Information on mariah carey biography video
Mariah Carey
American singer (born )
For the album, see Mariah Carey (album).
Mariah Carey (mə-RY-ə;[1]:&#;&#; born March 27, )[a] is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and actress. Dubbed the "Songbird Supreme" by Guinness World Records, Carey is known for her five-octave vocal range, melismatic singing style and signature use of the whistle register.
An influential figure in music, she was ranked as the fifth greatest singer of all time by Rolling Stone in
Carey rose to fame in with her self-titled debut album and became the only artist to have their first five singles reach number one on the US Billboard Hot chart, from "Vision of Love" to "Emotions". She achieved an international success with the best-selling albumsMusic Box () and Daydream (), before adopting a new image with hip hop-inflected sounds, following the release of Butterfly ().
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The remix of her song "Fantasy", featuring Ol' Dirty Bastard, popularized the blend of pop and hip-hop into mainstream music. With eleven consecutive years of US number-one songs, Billboard ranked Carey as the most successful artist of the s. Following a career decline and the failure of her film Glitter, she returned to the top of the charts with The Emancipation of Mimi (), one of the best-selling albums of the 21st century.
Carey's public and personal life, including her diva persona, high-profile relationships and public breakdown in , has received widespread media coverage. She has also been dubbed the "Queen of Christmas" due to the enduring popularity of her holiday music, particularly Merry Christmas (), the best-selling holiday album, and its single "All I Want for Christmas Is You", which is the best selling holiday single by a female artist of all time.
Outside of music, she has acted in major roles in the films Tennessee (), Precious (), The Butler (), A Christmas Melody (), and The Lego Batman Movie (). Carey also served as an American Idol judge in and starred in the docu-series Mariah's World. She published a memoir, The Meaning of Mariah Carey, in
Carey is one of the best-selling music artists, with over million records sold worldwide.
She was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame, the Long Island Music and Entertainment Hall of Fame, and the National Recording Registry at the Library of Congress.
Her accolades include 5 competitive Grammy Awards and a Grammy Global Impact Award, 10 American Music Awards, 19 World Music Awards and 20 Billboard Music Awards. She holds the record for the most Billboard Hot number-one singles by a solo artist (19), a female songwriter (18), and a female producer (15), spending a record 97 weeks atop the chart.
"One Sweet Day" and "We Belong Together" were ranked by Billboard as the most successful songs of the s and s, respectively. Carey is the highest-certified female artist in the United States and 10th overall, with 75 million certified album-equivalent units.
Early life
Carey was born on March 27, ,[a] in Huntington, New York.[5][6] Her name is derived from the song "They Call the Wind Maria", originally from the Broadway musical Paint Your Wagon.[7][8] 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 both African-American and Afro-Venezuelan lineage.
The last name "Carey" was adopted by her Venezuelan grandfather, Francisco Núñez, after he emigrated to New York.[9][6] Patricia's family disowned her for marrying a black man. 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.[9] After her parents' divorce, Carey had little contact with Alfred, and Patricia 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.[10][11]
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,[12] where she graduated in [13] Carey began vocal training under her mother's guidance. 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."[12][14] 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.[14] 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 hours of beauty school.[15] Carey moved into a one-bedroom apartment in Manhattan with four female students as roommates.[16] She landed a gig singing backup for freestyle singer Brenda K. Starr.[17][18]
Career
– Career beginnings and self-titled debut album
In December , Carey accompanied Starr to a music executive's party and handed her demo tape to the head of Columbia Records, Tommy Mottola.[19][20] After listening to the tape during the ride home, he immediately requested the driver turn around.
