Mariah Carey 

(/məˈraɪə/; born March 27, 1969)[a] is an American singer, songwriter, record

producer, and actress.[1][2] Referred to as the "Songbird Supreme" by Guinness World Records,
she is noted for her five-octave vocal range, melismatic singing style, improvisation skills, her
signature use of the whistle register, and songwriting. Carey is famous for the enduring popularity
of her holiday music, particularly the 1994 song "All I Want for Christmas Is You", and she has
been dubbed the "Queen of Christmas". Carey rose to fame in 1990 with her debut
album Mariah Carey. She was the first artist to have their first five singles reach number one on
the Billboard Hot 100, from "Vision of Love" to "Emotions". An inductee into the Songwriters Hall
of Fame,[3] she is credited for inspiring several generations of pop and R&B artists, and for
merging hip hop with pop music through her crossover collaborations.[4][5]
Carey's self-titled debut album was released under the guidance of Columbia
Records executive Tommy Mottola in 1990, and the two married in 1993. She gained further
worldwide success with the albums Music Box (1993) and Daydream (1995). Their singles
include "Hero", "Without You", "Fantasy", "Always Be My Baby", and "One Sweet Day", which
topped the US Billboard Hot 100 decade-end chart (1990s) and was the longest running number
one song of the decade. After separating from Mottola, Carey adopted a new urban image and
incorporated more elements of hip hop with the album Butterfly (1997). She left Columbia in 2001
after eleven consecutive years of US number-one singles and signed a $100 million record deal
with Virgin Records.
Following Carey's highly publicized physical and emotional breakdown and the failure of the
film Glitter (2001) and its soundtrack, Virgin bought out her contract and she signed with Island
Records the following year. After a comparatively unsuccessful period, Carey returned to the top
of the charts with The Emancipation of Mimi (2005), which became the best-selling album in the
US and the world's second best-selling album of 2005. Its second single, "We Belong Together",
topped the US Billboard Hot 100 decade-end chart (2000s). Billboard named it the "song of the
decade" and is the fifteenth most popular song of all time. She won the Breakthrough Actress
Performance award at the Palm Springs International Film Festival for her role in the 2009
film Precious. Carey's subsequent ventures included being an American Idol judge, starring in
the docu-series Mariah's World, appearing in the films The Butler (2013), A Christmas
Melody (2015), and The Lego Batman Movie (2017), performing at two Las Vegas concert
residencies, and publishing her memoir The Meaning of Mariah Carey in 2020.
Carey is one of the best-selling music artists of all time, with over 220 million records sold
worldwide.[6] In 2008, she was named one of Time's annual 100 most influential people in the
world.[7][8][9][10] Billboard named her the "top-charting female solo artist", based on both album and
song chart success in 2019.[11] She was ranked as the fifth greatest singer of all time by Rolling
Stone in 2023 and placed second in VH1's list of the 100 Greatest Women in Music.[12] She holds
the record for the most Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles by a solo artist (19), a female
songwriter (18), and a female producer (15).[13] Carey is the highest-certified female artist in the
United States and 10th overall, with 74 million certified album units. Carey has won 5 Grammy
Awards, 19 World Music Awards, 10 American Music Awards,[14] 15 Billboard Music Awards[15] and
eight Guinness World Records.

Early life
Mariah Carey was born on March 27, 1969,[a] in Huntington, New York.[19][20] Her name is derived
from the song "They Call the Wind Maria", originally from the 1951 Broadway musical Paint Your
Wagon.[21][22] She is the youngest of three children born to Patricia (née Hickey), a former opera
singer and vocal coach of Irish descent, and Alfred Roy Carey, an aeronautical engineer of
African-American and black Venezuelan-American lineage.[23] The last name Carey was adopted
by her Venezuelan grandfather, Francisco Núñez, after he emigrated to New York.[24][20] Patricia's
family disowned her for marrying a black man.[24] Racial tensions prevented the Carey family from
integrating into their community. While they lived in Huntington their neighbors poisoned the
family dog and set fire to their car.[24] After her parents' divorce, Carey had little contact with her
father, and her mother worked several jobs to support the family. Carey spent much of her time
at home alone and began singing at age three, often imitating her mother's take on Verdi's
opera Rigoletto in Italian. Her older sister Alison moved in with their father while Mariah and her
elder brother Morgan lived with their mother.[25][26]
During her years in elementary school, she excelled in the arts, such as music and literature.
Carey began writing poetry and lyrics while attending Harborfields High School in Greenlawn,
New York,[27] where she graduated in 1987.[28] Carey began vocal training under the tutelage of
her mother. Though she was a classically trained opera singer, Patricia Carey never pressured
her daughter to pursue a career in classical opera. Mariah Carey recalled that she had "never
been a pushy mom. She never said, 'Give it more of an operatic feel.' I respect opera like crazy,
but it didn't influence me."[27][29] In high school, Mariah Carey was often absent because of her
work as a demo singer. This led to her classmates giving her the nickname Mirage.[29] Working in
the Long Island music scene gave her opportunities to work with musicians such as Gavin
Christopher and Ben Margulies, with whom she co-wrote material for her demo tape. After
moving to New York City, she worked part-time jobs to pay the rent and completed 500 hours
of beauty school.[30] Carey moved into a one-bedroom apartment in Manhattan with four female
students as roommates.[31] She landed a gig singing backup for freestyle singer Brenda K. Starr.[32]
[33]

Career
1988–1992: Career beginnings, Mariah Carey and Emotions

Carey exiting Shepherd's Bush Empire after promoting her single "Vision of Love" on Wogan in 1990

