song spent 22 weeks at the top spot and has been certified Diamond by RIAA making her name synonymous with the season.
What is the vocal range of Mariah Carey and how does it affect her singing?
Mariah Carey possesses a five-octave vocal range that defines her artistic identity and includes rich husky alto notes extending to dog-whistle high notes. She claims she has had nodules on her vocal cords since childhood which enable her to sing in a higher register than others but can be affected by tiredness and sleep deprivation.