She had already left the event, and Mottola spent two weeks looking for her. Another record label expressed interest and a bidding war ensued. He signed Carey to Columbia and enlisted producers Ric Wake, Narada Michael Walden, and Rhett Lawrence for her first album.[19]
Columbia marketed Carey as the main female artist on their roster, competing with Arista Records's Whitney Houston and Madonna of Sire Records.[21] It spent upwards of $1&#;million promoting Carey's debut studio album, Mariah Carey.[22] On June 5, , Carey made her first public appearance at the 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."[23] The album topped the US Billboard 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".[24][25] The album's singles "Vision of Love", "Love Takes Time", "Someday", and "I Don't Wanna Cry" all topped the US Billboard Hot [26]Mariah Carey was the best-selling album in the United States in ,[27] and achieved worldwide sales of 15 million copies.[28]
– Emotions and MTV Unplugged
Carey co-wrote, co-produced, and recorded her second studio effort, Emotions, during [29][30] She described it as a homage to Motownsoul music and 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.[31] Carey's relationship with Margulies deteriorated over a songwriting royalties dispute.
After he filed a lawsuit against Columbia's parent company, Sony Music Entertainment, the songwriting duo parted ways.[30]Emotions was released on September 17 that year. Its title track served as the album's lead single and became Carey's fifth chart topper on the Billboard Hot , making her the first artist whose first five singles reached the chart's summit.[32] Though critics praised the album's content and described it as a more mature effort, the album was criticized as calculated and lacking originality.[33] While the album managed sales of eight million copies globally, Emotions failed to reach the commercial and critical heights of its predecessor.[34]
Carey did not embark on a world tour to promote the album.[35] Although she attributed this to stage fright and the vocally challenging nature of her material, speculation grew that Carey was a "studio worm" and incapable of producing the perfect pitch and five-octavevocal range for which she was known.[36][37] In hopes of ending any speculation of her being a manufactured artist, Carey booked an appearance on MTV Unplugged.
The show presented artists "unplugged" or in a stripped setting and devoid of studio equipment.[38] Days prior to the show's taping, Carey and Afanasieff chose to add a cover of the Jackson 5's song "I'll Be There" to the set-list. On March 16, , she played and recorded an intimate seven-song show at Kaufman Astoria Studios in Queens, New York.[39] The acclaimed revue was aired more than three times as often as the average episode,[40] and critics heralding it as a "vocal Tour de force".[41] Carey's live version of "I'll Be There" became her sixth number-one single on the Billboard Hot chart.
Sony capitalized on this success and released an extended play (EP) of her performance. It earned a triple-Platinum certification by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA)[42] and earned Gold and Platinum certifications in several European markets.[43]
– Music Box and Merry Christmas
Following years of dating,[44] Carey and Mottola got married on June 5, [45] 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 it began a songwriting partnership that would extend until 's Butterfly.[46] The album was released on August 31, , 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."[47] In promotion of the album, Carey embarked on her debut tour, a six-date concert series, the Music Box Tour.[48]Music Box's first and second singles, "Dreamlover" and "Hero", became Carey's seventh and eighth chart-toppers in the United States, while her cover of Badfinger's "Without You" became her first number-one single in Germany,[49] Sweden[50] and the United Kingdom.[51]Music Box remains Carey's best-seller and one of the best-selling albums, with worldwide sales of over 28 million copies.[52]
In mid, Carey and Luther Vandross recorded and released a cover of Lionel Richie and Diana Ross's "Endless Love".[53]Merry Christmas, released on November 1, , became the best-selling Christmas album, with global sales of over 15 million copies.[54][55][56] The lead single, "All I Want for Christmas Is You", became a holiday standard and continues to surge in popularity each holiday season.
By October , it had become the 11th best-selling single in history with over 16 million copies sold worldwide.[58]
– Daydream and Someone's Ugly Daughter
Carey's fifth studio album, Daydream, found her consolidating creative control over her career, leading to tensions with Columbia.[59] Songs from her prior two albums had been primarily shaped by Mottola's conceptualization of what Carey should sound like, as innocent and wholesome tracks dominated by her vocal performance.[60]Daydream featured a departure from her allegiance to pop and gravitated heavily towards R&B and hip hop.[59] Critically, the album was described as Carey's best to date.