In December 1988, Carey accompanied Starr to a music executive's party, where she handed
her demo tape to the head of Columbia Records, Tommy Mottola.[34][35] After listening to the tape
during the ride home, he immediately requested the driver turn around. Carey had already left
the event, and in what has been described as a modern-day Cinderella story, he spent two
weeks looking for her.[34] Another record label expressed interest and a bidding war ensued.
Mottola signed Carey to Columbia and enlisted producers Ric Wake, Narada Michael Walden,
and Rhett Lawrence for her first album.[34] Columbia marketed Carey as the main female artist on
their roster, competing with Arista's Whitney Houston and Madonna of Sire Records.[36] On June
5, 1990, Carey made her first public appearance at the 1990 NBA Finals, singing "America the
Beautiful". The highlight was the piercing whistle note toward the song's conclusion, sparking
CBS Sports anchor Pat O'Brien to declare, "The palace now has a queen."[37]
Columbia spent upwards of $1 million promoting Carey's debut studio album, Mariah Carey.
[38]
 After a slow start, the album eventually topped the Billboard 200 for eleven consecutive weeks,
after Carey's exposure at the 33rd Annual Grammy Awards, where she won the award for Best
New Artist, and Best Female Pop Vocal Performance for her single "Vision of Love."[39][40] The
album's singles "Vision of Love", "Love Takes Time", "Someday", and "I Don't Wanna Cry" all
topped the US Billboard Hot 100.[41] Mariah Carey was the best-selling album in the United States
in 1991,[42] and achieved worldwide sales of 15 million copies.[43]
The following year Carey co-wrote, co-produced and recorded her second studio
effort, Emotions.[44][45] Described by Carey as an homage to Motown soul music, Carey employed
the help of Walter Afanasieff, who only had a small role on her debut, as well as Robert
Clivillés and David Cole, from the dance group C+C Music Factory.[46] Carey's relationship with
Margulies deteriorated over a songwriting royalties dispute. After he filed a lawsuit against
Columbia's parent company, Sony, the songwriting duo parted ways.[45] Emotions was released
on September 17, 1991. The title track, the album's lead single, became Carey's fifth chart topper
on the Billboard Hot 100, making her the first artist whose first five singles reached the chart's
summit.[47] Though critics praised the album's content and described it as a more mature effort,
the album was criticized as calculated and lacking originality.[48] While the album managed sales
of eight million copies globally, Emotions failed to reach the commercial and critical heights of its
predecessor.[49]
Carey did not embark on a world tour to promote the album.[50] Although she attributed this
to stage fright and the vocally challenging nature of her material, speculation grew that Carey
was a "studio worm" and that she was incapable of producing the perfect pitch and 5-
octave vocal range for which she was known.[51][52] In hopes of ending any speculation of her being
a manufactured artist, Carey booked an appearance on MTV Unplugged.[53] The show presented
artists "unplugged" or in a stripped setting and devoid of studio equipment.[53] Days prior to the
show's taping, Carey and Afanasieff chose to add a cover of the Jackson 5's 1970 song "I'll Be
There" to the set-list. On March 16, 1992, Carey played and recorded an intimate seven-song
show at Kaufman Astoria Studios in Queens, New York.[54] The acclaimed revue was aired more
than three times as often as the average episode,[55] and critics heralding it as a "vocal Tour de
force".[56] Carey's live version of "I'll Be There" became her sixth number-one single on
the Billboard Hot 100 chart. Sony capitalized on its success and released it as an EP. It earned a
triple-Platinum certification by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA),[57] and
earned Gold and Platinum certifications in several European markets.[58]

1993–1996: Music Box, Merry Christmas, and Daydream

After Emotions failed to achieve the commercial heights of her debut album, Carey's subsequent
release was to be marketed as adult contemporary and pop-friendly. Music Box was produced by
Carey and Afanasieff, and began a songwriting partnership that would extend until
1997's Butterfly.[59] The album was released on August 31, 1993, to mixed reviews from music
critics. Carey's songwriting was derided as clichéd and her vocal performances were described
as less emotive and lazier in their delivery. In his review of the album, AllMusic's Ron Wynn
concluded: "sometimes excessive spirit is preferable to an absence of passion."[60] In promotion of
the album, Carey embarked on her debut tour, a six-date concert series, the Music Box Tour.
[61]
 Music Box's second single, "Hero", became Carey's eighth chart-topper in the United States
and has been recognized as her signature song. Her cover of Badfinger's "Without You" was a
commercial breakthrough in Europe, becoming her first number-one single in Germany,
[62]
 Sweden[63] and the United Kingdom.[64] Music Box remains Carey's best-seller and one of
the best-selling albums of all time, with worldwide sales of over 28 million copies.[65]
In mid-1994, Carey recorded and released a duet with Luther Vandross; a cover of Lionel
Richie and Diana Ross's "Endless Love".[66] Merry Christmas, released on November 1, 1994,
became the best-selling Christmas album of all time, with global sales of over 15 million copies.[67]
[68][69]
 The lead single, "All I Want for Christmas Is You", became a holiday standard and continues
to surge in popularity each holiday season.[70] By October 2017, it had become the 11th-
bestselling single in modern music.[71] In 2019, 25 years after the song's release, it finally peaked
at number-one on the Billboard Hot 100 for the first time, and it continued to do so every
December since, becoming the first song in history to hold the top position in more than two
different chart years, as well as the longest-running holiday number-one song (eight weeks).
[72]
 Additionally, it is the longest running number-one song on the Billboard Holiday 100, spending
44 cumulative weeks, of the chart's 49 total weeks since the list launched in 2011.[73]
Carey performing with Boyz II Men at Madison Square Garden in October 1995

Carey's fifth studio album, Daydream, found her consolidating creative control over her career,
leading to tensions with Columbia. The album featured a departure from her allegiance to pop
and gravitated heavily towards R&B and hip hop.[74] Critically, the album was described as
Carey's best to date. The New York Times named it one of 1995's best albums and concluded:
"[the album] brings R&B candy-making to a new peak of textural refinement ... Carey's
songwriting has taken a leap forward and become more relaxed, sexier and less reliant on
thudding clichés."[75] The album's lead single, "Fantasy", became the first single by a female artist
to debut at number one on the Billboard Hot 100,[76] and the second single, "One Sweet Day", a
collaboration with R&B group Boyz II Men, remained atop the Billboard Hot 100 for a record-
breaking 16 consecutive weeks, becoming, at the time, the longest-running number-one song in
the history of the charts.[77]
Daydream became Carey's biggest-selling album in the United States,[78] and her second album
to be certified Diamond by the RIAA, after Music Box.[57] The album continued Carey's dominance
in Asian music markets and sold in excess of 2.2 million copies in Japan alone and over 20
million copies globally.[79][80] Daydream and its singles were nominated in six categories at the 38th
Grammy Awards.[81] Though considered a favorite to win the top awards of the evening, Carey
was shut out, prompting her to comment "What can you do? I will never be disappointed
again."[82] In early 1996, she embarked on her first international string of concerts, the Daydream
World Tour. Its seven dates spanned three in Japan and four throughout Europe.
[83]
 Forbes named Carey the top-earning female musician of 1996, collecting an estimated $32
million.[84]
During the recording of Daydream, Carey also worked on the alternative rock album Someone's
Ugly Daughter by the band Chick, contributing writing, production, vocals and art direction. As
Columbia Records refused to release the album with her lead vocals, Carey's friend Clarissa
Dane was brought in to become the face of Chick, and her vocals were layered on top of
Carey's, masking her voice.[85] Carey also directed the music video for the Chick song "Malibu".
According to Carey, "I was playing with the style of the breezy-grunge, punk-light white female
singers who were popular at the time ... I totally looked forward to doing my alter-ego band
sessions after Daydream each night."[86] Her contributions were secret until the release of her
2020 memoir The Meaning of Mariah Carey.[86]

