Mariah Carey Biography
In a highly-awaited show business comeback, Mariah Carey has made headlines recently with her newest album, The Emancipation of Mimi.
Carey is best remembered for her astounding success throughout the 90's, when a rare five-octave vocal range brought overnight success with her first single, Vision of Love - followed by hit after hit with such chartbusters as Love Takes Time, I Don't Want to Cry, Dreamlover, Hero and Always Be My Baby.
However, with an almost fatal combination of personal setbacks and hard luck career moves, the close of the decade also put a cap on her meteoric rise.
Early Career
The youngest child of three siblings, Mariah Carey was born March 27, 1970 in Huntington, Long Island in New York. Her mother of Irish descent, and father of Venezuelan-African descent, were later divorced, which left the family struggling financially - and Mariah dreaming of hitting it big with her extraordinary voice, recognized as such by her family when Mariah was only three. Although she eventually took her diploma, most of Carey's high school years were spent trying to jump-start a recording career.
Initially breaking through as a backup singer, a fateful encounter at age 20 with future husband, Tommy Mottola, would later change her life forever. Mesmerized by a demo tape that the singer gave him at a party, the Columbia label music producer later tracked Carey down and, as the story goes, immediately signed her to a recording contract.
Skyrocketing Rise, and Fall
Carey went on to become the only musical artist to have a No. 1 single every year in the 1990's and, to date, retains the title of biggest selling female artist in recording history.
However, a much-publicized divorce from Tommy Mottola in 1998 was later followed by a slow decline in popularity - as critics charged the singer with creating formula hits for an increasingly disenchanted audience.
Further tarnishing Carey's reputation was her bid for movie stardom in 2001 with an almost universally panned appearance in Glitter, a box office disaster. After a notoriously strange appearance on MTV's Total Request Live, she was admitted to a hospital suffering from physical and emotional exhaustion and announced she was taking a break from performing.
Emanicipation
Today Carey is enjoying a renewed superstar status with her latest and aptly titled album, The Emancipation of Mimi (her nickname) and is receiving widespread critical acclaim for signature power ballads and club hits in collaborations with hip-hop stars Nelly, Snoop Dogg, Kanye West, Twista and Jermain Dupri.
In 2005, Carey scored her 16th career number one single on Billboard's Hot 100 with We Belong Together and according to USA Today, her latest efforts "reflect the renewed confidence of a songbird who has taken her shots and kept on flying."
Now back in full "pop diva" mode, Carey was a featured performer at the BET Awards, and We Belong Together was up for two nominations at the 2005 MTV Video Music Awards for Best Female Video and Best R&B Video. She also walked off with trophies at the American Music Awards, and won for Best R&B Vocal Performance at the 2006 Grammy Awards.
Carey is also reportedly attempting a movie comeback in a starring role as a waitress in the upcoming drama, Tennessee.