The New York Times named it one of 's best albums and wrote it "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."[61] Its lead single, "Fantasy", became the first single by a female artist to debut at number one on the Billboard Hot ,[62] and the second song overall after Michael Jackson's "You Are Not Alone".[63] "One Sweet Day", a collaboration with R&B group Boyz II Men, served as the second single from Daydream and remained atop the Billboard Hot for a record-breaking 16 consecutive weeks, becoming the longest-running number-one song in the history of the charts at the time.[64] It also opened at the top spot, becoming Carey's second track to do so.[63] The album's third single, "Always Be My Baby", became Carey's eleventh chart-topper, tying her with Madonna and Whitney Houston for the most number-one singles among female artists at the time.[64]
Daydream became Carey's biggest-selling album in the United States,[65] and her second album to be certified Diamond by the RIAA, after Music Box.[42] The album continued Carey's dominance in Asian music markets and sold in excess of million copies in Japan alone and over 20 million copies globally.[66][67]Daydream and its singles were nominated in six categories at the 38th Grammy Awards.[68] 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."[69] In early , she embarked on her first international string of concerts, the Daydream World Tour. Its seven dates spanned three in Japan and four throughout Europe.[70]Forbes named Carey the top-earning female musician of , collecting an estimated $32 million.[71]
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.[72] Her contributions were secret until the release of her memoir The Meaning of Mariah Carey.[73]
– New image with 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, she 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.[74]Butterfly was released on September 10, ,[75] and introduced a more subdued style of singing, with critics noting Carey's incorporation of breathy vocals.[76] Some viewed her lack of propensity to use her upper range as a sign of maturity,[77] while others questioned whether it forebode waning vocal prowess.[78][79] The music video for the album's lead single, "Honey", her first since separating from Mottola, introduced a more overtly sexual image.[80]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 was "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."[81] 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.'"[82] "Honey" and "My All", the album's fifth single, both topped the Hot , making Carey a female artist with the most number-one singles in the chart's history.
January 21, Carey's fifth studio album, Daydream , found her consolidating creative control over her career, leading to tensions with Columbia. Carey's output makes use of electronic instruments such as drum machines , [ ] keyboards and synthesizers. Even as a toddler, Mariah amazed her mother by imitating her operatic singing, exhibiting a vocal talent that would eventually define her career.Though a commercial success, Butterfly failed to reach the commercial heights of her previous albums, Music Box and Daydream.[83]
After concluding her Butterfly World Tour, Carey participated in the VH1 Divasbenefit concert on April 14, , where she sang alongside Aretha Franklin, Celine Dion, Shania Twain, Gloria Estefan, and Carole King.[84] Carey began conceptualizing a film project All That Glitters, later re-titled to simply Glitter (),[85] and wrote songs for other projects, such as Men in Black () and How the Grinch Stole Christmas ().
After Glitter fell into developmental hell, Carey postponed the project and began writing material for a new album.[86]Sony Music executives insisted she prepare a greatest hits collection in time for the holiday season.[87] The album, titled #1's (), 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 ().[88]#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. It sold over &#;million copies in Japan in its first three months and holds the record as the best-selling album by a non-Asian artist.[89]
With only one album left to fulfill her contract with Sony, and with a desire to separate herself professionally from the record label her ex-husband still headed, Carey completed the album in three months in mid[45] 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. She instead chose to work with David Foster and Diane Warren. "Heartbreaker" and "Thank God I Found You" both topped the Billboard Hot , while her rendition of Phil Collins' "Against All Odds (Take a Look at Me Now)" with Irish boy band Westlife became her second number-one song on the UK charts.
Rainbow was released on November 2, , to the highest first-week sales of her career at the time, and debuted at number two on the Billboard [90] 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.[91]
Ultimately, the song was only given a very limited and low-promotion release.[92] 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."[93] Though a commercial success, Rainbow became Carey's lowest selling album at that point in her career.[94]
– 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,[95] and parted from Columbia Records.