1997–2000: New image and independence, Butterfly,

and Rainbow
Carey's subsequent musical releases followed the trend that began with Daydream. Her music
began relying less on pop and adult contemporary-tinged balladry and instead incorporating
heavy elements of hip-hop and R&B. On Butterfly, Carey collaborated with a bevy of producers
other than Afanasieff, such as Sean Combs, Q-Tip, Missy Elliott and Jean Claude Oliver and
Samuel Barnes from Trackmasters.[87] In mid-1997, after four years of marriage, Carey and
Mottola separated. Carey described Mottola as increasingly controlling, and viewed her
newfound independence as a new lease on life.[88] In the booklet of her twelfth studio
album, Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel (2009), Carey wrote that she
considers Butterfly her magnum opus and a turning point in both her life and
career. Butterfly introduced a more subdued style of singing, with critics noting Carey's
incorporation of breathy vocals.[89] Some viewed her lack of propensity to use her upper range as
a sign of maturity,[90] while others questioned whether it forebode waning vocal prowess.[91][92] The
music video for the album's lead single, "Honey", her first since separating from Mottola,
introduced a more overtly sexual image.[93] Butterfly became Carey's best-reviewed album, with
attention placed on the album's exploration of more mature lyrical themes. In their review of the
album, Rolling Stone wrote "[It's] not as if Carey has totally dispensed with her old saccharine,
Houston-style balladry ... but the predominant mood of 'Butterfly' is one of coolly erotic
reverie."[94] AllMusic editor Stephen Thomas Erlewine described Carey's vocals as "sultrier and
more controlled than ever," and felt the album "illustrates that Carey continues to improve and
refine her music, which makes her a rarity among her '90s peers.'"[95] Though a commercial
success, the album failed to reach the commercial heights of her previous albums, Music
Box and Daydream.[96]

Carey at Edwards Air Force Base during the making of the "I Still Believe" music video in December 1998

After concluding her Butterfly World Tour, Carey partook in the VH1 Divas benefit concert on
April 14, 1998, where she sang alongside Aretha Franklin, Celine Dion, Shania Twain, Gloria
Estefan, and Carole King.[97] Carey began conceptualizing a film project All That Glitters, later re-
titled to simply Glitter (2001),[98] and wrote songs for other projects, such as Men in Black (1997)
and How the Grinch Stole Christmas (2000).[99] After Glitter fell into developmental hell, Carey
postponed the project, and began writing material for a new album.[99] Sony Music executives
insisted she prepare a greatest hits collection in time for the holiday season.[100] The album,
titled #1's (1998), featured a cover of Brenda K. Starr's "I Still Believe" and a duet with Whitney
Houston, "When You Believe", which was included on the soundtrack for The Prince of
Egypt (1998).[101] #1's became a phenomenon in Japan, selling over one million copies in its
opening week, making Carey the only international artist to accomplish this feat.[102] It sold over
3.25 million copies in Japan in its first three months on sale, and holds the record as the best-
selling album by a non-Asian artist.[102]
With only one album left to fulfill her contract with Sony, and with a burning desire to separate
herself professionally from the record label her ex-husband still headed, Carey completed the
album in three months in mid-1999.[103] Titled Rainbow, the album found Carey exploring with
producers whom she had not worked with before. Rainbow became Carey's first album to not
feature a collaboration with her longtime writing partner, Walter Afanasieff; instead she chose to
work with David Foster and Diane Warren. The album's lead single, "Heartbreaker", featured
guest vocals from rapper Jay-Z and a remix produced by DJ Clue?.[104] Rainbow was released on
November 2, 1999, to the highest first week sales of her career at the time, however debuting at
number two on the Billboard 200.[105] Carey's tense relationship with Columbia grew increasingly
fractious; she began posting messages on her website, sharing inside information with fans on
the dispute, as well as instructing them to request "Can't Take That Away (Mariah's Theme)" on
radio stations.[106] Ultimately, the song was only given a very limited and low-promotion release.
[107]
 Critical reception of Rainbow was generally positive, with the general consensus finding:
"what began on Butterfly as a departure ends up on Rainbow a progression – perhaps the first
compelling proof of Carey's true colors as an artist."[108] Though a commercial
success, Rainbow became Carey's lowest selling album at that point in her career.[109]

2001–2004: Personal and professional

setbacks, Glitter and Charmbracelet
Carey received Billboard's Artist of the Decade Award and the World Music Award for Best-
Selling Pop Female Artist of the Millennium,[110] and parted from Columbia Records. She signed
an unprecedented $100 million five-album recording contract with Virgin Records (EMI Records)
in April 2001.[111] Glitter was a musical departure, recreating a 1980s post-disco era to accompany
the film, set in 1983. Carey was given full conceptual and creative control over the project.[111] She
said that Columbia had regarded her as a commodity, with her separation from Mottola
exacerbating her relations with label executives. Carey's three-year relationship with Latin
singer Luis Miguel ended.[112]
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.[113] On July 19, she
made a surprise appearance on the MTV program Total Request Live (TRL).[114] As the show's
host Carson Daly began taping following a commercial break, Carey came out pushing an ice
cream cart while wearing a large men's shirt, and began a striptease in which she revealed a
tight ensemble.[114] Days later, she posted irregular voice notes on her website: "I'm trying to
understand things in life right now and so I really don't feel that I should be doing music right
now. What I'd like to do is just a take a little break or at least get one night of sleep without
someone popping up about a video. All I really want is [to] just be me and that's what I should
have done in the first place ... I don't say this much but guess what, I don't take care of
myself."[114] Following the quick removal of the messages, Berger commented that Carey had
been "obviously exhausted and not thinking clearly" when she posted the letters.[115]

