Best known as: Pop diva who sang We Belong Together Discovering a talent for singing when just a child, , who once worked as a hair sweeper in a salon, a coat check girl and a waitress, was first brought before the public when she sang backup for freestyle balladeer Brenda K. Carey captured the attention of executive producer Tommy Mottola in 1988. Shortly after giving him her demo tape, Carey signed her first recording contract with Columbia Records and her door to the spotlight was opened.
In the year 1990, Carey s career began with the release of her self-titled debut album, Mariah Carey, which hit the music shelves in 1990. The lead single Vision of Love and three more hits, including Love Takes Time, Someday and I Don t Wanna Cry topped the rating chart. Adding to her success, Carey won two Grammy Awards, one for Best Pop Vocal Performance (Female) and Best New Artist in 1990.
Carey followed it up with her second album titled Emotions in 1991, which received almost the same success as its predecessor. The album spawned the title track Emotions, which rocketed to No. 1 in America.
The song led Carey to become the only musician whose first five singles all peaked at No. 1 on The Hot 100 chart in the United States. Two other songs produced from the album, Make It Happen and Can t Let Go, also tore up the charts.
Not only providing her voice, Carey also served as a co-producer for almost all of her songs in her second album. For her work, she received a nomination at the Producer Of The Year awards. In 1992, she continued her triumph by launching the EP MTV Unplugged.
Carey again topped the rating chart with the remake of I ll Be There, featuring Trey Lorenz. In 1993, Carey gained worldwide fame with her album Music Box. It sold over 10 millions copies in the US as well as over 25 million copies internationally.
The smash singles Dreamlover and Hero scorched through the charts, landing at No.1. 1 on the UK chart and became her biggest international hit.
The following year, Carey collaborated with Luther Vandross to cover the Diana Ross/Lionel Richie hit Endless Love, which received gold certification. The album combined with the duet brought her to become one of the most-played singers on the radio in the consecutive years. After the 1994 holiday album Merry Christmas, which contained the instant classic All I Want for Christmas is You, Carey launched another best-selling album titled Daydream in 1995.
The lead single of Fantasy debuted at No. The album generated two other top-rated singles. One Sweet Day, a duet with Boyz II Men, was labeled the biggest record of the year.
With the release of the 1997 album Butterfly, Carey made a transition to hip-hop and R B. She also worked with some of the hottest musicians, stars like Sean Combs and Missy Elliott. The first hit single Honey premiered at No.
1 in the US, and My All became her next No.1 single. Carey next released a collection of all her American No.
1 singles in the album #1s in 1998. It saw her collaborating with singing sensation Whitney Houston on the soundtrack for the film The Prince of Egypt s When You Believe. The song launched her to become the most successful female recording artist in Pop history.
Her cover of the Brenda K. Starr hit I Still Believe ripped apart the charts in the following year. Still focused on R B oriented songs, Carey finished the decade with the launching of 1999 s album Rainbow.
She teamed up with rap star Jay-Z in the first single Heartbreaker, which landed at No. 1 on the Hot 100. Rainbow s second single Thank God I Found You, a duet with Joe and featured 98 Degrees singing back up vocals, followed to top the charts and also received a nomination at the Grammys for Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals in 2001.
Her collaboration with Westlife in Against All Odds gained its popularity in the UK, landing at No. However, the selling of the album proved to be slower than her previous albums. It indicated that Carey s fame was beginning to slump.
In the new millennium, Carey was awarded an American Music Award for Special Achievement for having a No. 1 song in every year of the 1990s. She was also named Billboard s Artist of the Decade.
After leaving Columbia Records, Carey signed an exclusive contract with Virgin Records America for the next five albums. The lead single from Glitter s soundtrack, Loverboy, hit the music store and became the No. 1 best selling single for 2001 s movie soundtrack.
Carey was awarded the Billboard R B/Hip-Hop award for Best Single in 2002. However, the sales of the album did not do well. As a result, the parent Company of Virgin, EMI, disbanded the contract with her, giving Carey $28 million to walk away.
Carey next signed three album deals with Island/Def Record in 2002, and made her debut with the release of the multi-platinum Charmbracelet. Carey branched out to acting when she played the small role of opera singer Ilana, opposite Renee Zellweger, in The Bachelor (1999). She next was seen starring in Glitter (2001, played Billie Frank) but the film was a disappointment at the box office.
In 2002, after having a guest spot in the Fox hit Ally McBeal, Carey costarred with Mira Sorvino in WiseGirls (2002). It premiered at the Sundance Film Festival and aired on HBO. After taking a break, Carey portrayed a professionally dressed woman in State Property 2 (2005) and will play a role in the upcoming The Sweet Science (2005).
With this album, I am embracing my independence and celebrating the person that I have become. Over the years, I have evolved into a better person and an even better artist. For the first time in my life, I am proud and unafraid to be who I really am, and that s what the music of this album and its title reflect.
By naming my album The Emancipation of Mimi and referencing Mimi, a nickname only used by those closest to me, I am inviting my fans into my life. Mariah Carey on The Emancipation of Mimi Carey released The Emancipation of Mimi in 2005. It spawned It s Like That, which skyrocketed in the charts.
The song We Belong Together also peaked at No. 1 on Hot 100 s Greatest Airplay Gainer as well as on the R B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. Within a week, the album had sold more than 404,000 copies.
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