Mariah Carey

Mariah Carey, (born March 27, 1970, Huntington, New York,

U.S.), American pop singer, noted for her remarkable vocal range.
She was one of the most successful female performers of the 1990s
and remained popular into the early 21st century.
Carey, whose mother was a vocal coach and former opera singer, began performing
as a child. After graduating (1987) from high school in Greenlawn, New York, she
moved to New York City to pursue a singing career. She made a demo tape that
led Tommy Mottola, an executive at Columbia Records, to sign her in 1988; the
couple married in 1993. Her debut album, Mariah Carey (1990), showcased her
incredible vocal range and blended several musical genres, including gospel, pop,
and rhythm and blues (R&B). It was a huge success, and in 1991 Carey
won Grammy Awards for best new artist and best female pop vocalist. That same
year the title track from her follow-up album, Emotions, became her fifth
consecutive chart-topping single. Subsequent hit albums included Music
Box (1993) and Daydream (1995), both of which sold some 10 million copies in the
United States, as well as the holiday-themed Merry Christmas (1994). All the
recordings were accompanied by music videos that helped make Carey a fixture on
the cable network MTV.

Despite such success, Carey grew tired of the sweet and wholesome image that her
label had developed for her. After announcing her separation from Mottola in 1997
(they divorced in 1998), she released Butterfly (1997), which reflected her new
independence. The album was heavily influenced by hip-hop and rap, and the
related music videos revealed a more sexual Carey. The single “Heartbreaker”
(featuring Jay-Z) topped the charts in 1999, making Carey the first artist to hit
number one on the Billboard singles chart in each year of a decade. The
achievement underscored her status as one of the best-selling vocalists in the world
that decade.

In 2001 Carey signed an $80 million contract with Virgin Records that made her
the highest-paid recording artist. Her career quickly took a downturn, however, as
she suffered a breakdown and was hospitalized following erratic behaviour. (Carey
revealed in 2018 that she had been diagnosed with bipolar disorder.) She starred
in Glitter (2001), but both the semiautobiographical film and its accompanying
album fared poorly. In 2002 Virgin terminated its contract with Carey. Later that
year she signed with Island/Def Jam, but her first album for the
label, Charmbracelet (2002), was a disappointment. However, her follow-up, The
Emancipation of Mimi (2005), was a critical and commercial success, becoming
the top-selling album of the year in the United States, with more than six million
copies sold. It also earned three Grammy Awards, including best contemporary
R&B album. “Touch My Body,” from E=MC2 (2008), became Carey’s 18th number
one song on the Billboard singles chart, moving her past Elvis Presley on the all-
time list and leaving her just two short of the Beatles’ record. Her later recordings
included Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel (2009), a second Christmas album
(2010), Me. I Am Mariah…The Elusive Chanteuse (2014), and Caution (2018).

Mariah Carey
Mariah Carey, 2001.
PRNewsFoto/Virgin Records/AP Images
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In addition to her recording career, Carey continued to act. After appearing in the
drama Tennessee (2008), she earned praise for her portrayal of a social worker in
the critically acclaimed Precious (2009). Her later film credits included Lee
Daniels’ The Butler (2013) and Girls Trip (2017). In 2013 she joined the television
talent show American Idol as a judge for its 12th season, and two years later she
began a series of residencies in Las Vegas.

Her memoir, The Meaning of Mariah Carey (written with Michaela Angela Davis),

was published in 2020.
The Editors of Encyclopaedia BritannicaThis article was most recently revised and updated
by  Amy Tikkanen, Corrections Manager.