Carey performing "Hero" during her Charmbracelet World Tour in September 2003

On July 26, Carey was hospitalized due to exhaustion and a "physical and emotional
breakdown".[116] She was admitted to a hospital in Connecticut and remained under doctor's care
for two weeks, followed by an extended absence from the public.[116] Virgin Records and 20th
Century Fox delayed the release of Glitter and its soundtrack.[115][117] Critics panned Glitter and its
soundtrack; both were unsuccessful commercially.[118] The soundtrack became Carey's lowest-
selling album to that point. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch dismissed it as "an absolute mess that'll
go down as an annoying blemish on [her] career."[119] She attributed the poor performance to her
state of mind, its postponement and the soundtrack having been released on September 11.[120]
Carey's $80 million record deal with Virgin Records was bought out for $28 million.[111][121] She flew
to Capri, Italy, for five months, where she wrote material for a new album.[113] She described her
time at Virgin "a complete and total stress-fest ... I made a total snap decision which was based
on money and I never make decisions based on money. I learned a big lesson from that."[122] She
signed a contract with Island Records, valued at more than $24 million,[123] and launched the
record label MonarC. Carey's father, Alfred Roy, with whom she had had little contact since
childhood, died of cancer that year.[124] In 2002, Carey was cast in the independent
film WiseGirls alongside Mira Sorvino and Melora Walters, who co-starred as waitresses at a
mobster-operated restaurant. It premiered at the Sundance Film Festival, and received negative
reviews, though Carey's performance was praised; Roger Friedman of Fox News described her
as "a Thelma Ritter for the new millennium", and wrote, "Her line delivery is sharp and she
manages to get the right laughs."[125] Carey performed the American national anthem at the Super
Bowl XXXVI at the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana.[126]
In December 2002, Carey released her ninth studio album, Charmbracelet, which she said
marked "a new lease on life" for her.[127] Sales of Charmbracelet were moderate and the quality of
Carey's vocals came under criticism. Joan Anderson from The Boston Globe declared the album
"the worst of her career, and revealed a voice [that is] no longer capable of either gravity-defying
gymnastics or soft coos",[128] while AllMusic editor Stephen Thomas Erlewine wrote, "Mariah's
voice is shot, sounding in tatters throughout the record. She can no longer coo or softly croon nor
can she perform her trademark gravity-defying vocal runs."[129] To support the album, Carey
embarked on the Charmbracelet World Tour, spanning North America and East Asia over three
months.[130] The United States shows were booked in theaters. She described the show as "much
more intimate so you'll feel like you had an experience. You experience a night with me."[131] While
smaller venues were booked throughout the tour's stateside leg, Carey performed in stadiums in
Asia and Europe, playing for a crowd of over 35,000 in Manila, 50,000 in Malaysia, and to over
70,000 people in China.[132] In the United Kingdom, it was her first tour to feature shows outside
London, booking arena stops in Glasgow, Birmingham and Manchester.[133] The tour garnered
generally positive reviews, with many praising the production and the quality of Carey's vocals.[134]

2005–2007: Resurgence with The Emancipation of Mimi

Carey, pictured with former Island Records head L.A. Reid in 2005, at the release party for The
Emancipation of Mimi

Carey's tenth studio album, The Emancipation of Mimi, was produced with the Neptunes, Kanye
West and Carey's longtime collaborator, Jermaine Dupri. She described the album as "very much
like a party record ... the process of putting on makeup and getting ready to go out ... I wanted to
make a record that was reflective of that."[135] The Emancipation of Mimi topped the charts in the
United States, becoming Carey's fifth number-one album and first since Butterfly (1997), and was
warmly accepted by critics. Caroline Sullivan of The Guardian defined it as "cool, focused and
urban [... some of] the first Mariah Carey tunes in years which I wouldn't have to be paid to listen
to again,"[136] while USA Today's Elysa Gardner wrote, "The [songs] truly reflect the renewed
confidence of a songbird who has taken her shots and kept on flying."[137] The album's second
single, "We Belong Together", became a "career re-defining"[138] song for Carey, after a relatively
unsuccessful period and a point when many critics had considered her career over.[139] Music
critics heralded the song as her "return to form,"[140] as well as the "return of The Voice,"[140] while
many felt it would revive "faith" in Carey's potential as a balladeer.[135] "We Belong Together"
broke several records in the United States and became Carey's sixteenth chart topper on
the Billboard Hot 100.[141] After staying at number one for fourteen non-consecutive weeks, the
song became the second longest running number one song in US chart history, behind Carey's
1996 collaboration with Boyz II Men, "One Sweet Day".[141] Billboard listed it as the "song of the
decade" and the ninth most popular song of all time.[142] The song broke several airplay records,
and according to Nielsen BDS, and gathered both the largest one-day and one-week audiences
in history.[143]
During the week of September 25, 2005, Carey set another record, becoming the first female to
occupy the first two spots atop the Hot 100, as "We Belong Together" remained at number one,
and her next single, "Shake It Off", moved into the number two spot (Ashanti had topped the
chart in 2002 while being a "featured" singer on the number two single).[141] On the Billboard Hot
100 Year-end Chart of 2005, the song was declared the number one song, a career first for
Carey.[144] Billboard listed "We Belong Together" ninth on The Billboard Hot 100 All-Time Top
Songs and was declared the most popular song of the 2000s decade by Billboard.[145] The album
was re-released as The Ultra Platinum Edition.
The Emancipation of Mimi earned ten Grammy Award nominations: eight in 2006 for the original
release (the most received by Carey in a single year),[146] and two in 2007 for the Ultra Platinum
Edition (from which "Don't Forget About Us" became her seventeenth number-one hit). Carey
won Best Contemporary R&B Album and Best Female R&B Vocal Performance and Best R&B
Song for "We Belong Together".[146] The Emancipation of Mimi was the best-selling album in the
United States in 2005, with nearly five million units sold. It was the first album by a solo female
artist to become the year's best-selling album since Alanis Morissette's Jagged Little Pill in 1996.
[147]
 At the end of 2005, the IFPI reported that The Emancipation of Mimi had sold more than
7.7 million copies globally, and was the second-best-selling album of the year
after Coldplay's X&Y.[148][149][150] To date, The Emancipation of Mimi has sold over 12 million copies
worldwide.[151] In support of the album, Carey embarked on her first headlining tour in three years,
named The Adventures of Mimi after a "Carey-centric fan's" music diary.[152] The tour spanned 40
dates, with 32 in the United States and Canada, two in Africa, and six in Japan.[153] It received
warm reception from music critics and concert goers, many of which celebrated the quality of
Carey's vocals.[154][155]

