Carey was named the best-selling female pop artist of the millennium at the 2000 World Music Awards. According to the Recording Industry Association of America, she is one of the best-selling female artists and sixteenth overall recording artist. In addition to her commercial accomplishments, Carey has earned five Grammy Awards, and is well-known for her vocal range, power, melismatic style, and use of the whistle register. She is ranked as the best-selling female artist of the U.S. Nielsen Soundscan era (third best-selling artist overall), with sales of over 62.5 million albums in the U.S. and has sold over 200 million albums worldwide.
Mariah Carey was born on March 27, 1970 in the Huntington area of Long Island, New York. Mariah’s parents Alfred Roy Carey and Patricia Hickey divorced early on in her life, forcing her mother Patricia to support Mariah and her two older siblings, sister Alison and brother Morgan, on her own. Patricia Hickey discovered Mariah’s talent for singing when she was just three years old. While preparing for a role in an opera production, Patricia noticed that baby Mariah was mimicking her exact same notes. Patricia, a former vocal coach, immediately began Mariah’s vocal training. Mariah’s passion for music and singing carried on well into her teens. Carey graduated from the Harborfields High School in Greenlawn, New York.
After high school, Mariah Carey packed her bags and headed straight for New York City in hopes of making it big as a recording artist. Carey juggled several part time jobs in the Big Apple while trying to get her foot in the door. She managed to get a gig as a backup singer for Freestyle artist Brenda K. Starr. Starr would be instrumental in helping Mariah Carey get her big break.
In June of 1990, Mariah made her debut with "Mariah Carey" which entered at #73, but on August 4, 1990, it reached #1. Her 1990 self-titled debut album went multi-platinum and spawned an extraordinary four consecutive #1 singles: "Vision of Love," "Love Takes Time," "Someday" and "I Don't Wanna Cry," and led to Grammy Awards for Best New Artist and Best Female Vocalist. Her 1993 album titled Music Box went ten-times platinum. On September 30, 1995, she made music history. Her single "Fantasy" from her 1995 Daydream album debuted at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100, making her the first female artist to accomplish a number one debut in the U.S. Her other Daydream's single "One Sweet Day" remained for 16 weeks at the top of the charts.
She is the only artist since The Beatles to have so many #1 singles and albums. With "Heartbreaker", the first single from her 1999 album Rainbow and also her 14 #1 single, she became the only artist to top the charts in each year of the 1990s, and with "Heartbreaker" at its 60th week atop the Billboard's charts, she pushed ahead of The Beatles’ 59-week record as the only artist with the most cumulative weeks spent atop Billboard's Hot 100 Singles chart. Following "Heartbreaker," her second single "Thank God I Found You" also from her Rainbow album became her 15th #1. "We Belong Together" from her 2005 album The Emancipation of Mimi became her 16th #1 single and was also her first #1 without any guest artists since her song "My All" (also a #1 single) captured the top spot in May 1998. The single "Don't Forget about Us" also from her 2005 album
Emancipation of Mimi became her 17th #1 single, tying her with Elvis Presley's 17 #1 singles. Three more Grammy Awards were gained from The Emancipation of Mimi album. She is the most successful selling female artist in music history and is the only female artist to have the most #1 singles and albums and also holds the record for straight #1 singles and albums each year. Along with numerous awards and incredible vocal range, she also composes all of her own material, with the exception of song covers.
Carey was named the best-selling female pop artist of the millennium at the 2000 World Music Awards. According to the Recording Industry Association of America, she is one of the best-selling female artists and sixteenth overall recording artist. In addition to her commercial accomplishments, Carey has earned five Grammy Awards, and is well-known for her vocal range, power, melismatic style, and use of the whistle register. She is ranked as the best-selling female artist of the U.S. Nielsen Soundscan era (third best-selling artist overall), with sales of over 62.5 million albums in the U.S. and has sold over 200 million albums worldwide.
In April 2008, the single "Touch My Body" became her 18th #1 single, pushing her ahead of Elvis Presley's 17 #1 singles. Now she is the only artist since The Beatles to have as many number one singles and the only singer alive likely to succeed them.