She signed an unprecedented $80&#;million five-album recording contract with Virgin Records (EMI Records) in April [96][97]Glitter was a musical departure, recreating a s post-disco era to accompany the film, set in Carey was given full conceptual and creative control over the project.[96] 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.[98]
In July , Carey suffered a physical and emotional breakdown. She began posting disturbing messages on her website and behaved erratically in live promotional outings.[99] On July 19, Carey made a surprise appearance on the MTV program Total Request Live (TRL).
As the show's host Carson Daly began taping following a commercial break, she came out pushing an ice cream cart while wearing a large men's shirt and began a striptease that revealed a tight ensemble.[] She credited exhaustion for the appearance going awry.[] Days later, Carey posted irregular voice notes on her website.[] On July 26, she was hospitalized due to exhaustion and a "physical and emotional breakdown".
Carey was admitted to a hospital in Connecticut and remained under doctor's care for two weeks, followed by an extended absence from the public.[] Virgin Records and 20th Century Fox delayed the release of Glitter and its soundtrack.[][] Critics panned Glitter and its soundtrack; both were unsuccessful commercially.[] The soundtrack became Carey's lowest-selling album to that point.
The St.
Louis Post-Dispatch condemned it as "an absolute mess that'll go down as an annoying blemish on [her] career."[] She attributed the poor performance to her state of mind, its postponement and the soundtrack having been released on September []
Carey's record deal with Virgin Records was bought out for $28&#;million.[96][97] She flew to Capri, Italy, for five months, and wrote material for a new album there.[99] Carey 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."[] She signed a contract with Island Records, valued at more than $24&#;million,[] 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.[] Her song "Sunflowers for Alfred Roy" from Charmbracelet is dedicated to his memory.[] In , she 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."[]
In December , Carey released her ninth studio album, Charmbracelet, which she said marked "a new lease on life" for her.[] 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",[] 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."[] To support the album, Carey embarked on the Charmbracelet World Tour, spanning North America and East Asia over three months.[] While smaller venues were booked throughout the tour's stateside leg, Carey performed in stadiums in Asia and Europe.[] In the United Kingdom, it was her first tour to feature shows outside London.[] The tour garnered generally positive reviews, with many praising the production and Carey's vocals.[]
– Resurgence with The Emancipation of Mimi
Carey's tenth studio album, The Emancipation of Mimi in , 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."[]The Emancipation of Mimi topped the charts in the United States, becoming her fifth number-one album and first since Butterfly (), and was warmly accepted by critics.
Information on mariah carey biography video Albums singles songs videography performances. Singles discography. Hollywood Focus. She described the album as "very much like a party recordCaroline 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,"[] 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."[] The album's second single, "We Belong Together", became a "career re-defining"[] song for Carey, after a relatively unsuccessful period and a point when many critics had considered her career over.[]
Music critics heralded the song as her "return to form," as well as the "return of The Voice,"[] while many felt it would revive "faith" in Carey's potential as a balladeer.[] "We Belong Together" broke several records in the United States and became Carey's sixteenth chart topper on the Billboard Hot 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 "One Sweet Day".[]Billboard listed it as the "song of the decade" and the ninth most popular song of all time.[] The song broke several airplay records, and according to Nielsen BDS, and gathered both the largest one-day and one-week audiences in history.[]
During the week of September 25, , Carey set another record, becoming the first woman to occupy the first two spots atop the Hot , 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 while being a featured singer on the number two single).[] On the US Billboard Hot Year-end Chart of , "We Belong Together" was declared the number one song, a first for Carey.[]Billboard listed "We Belong Together" ninth on The Billboard Hot All-Time Top Songs and was declared the most popular song of the s decade by Billboard.[] The album was re-released as The Ultra Platinum Edition, from which "Don't Forget About Us" became her seventeenth number-one in the United States.[][]
The Emancipation of Mimi earned ten Grammy Award nominations: eight in for the original release, the most received by Carey in a single year, and two in for the Ultra Platinum Edition.