2008–2009: E=MC², Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel, and Precious

In early 2007, Carey began to work on her eleventh studio album, E=MC², in a private villa
in Anguilla.[156] Although E=MC² was well received by most critics,[157] some of them criticized it for
being very similar to the formula used on The Emancipation of Mimi.[158] Two weeks before the
album's release, "Touch My Body", the record's lead single, reached the top position on
the Billboard Hot 100, becoming Carey's eighteenth number one and making her the solo artist
with the most number one singles in United States history, pushing her past Elvis Presley into
second place according to the magazine's revised methodology.[159] Carey is second only to The
Beatles, who have twenty number-one singles. Additionally, it gave Carey her 79th week atop the
Hot 100, tying her with Presley as the artist with the most weeks at number one in
the Billboard chart history."[160]

Carey at the 2008 Tribeca Film Festival

E=MC² debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 with 463,000 copies sold, the biggest
opening week sales of her career.[161] In 2008, Carey also played an aspiring singer named
Krystal in Tennessee[162] and had a cameo appearance in Adam Sandler's film You Don't Mess
with the Zohan, playing herself.[163] Since the album's release, Carey had planned to embark on
an extensive tour in support of E=MC².[164] However the tour was suddenly cancelled in early
December 2008.[165] Carey later stated that she had been pregnant during that time period, and
suffered a miscarriage, hence she cancelled the tour.[166][167] On January 20, 2009, Carey
performed "Hero" at the Neighborhood Inaugural Ball after Barack Obama was sworn as the first
African-American president of the United States.[168] On July 7, 2009, Carey – alongside Trey
Lorenz – performed her version of The Jackson 5 song "I'll Be There" at the memorial service
for Michael Jackson.[169]
In 2009, she appeared as a social worker in Precious, the movie adaptation of the 1996
novel Push by Sapphire. The film garnered mostly positive reviews from critics, also for Carey's
performance.[170] Variety described her acting as "pitch-perfect."[171] In January 2010, Carey won
the Breakthrough Actress Performance Award for her role in Precious at the Palm Springs
International Film Festival.[172] On September 25, 2009, Carey's twelfth studio album, Memoirs of
an Imperfect Angel, was released. Reception for the album was mostly mixed; Stephen Thomas
Erlewine of AllMusic called it "her most interesting album in a decade,"[173] while Jon Caramanica
from The New York Times criticized Carey's vocal performances, decrying her overuse of her
softer vocal registers at the expense of her more powerful lower and upper registers.
[174]
 Commercially, the album debuted at number three on the Billboard 200, and became the
lowest-selling studio album of her career.[175] "Obsessed" served as the lead single,[176] and
debuted at number eleven in the US before peaked at number seven, and became Carey's 27th
top-ten entry within the nation, tying her with Elton John and Janet Jackson for having the fifth
most top-tens.[176] Its follow-up single, a cover of Foreigner's "I Want to Know What Love Is",
managed to break airplay records in Brazil. The song spent 27 weeks atop the Brasil Hot 100
Airplay, making it the longest running song in the chart's history.[177]
On December 31, 2009, Carey embarked on her seventh concert tour, Angels Advocate Tour,
which visited the United States and Canada and ended on September 26, 2010.[178][179] A
planned remix album of Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel, titled Angels Advocate, was slated for a
March 30, 2010 release but was eventually cancelled.[180]

2010–2014: Merry Christmas II You and Me. I Am Mariah... The

Elusive Chanteuse
Following the cancellation of Angels Advocate, it was announced that Carey would return to the
studio to start work on her thirteenth studio album.[181] It was later revealed that it would be her
second Christmas album, and follow-up to Merry Christmas.[68] Longtime collaborators for the
project included Jermaine Dupri, Johntá Austin, Bryan-Michael Cox, and Randy Jackson, as well
as new collaborators such as Marc Shaiman.[182] The release date for the album, titled Merry
Christmas II You, was November 2, 2010;[183] the track list included six new songs as well as a
remix of "All I Want for Christmas Is You".[184] Merry Christmas II You debuted at number four on
the Billboard 200 with sales of 56,000 copies, becoming Carey's 16th top ten album in the United
States.[185] The album debuted at number one on the R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart, making it only
the second Christmas album to top this chart.[186]
In May 2010, Carey dropped out of her planned appearance in For Colored Girls, the film
adaptation of the play For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When the Rainbow Is
Enuf, citing medical reasons.[187] In February 2011, Carey announced that she had begun writing
new material for her upcoming fourteenth studio album. Carey recorded a duet with Tony
Bennett for his Duets II album, titled "When Do The Bells Ring For Me?"[188] In October 2011,
Carey announced that she re-recorded "All I Want for Christmas Is You" with Justin Bieber as a
duet for his Christmas album, Under the Mistletoe.[189][190] In November 2011, Carey was included
in the remix to the mixtape single "Warning" by Uncle Murda; the remix also features 50
Cent and Young Jeezy.[191] That same month, Carey released a duet with John Legend titled
"When Christmas Comes", originally part of Merry Christmas II You.[192]
Carey performing on Good Morning America in May 2013

