Mariah Carey
By All Music Guide
By All Music Guide
After signing to Columbia, Carey entered the studio to begin work on her 1990 self-titled debut LP; the heavily promoted album was a chart-topping smash, launching no less than four number one singles: Vision of Love, Love Takes Time, Someday, and I Dont Wanna Cry. Her overnight success earned Grammy awards as Best New Artist and Best Female Vocalist, and expectations were high for Careys follow-up, 1991s Emotions. The album did not disappoint, as the title track reached number one -- a record fifth consecutive chart-topper -- while both Cant Let Go and Make It Happen landed in the Top Five. Careys next release was 1992s MTV Unplugged EP, which generated a number one cover of the Jackson 5s Ill Be There; featured on the track was backup singer Trey Lorenz, whose appearance immediately helped him land a recording contract of his own.
In June 1993, Carey wed Mottola -- some two decades her senior -- in a headline-grabbing ceremony; months later she released her third full-length effort, Music Box, her best-selling record to date. Two more singles, Dreamlover and Hero, reached the top spot on the charts. Careys first tour followed and was widely panned by critics; undaunted, she resurfaced in 1994 with a holiday release titled Merry Christmas, scoring a seasonal smash with All I Want for Christmas Is You. 1995s Daydream reflected a new artistic maturity; the first single, Fantasy, debuted at number one, making Carey the first female artist and just the second performer ever to accomplish the feat. The follow-up, One Sweet Day -- a collaboration with Boyz II Men -- repeated the trick, and remained lodged at the top of the charts for a record 16 weeks.
After separating from Mottola, Carey returned in 1997 with Butterfly, another staggering success and her most hip-hop-flavored recording to date. #1s -- a collection featuring her 13 previous chart-topping singles as well as The Prince of Egypt (When You Believe), a duet with Whitney Houston effectively pairing the two most successful female recording artists in pop history -- followed late the next year. With Heartbreaker, the first single from her 1999 album Rainbow, Carey became the first artist to top the charts in each year of the 1990s; the record also pushed her ahead of the Beatles as the artist with the most cumulative weeks spent atop the Hot 100 singles chart.
However, the 2000s werent as kind to Carey. After signing an 80-million-dollar deal with Virgin -- the biggest record contract ever -- in 2001 she experienced a very public personal and professional meltdown that included rambling, suicidal messages on her website; an appearance on #TRL where, clad only in a T-shirt, she handed out Popsicles to the audience; and last but not least, the poorly received movie #Glitter and its attendant soundtrack (which was also her Virgin Records debut). Both the film and the album did poorly critically as well as commercially, with #Glitter making just under four million dollars in its total U.S. gross and the soundtrack struggling to make gold sales. Following these setbacks, Virgin and Carey parted ways early in 2002, with the label paying her 28 million dollars. That spring, she found a new home with Island/Def Jam, where she set up her own label, MonarC Music. In December, she released her ninth album, Charmbracelet, which failed to become a success. Although she took nearly three years for a follow-up, Carey found a hit with 2005s chart-topping The Emancipation of Mimi, her most successful record in years.
