Mariah Carey is a multi-awarded and critically-acclaimed American pop and R&B singer-songwriter, record producer, and actress. She was born on March 27, 1970, in Huntington, New York. Her parents are Patricia Hickey, an Irish opera singer and vocal coach, and Alfred Roy Carey, an aeronautical engineer of Afro-Venezuelan descent. Unfortunately, her parents divorced when Mariah was only three years old. There was significant racial discrimination among her neighbours while she was growing up, apparently because of her Irish, Venezuelan and black descent. She has an older sister, Alison, and an older brother named Morgan. The family lived in poverty after her parents divorced, and her mother struggled through several jobs just to support the household. As a result, Mariah spent much of her time at home and turned to music as an outlet. One day, Patricia was rehearsing her lines for an opera when she noticed that Mariah was imitating her singing. Her mother started to teach her how to develop her vocal talent.
She constantly dreamed of becoming a famous singer and was frequently absent when she was studying at Harborfields High School because of her work as a demo singer, earning her the nickname “Mirage” from her classmates. After graduating from High School in 1987, she moved to New York and worked part-time jobs to pay the rent and completed 500 hours of beauty school. She continued her dream of becoming a singer and eventually sang as backup to Puerto Rican singer Brenda K. Starr.
In 1988, Columbia Records executive Tommy Mottola met Mariah at a party where Starr gave him Carey’s demo tape. On the way home, Tommy was impressed with the tape and went back to the party to look for Mariah but she was already gone. Nevertheless, Tommy managed to track her down and signed her to a recording contract. Mariah is now on her way to realizing her dream.
Her self-titled album went on to sell 6 million copies. She was suddenly thrust into the limelight; her high-octave voice that could break sound barriers the subject of media hype. She was initially labelled as a “white girl with a black girl’s voice” but she was able to shame her critics when she performed live. Her debut album made her an instant superstar, winning two Grammies and yielding four number one singles. Her second album, “Emotions” and third, “Unplugged”, were released shortly after the debut and was just as successful. Tommy and Mariah became romantically involved during the making of her debut album and in 1993, the couple married. The media was quick to criticize the age difference between the two.
Her success did not give her a big head however, and she became involved with the cause of inner-city youth, making large donations and giving her time to Camp Mariah, which is an organization that was renamed after her. The camp helps young people who rarely get the chance to experience and embrace the arts. Also in 1993, she released her fourth album, “Music Box”, and her fifth album “Merry Christmas” the following year. Both albums were also very successful. Giving no signs of stopping, Mariah released her sixth album, “Daydream” which earned her six Grammy nominations and began to show different styles of singing and song writing never seen before by her fans. She began to fuse hip-hop and started to collaborate with popular artists at that time like Ol’ Dirty Bastard and Da Brat. Her fan base became wider as her music gained popularity in dance clubs. “Daydream” was named one of 1995’s best albums by The New York Times and became her biggest-selling album in the U.S.
As Mariah became one of the most successful and powerful women in the music industry, her marriage with Tommy Mottola took a turn for the worst. Although the public image of the couple is positive, Mariah later said that she often felt constrained by Tommy. Their marriage ended officially when the divorce became final in 1998. Her next album, “Butterfly”, marked the point where she attained full creative control over her music. It was a release of sorts as some of the lyrics and videos presented a more overtly sexual image of the singer.
Mariah tried her hand at acting, appearing in 1999’s “The Bachelor” in a small role. She made her lead role debut in the movie “Glitter”, which unfortunately failed to match the success of her single and album releases. The soundtrack did not come close to matching the sales of her previous releases. It was during this time that Mariah suffered a “Physical and emotional breakdown” and she was briefly hospitalized. She announced that she would take a break from performing. Virgin Records even dissolved her contract, paying her $28 million to walk away.
After a few years in obscurity, Mariah bounced back with her tenth studio album, 2005’s “The Emancipation of Mimi”. The album sold more copies in its first week than any of her previous albums. Her comeback was such a success and she was picked by the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce to receive a coveted Hollywood Walk of Fame Star. In 2008, Mariah released her eleventh album, “E=MC2”. The album debuted to critical fame and it’s first single “Touch My Body” zoomed to the top of Billboard’s Hot 100, making the song her eighteenth number-one single, second only to The Beatles, who have twenty number-one singles.
Mariah’s musical influences include R&B and soul. When she incorporated hip hop into her music, many critics claimed that she was just taking advantage of rap’s popularity. But she said that they just don’t understand; she grew up with this kind of music. Love is the subject of the majority of her songs, but she has also co-written lyrics with racism, death, world hunger, and spirituality as themes. She knows the importance of remixes, and has collaborated in many remixes of her own songs with other artists.
She is said to be able to cover all the notes from the alto vocal range leading to those of a coloratura soprano. Her trademark is the ability to sing in the whistle register. The Guinness Book of Records declared that there is no other singer who can hold a higher note than Carey. The singer has said that Minnie Riperton is her greatest influence on her singing technique. She attempted to emulate Riperton’s high notes with increasing degrees of success as she grew older and improved her vocal range. According to some people, she has a five-octave vocal range, although others claim that she has seven or eight octaves.
Mariah is a philanthropist and has donated her time and money to organizations such as the Fresh Air Fund. She has also performed in several benefit concerts such as the high-profit VH1’s Divas Live in 1998. She also appeared in the nationally televised fundraiser America: A Tribute to Heroes.