On March 1, 2012, Carey performed at New York City's Gotham Hall; her first time performing
since her pregnancy.[193][194] She also performed a three-song set at a special fundraiser for US
President Barack Obama held in New York's Plaza Hotel. A new song titled "Bring It On Home",
which Carey wrote for the event to show her support for Obama's re-election campaign, was also
performed.[195] In August 2012, she released a stand-alone single, "Triumphant (Get 'Em)",
featuring rappers Rick Ross and Meek Mill and co-written and co-produced by Carey, Jermaine
Dupri, and Bryan-Michael Cox.[196][197] Carey joined the judging panel of the twelfth
season of American Idol as Jennifer Lopez's replacement, joining Randy Jackson, Nicki
Minaj and Keith Urban.[198][199] Throughout the show there were on-set disagreements
between Minaj and Carey.[200][201] Three years later, Carey did not make an appearance for its
original series finale.[202][203] Carey appeared in Lee Daniels' 2013 film The Butler, about a White
House butler who served eight American presidents over the course of three decades.[204]
[205]
 Carey made guest voice-star as a redneck character on the adult animated series American
Dad! on November 24, 2013.[206][207]
In February 2013, Carey recorded and released a song called "Almost Home", for the soundtrack
of the Walt Disney Studios film Oz the Great and Powerful. The video was directed by
photographer David LaChapelle.[208][209] For her 14th album, Carey worked with producers
including DJ Clue?, Randy Jackson, Q-Tip, R. Kelly, David Morales, Loris Holland, Stevie
J, James Fauntleroy II, Ray Angry, Afanasieff, Dupri, Bryan-Michael Cox, James "Big Jim"
Wright, Hit-Boy, The-Dream, Da Brat, and Rodney Jerkins. Carey told Billboard: "It's about
making sure I have tons of good music, because at the end of the day that's the most important
thing... There are a lot more raw ballads than people might expect...there are also uptempo and
signature-type songs that represent [my] different facets as an artist."[210]
The lead single, "Beautiful" featuring singer Miguel, was released on May 6, 2013, and peaked at
number 15 on the Hot 100.[211] Carey taped a performance of "Beautiful" along with a medley of
her greatest hits on May 15, 2013; the taping aired on the American Idol finale the following day.
[212]
 On October 14, 2013, Carey announced that the album's former title track has been chosen
as the second single; it premiered via Facebook on November 11, 2013. During a Q&A session
following the song's release, Carey gave an update about the album, stating: "Now I've been
inspired to add two more songs, so we're almost there. I can't even express this properly but I
feel like this is gonna be my favorite album."[213] Following another song release, "You're Mine
(Eternal)",[214] it was announced that The Art of Letting Go would no longer be the title of the
album.[215] After the final name was announced, Me. I Am Mariah... The Elusive Chanteuse was
released on May 27, 2014.[216]
In October 2014, Carey announced All I Want For Christmas Is You, A Night of Joy & Festivity,
an annual residency show at the Beacon Theatre in New York City.[217] The first leg included six
shows, running from December 15 to 22, 2014.[218] Carey announced the second leg in October
2015.[219] The second leg ran for 8 shows, from December 8–18, 2015.[220]
2015–2017: Las Vegas residency, television and film projects
On January 30, 2015, it was announced that Carey had left Universal Music Group's Def Jam
Recordings to reunite with L.A. Reid and Sony Music via Epic Records.[221][222][223] Carey also
announced her new #1 to Infinity residency at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace in Las
Vegas the same month.[224] To coincide with the residency, Carey released #1 to Infinity,
a greatest hits compilation album containing all of her eighteen Billboard Hot 100 number one
singles at the time, along with a new recording, "Infinity", which was released as a single on April
27.[225] In 2015 Carey had her directorial debut for the Hallmark Channel Christmas movie A
Christmas Melody, in which she also performed as one of the main characters. Filming for the
project took place during October 2015.[226] In December 2015, Carey announced The Sweet
Sweet Fantasy Tour which spanned a total of 27-dates beginning in March 2016, marking
Carey's first major tour of mainland Europe in 13 years. Four stops included shows in South
Africa.[227] The tour grossed $30.3 million.[228]

Carey attending Elton John's Academy Awards Party in February 2016

On March 15, 2016, Carey announced that she was filming Mariah's World, a docu-series for
the E! network documenting her Sweet Sweet Fantasy tour and her wedding planning process.
Carey told The New York Times, "I thought it would be a good opportunity to kind of, like, show
my personality and who I am, even though I feel like my real fans have an idea of who I am... A
lot of people have misperceptions about this and that."[229] The series premiered on December 4,
2016.[230] Carey guest starred on the musical drama Empire, as a superstar singer named Kitty
and sung the song "Infamous" featuring Jussie Smollett.[231] On December 5, 2016, Carey
participated in the VH1 Divas Holiday: Unsilent Night benefit concert, alongside Vanessa
Williams, Chaka Khan, Patti LaBelle, and Teyana Taylor.[232] On December 31, 2016, Carey's
performance on Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve in Times Square received worldwide
attention after technical difficulties caused Carey's in-ear monitors to malfunction, resulting in
what The New York Times referred to as a "performance train wreck."[233] Carey cited her inability
to hear the music without in-ear auditory feedback as the cause for the mishap.[234] Carey's
representatives and Dick Clark Productions placed blame on each other.[235]
On February 3, 2017, Carey released the single "I Don't" featuring YG.[236] Later that month, she
voiced the Mayor of Gotham City in the animated film The Lego Batman Movie.[237] In July 2017,
Carey made a cameo in the comedy film Girls Trip, starring Queen Latifah, Jada Pinkett
Smith, Regina Hall, and Tiffany Haddish.[238] The same month, Carey embarked on a tour
with Lionel Richie, titled, All the Hits Tour.[239] Carey was also featured in the official remix
for French Montana's single "Unforgettable", alongside Swae Lee.[240] In October 2017, she
released a new soundtrack single, "The Star", for the movie of the same name.[241] Carey also
developed an animated Christmas film, titled Mariah Carey's All I Want For Christmas Is You, for
which she recorded an original song called "Lil' Snowman." The film was released direct-to-
video on November 14, 2017.[242][243] In the same month, Carey resumed her All I Want for
Christmas Is You, a Night of Joy and Festivity concert series, which for the first time visited other
countries including England and France.[244] On December 31, 2017, Carey returned to perform
on Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve after the technical difficulties that hindered her previous
performance, in what The New York Times described as a "made-for-television act of pop culture
redemption".[245]

