Maria Carey - Biography and CDs

BORN: March 27, 1970, New York, NY

Mariah Carey became a star on the strength of her amazing five-octave voice which allowed her to move easily from ballads to dance-pop. She has been compared to rivals Whitney Houston and Celine Dion, but went one better by composing all of her own material.

Born in Long Island, New York on March 27, 1970, Mariah Carey moved to New York City at the age of 17, just one day after graduating high school, to pursue a music career. It was there she befriended keyboardist Ben Margulies, with whom she began writing songs. Her big break came as a backing vocalist on a studio session with dance-pop singer Brenda K. Starr. Brenda was impressed by her talents and handed Carey's demo tape to Columbia Records head, Tommy Mottola, at a party. According to legend, Mottola listened to the tape in his limo while driving home that same evening, and was so immediately struck by Carey's talent that he doubled back to the party to track her down.

After signing to Columbia, Carey entered the studio to begin work on her 1990 self-titled debut LP. The album was heavily promoted and became a chart-topping smash, launching no fewer than four number one singles: 'Vision of Love', 'Love Takes Time', 'Someday' and 'I Don't Wanna Cry'. Almost overnight she became a success and earned Grammy awards as 'Best New Artist' and 'Best Female Vocalist'.

Carey's follow-up, 1991's Emotions was eagerly awaited. The album did not disappoint, and the title track reached number one, while both 'Can't Let Go' and 'Make It Happen' landed in the Top Five.

Mariah released an EP in 1992, heavily plugged on MTV. 'Unplugged' featured a number one hit of the Jackson 5's 'I'll Be There'.

In June, 1993, Carey wed Mottola who was 20 years older, in a headline-grabbing ceremony. A few months later she released her third album, 'Music Box', which became her best selling record to date. It generated two more hit singles, 'Dreamlover' and 'Hero' both reaching the top spot on the charts.

Mariah Carey's first tour followed but was not a great success with the critics. Undaunted, she came back in 1994 with a Christmas release titled 'Merry Christmas' and produced from it a seasonal smash with 'All I Want for Christmas Is You.'

1995's 'Daydream' introduced the hit single, 'Fantasy', which launched at number one, making Mariah the first female artist and just the second performer ever to accomplish this feat. Amazingly the follow-up, 'One Sweet Day', a collaboration with Boyz II Men, repeated the trick, and remained at the top of the charts for 16 weeks.

Separating from Mottola, Mariah re-surfaced in 1997 with 'Butterfly', which became another phenomenal success and her most 'hip-hop-flavored' recording so far.

"#1's, a collection" featuring her 13 previous chart-topping singles as well as 'The Prince of Egypt (When You Believe)', a duet with Whitney Houston followed late in 1998.

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