2018–2019: Caution and Merry Christmas reissue
In 2018, Carey signed a worldwide deal with Live Nation Entertainment.[246] The first commitment
out of the deal was her new Las Vegas residency, The Butterfly Returns, which was launched in
July 2018 to critical acclaim.[247][248] Its first 12 shows in 2018 grossed $3.6 million, with dates later
extending into 2019 and 2020.[249] Following the residency, Carey embarked on her Mariah Carey:
Live in Concert tour in Asia and returned to Europe with her All I Want for Christmas Is You
concert series.[250][251] In September 2018, Carey announced plans to release her fifteenth studio
album later in the year.[252][253] The project was announced alongside the release of a new song
titled "GTFO",[254] which she performed on September 21, 2018, when she headlined the
2018 iHeartRadio Music Festival.[255] The album's lead single, "With You", was released in
October and performed for the first time at the American Music Awards of 2018.[256] The single
became Carey's highest-charting non-holiday song on the US Adult Contemporary chart since
"We Belong Together" in 2005. It was followed by a second single, "A No No".[257] The album,
titled Caution, was released on November 16, 2018, and received universal acclaim from critics;
it debuted at number five on the Billboard 200.[258] By December 2018, the album had been
featured on numerous year-end lists by music critics and publications.[259]

Carey performing on her Caution World Tour in Amsterdam, June 2019

In February 2019, Carey commenced the Caution World Tour in support of the album.[260] Later in
2019, Carey engaged in a series of business and television ventures. On May 29, 2019, the
film Always Be My Maybe, inspired by the song "Always Be My Baby", was published on Netflix.
[261]
 On September 18, 2019, Carey released "In the Mix", the theme song for
the ABC sitcom Mixed-ish.[262] On November 1, 2019, Carey re-released her holiday album Merry
Christmas for its 25th anniversary. The album package included the original album and another
disc which include live performances from Carey's 1994 concert at St. John the Divine Church,
several tracks from Merry Christmas II You, as well as other stand-alone singles such as "Lil
Snowman" and "The Star".[263] On December 5, 2019, it was announced that a mini-documentary
titled Mariah Carey Is Christmas!, charting the creation and subsequent cultural legacy of "All I
Want for Christmas Is You" was to be produced and broadcast on Amazon Music; it premiered
later that month.[264] Peaking at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 for the first time the same
year, the song ended up giving Carey her nineteenth chart-topper in the US.[265]

2020–present: The Rarities and The Meaning of Mariah Carey

In January 2020, it was announced that Carey would be inducted into the Songwriters Hall of
Fame during that year's ceremony on June 11, 2020, at the Marriott Marquis Hotel in New York
City.[266] Her memoir, The Meaning of Mariah Carey which was co-written with Michaela Angela
Davis, was published in September of the same year.[2] It recounts an "improbable and inspiring
journey of survival and resilience as she struggles through complex issues of race, identity,
class, childhood, and family trauma during her meteoric rise to music superstardom".[267] The
memoir became a number one New York Times Best Seller after its first week of release. Carey
announced plans to celebrate the 30th anniversary of her debut album through the rest of 2020,
in a promotional campaign billed "#MC30".[268] The first release consisted of the live EP The Live
Debut – 1990 which was released on July 17, 2020.[269] The digital-only release includes live
performances from Carey's debut showcase at New York City's Club Tatou on October 22, 1990.
[270]

On October 2, 2020, Carey released a compilation album titled The Rarities, which includes rare
and unreleased songs that Carey recorded at various stages of her career.[271][272][273] Its lead single,
"Save the Day" featuring Lauryn Hill, was released on August 20,[274][275][276] and its music video was
released on September 13 as part of the airing of the US Open.[277] Four days later, the album's
second single—a cover of Irene Cara's "Out Here on My Own"—was released after being
recorded by Carey in 2000.[278][279] At the end of October, Carey was featured on the track "Where I
Belong" from Busta Rhymes' album Extinction Level Event 2: The Wrath of God, which was later
released as the third single from the album in April 2021.[280]
Carey's 2020 Christmas special, Mariah Carey's Magical Christmas Special, premiered on
December 4, 2020, on Apple TV+ along with a soundtrack. The special featured guests,
including Ariana Grande, Jennifer Hudson, Snoop Dogg, Misty Copeland, Jermaine Dupri, and
Mykal-Michelle Harris. A new version of Carey's 2010 song "Oh Santa!", featuring guest vocals
from Grande and Hudson, was released as a single the same day,[281] and peaked at number 76
on the US Billboard Hot 100.[282] One week later, "All I Want for Christmas Is You" topped the UK
charts for the first time after spending a record 69 weeks in its top 40 prior to reaching the
summit, becoming Carey's third number-one song in the country.[283]
In July 2021, Carey was featured on the track "Somewhat Loved" from Jimmy Jam and Terry
Lewis' debut studio album Jam & Lewis: Volume One, which was released as the third single
from the album, and reached the top-ten on the US Adult R&B Songs chart.[284] On November 2,
2021, Carey teased a snippet of a new song titled "Fall in Love at Christmas", which
features Khalid and Kirk Franklin. The single was released on November 5 and it was performed
on her new Christmas special titled Mariah's Christmas: The Magic Continues.[285]
On January 12, 2022, Carey announced a children's picture book titled The Christmas Princess,
co-written with Michaela Angela Davis and illustrated by Fuuji Takashi;[286] it was released in
November that year.[1] In March, Carey was featured alongside DJ Khaled on the remix of
rapper Latto's single "Big Energy", taken from her sophomore album, 777.[287] The remix
interpolates Carey's 1995 single "Fantasy".[288] It peaked at number 6 on the ARIA Charts and was
certified double Platinum in Australia.[289] It also charted at number 21 on the UK Official Singles
Chart and was certified Silver by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI).[290] In April, an
online MasterClass course based on singing, in which Carey served as a vocal coach, was
released.[291] A re-recorded version of Carey's 1998 single, "The Roof", featuring Brandy
Norwood and subtitled "(When I Feel The Need)", was made available exclusively to Masterclass
subscribers.[292][293] Later that month, Number 1's was released on vinyl as a Record Store
Day exclusive.[294][295] In June, Carey performed the remix of "Big Energy" with Latto at the BET
Awards 2022; she made a surprise appearance during the latter's set.[296]

Carey performing at Scotiabank Arena in December 2022

On September 16, 2022, an expanded version of Butterfly was released for the 25th anniversary
of the album.[297][298] In December 2022, Carey performed a pair of shows at two
venues: Scotiabank Arena in Toronto on December 9 and December 11, 2022, and Madison
Square Garden in New York City on December 13 and December 16, 2022.[299] On December 20,
2022, a television special adapted from her shows in New York, titled Mariah Carey: Merry
Christmas to All!, aired on CBS and became the most watched program of its night, drawing in a
total of 3.8 million viewers and a 0.4 demo rating.[300]
Carey's 2009 track "It's a Wrap" experienced a revival on TikTok in February 2023 which
promoted her to release a EP for the track which included a new sped-up version.[301]

Artistry
Influences
Carey has said that from childhood she has been influenced by Billie Holiday, Sarah Vaughan as
well as R&B and soul musicians including Al Green, Stevie Wonder, Gladys Knight, and Aretha
Franklin.[302] Her music contains strong influences of gospel music, and she credits the Clark
Sisters, Shirley Caesar, and Edwin Hawkins as the most influential in her early years.[302] When
Carey incorporated hip hop into her sound, speculation arose that she was making an attempt to
take advantage of the genre's popularity, but she told Newsweek, "People just don't understand.
I grew up with this music."[303] She has expressed appreciation for rappers such as the Sugarhill
Gang, Eric B. & Rakim, the Wu-Tang Clan, The Notorious B.I.G. and Mobb Deep, with whom she
collaborated on the single "The Roof (Back in Time)" (1998).[304] Carey was heavily influenced
by Minnie Riperton, and began experimenting with the whistle register due to her original practice
of the range.[304]
During Carey's career, her vocal and musical style, along with her level of success, has been
compared to Whitney Houston, whom she has also cited as an influence,[305] and Celine Dion.
Carey and her peers, according to Garry Mulholland, are "the princesses of wails... virtuoso
vocalists who blend chart-oriented pop with mature MOR torch song."[306] Author and writer Lucy
O'Brien attributed the comeback of Barbra Streisand's "old-fashioned showgirl" to Carey and
Dion, and described them and Houston as "groomed, airbrushed and overblown to
perfection."[306] Carey's musical transition and use of more revealing clothing during the late 1990s
were, in part, initiated to distance herself from this image, and she subsequently said that most of
her early work was "schmaltzy MOR."[306] Some have noted that unlike Houston and Dion, Carey
writes and produces her own music.[307]

Musical style

Carey performing at the Walt Disney World Resort in 2010

Love is the subject of the majority of Carey's lyrics, although she has written about themes such
as loss, sex, race, abuse and spirituality.[308][309] She has said that much of her work is partly
autobiographical, but Time magazine's Christopher John Farley wrote: "If only Mariah Carey's
music had the drama of her life. Her songs are often sugary and artificial—NutraSweet soul. But
her life has passion and conflict," applying it to the first stages of her career. He commented that
as her albums progressed, so too her songwriting and music blossomed into more mature and
meaningful material.[310] Jim Faber of the New York Daily News, made similar comments, "For
Carey, vocalizing is all about the performance, not the emotions that inspired it. Singing, to her,
represents a physical challenge, not an emotional unburdening."[311]
While reviewing Music Box, Stephen Holden from Rolling Stone commented that Carey sang
with "sustained passion," while Arion Berger of Entertainment Weekly wrote that during some
vocal moments, Carey becomes "too overwhelmed to put her passion into words."[312] In
2001, The Village Voice wrote about Carey's "centerless ballads, "Carey's Strawberry
Shortcake soul still provides the template with which teen-pop cuties draw curlicues around those
centerless [Diane] Warren ballads [.....] it's largely because of [Blige] that the new R&B demands
a greater range of emotional expression, smarter poetry, more from-the-gut testifying, and less
[sic] unnecessary notes than the squeaky-clean and just plain squeaky Mariah era. Nowadays
it's the Christina Aguileras and Jessica Simpsons who awkwardly oversing, while the women with
roof-raising lung power keep it in check when tune or lyric demands."[313]
Carey's output makes use of electronic instruments such as drum machines,[135] keyboards and
synthesizers.[314] Many of her songs contain piano-driven melodies,[315] as she was given piano
lessons when she was six years old.[25] Carey said that she cannot read sheet music and prefers
to collaborate with a pianist when composing her material, but feels that it is easier to experiment
with faster and less-conventional melodies and chord progressions using this technique.[25] While
Carey learned to play the piano at a young age, and incorporates several ranges of production
and instrumentation into her music, she has maintained that her voice has always been her most
important asset: "My voice is my instrument; it always has been."[96]
Carey began commissioning remixes of her material early in her career and helped to spearhead
the practice of recording entirely new vocals for remixes.[316] Disc jockey David Morales has
collaborated with Carey on several occasions, starting with "Dreamlover" (1993), which
popularized the tradition of remixing R&B songs into house records, and which Slant magazine
named one of the greatest dance songs of all time.[317] From "Fantasy" (1995) onward, Carey
enlisted both hip-hop and house producers to re-structure her album compositions.
[82]
 Entertainment Weekly included two remixes of "Fantasy" on a list of Carey's greatest
recordings compiled in 2005: a National Dance Music Award-winning remix produced by
Morales, and a Sean Combs production featuring rapper Ol' Dirty Bastard.[318] The latter has been
credited with popularizing the R&B/hip-hop collaboration trend that has continued into the 2000s,
through artists such as Ashanti and Beyoncé.[316] Combs said that Carey "knows the importance
of mixes, so you feel like you're with an artist who appreciates your work—an artist who wants to
come up with something with you."[319]
In an article in The New York Times, writer David Browne discusses how the once-ubiquitous
melisma pop style was heavily popularized by singers such as Carey. Browne commented,
"beginning [in 1990], melisma overtook pop in a way it hadn't before. Mariah Carey's debut hit
from 1990, "Vision of Love", [set] the bar insanely high for notes stretched louder, longer and
knottier than most pop fans had ever heard." Browne further added "A subsequent generation of
singers, including Ms. Aguilera, Jennifer Hudson and Beyoncé, built their careers around
melisma. (Men like Brian McKnight and Tyrese also indulged in it, but women tended to dominate
the form.)"[320]