Carey won Best Contemporary R&B Album for The Emancipation of Mimi and Best Female R&B Vocal Performance and Best R&B Song for "We Belong Together".[]The Emancipation of Mimi was 's best-selling album in the United States, with nearly five million units sold.
It was the first album by a solo female artist to become the year's best-selling album within the country since Alanis Morissette's Jagged Little Pill in [] At the end of , the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) reported that The Emancipation of Mimi had sold more than &#;million copies globally, and was the second-best-selling album of the year after Coldplay's X&Y.[][][] It has since sold 12 million copies worldwide.[] 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.[] The tour spanned 40 dates, with 32 in the United States and Canada, two in Africa, and six in Japan.[] It received warm reception from music critics and concert goers, many of which lauded Carey's vocals.[][]
– E=MC², Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel, and Precious
In early , Carey began to work on her eleventh studio album, E=MC².
Although the album was well received by some critics,[][] others criticized it for being very similar to the formula used on The Emancipation of Mimi.[] Two weeks before the album's release, "Touch My Body", the record's lead single, reached the top position on the Billboard Hot , 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.[] Carey is second only to The Beatles, who have twenty number-one singles.
Additionally, it gave Carey her 79th week atop the Hot , tying her with Presley as the artist with the most weeks at number one in the Billboard chart history."[]
E=MC² debuted at number one on the Billboard with , copies sold, the biggest opening week sales of her career.[] In , Carey also played an aspiring singer named Krystal in Tennessee[] and had a cameo appearance in Adam Sandler's film You Don't Mess with the Zohan, playing herself.[] Since the album's release, Carey had planned to embark on an extensive tour in support of E=MC².[] However, the tour was suddenly cancelled in early December [] Carey later stated that she had been pregnant during that time period and suffered a miscarriage, prompting the tour's cancellation.[][] On January 20, , Carey performed "Hero" at the Neighborhood Inaugural Ball after Barack Obama was sworn as the first African-American president of the United States.[] On July 7, , Carey—alongside Trey Lorenz—performed her version of "I'll Be There" at the memorial service for Michael Jackson.[]
In , she appeared as a social worker in Precious, the movie adaptation of the novel Push by Sapphire.
I'm a fighter, but I learned that I'm not in charge. In other projects. The couple became engaged on December 25, , and eventually married on June 5, When a high note is on the horizon, you brace yourself by touching your ear and adopting a pained expression, provoking the crowd into losing its collective mind.The film garnered mostly positive reviews from critics, also for Carey's performance.[]Variety described her acting as "pitch-perfect."[] In January , Carey won the Breakthrough Actress Performance Award for her role in Precious at the Palm Springs International Film Festival.[]
On September 25, , 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,"[] while Jon Caramanica from The New York Times criticized Carey's vocal performances, complaining she overused softer vocal registers at the expense of her more powerful lower and upper registers.[] Commercially, the album debuted at number three on the Billboard with first week sales of , copies.[] "Obsessed" served as the lead single and debuted at number eleven in the US before peaking at number seven.
It 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.[] Its follow-up single, a cover of Foreigner's "I Want to Know What Love Is", broke airplay records in Brazil. The song spent 27 weeks atop the Brasil Hot , making it the longest running song in the chart's history.[]
On December 31, , Carey embarked on her seventh concert tour, Angels Advocate Tour, which visited the United States and Canada and ended on September 26, [][] A planned remix album of Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel, titled Angels Advocate, was slated for a March 30, , release but was eventually cancelled after Island Def Jam decided to instead distribute "Up Out My Face" with Nicki Minaj and "Angels Cry" with Ne-Yo as stand-alone releases.[]
– Merry Christmas II You and Me.Information on mariah carey life The year-old singer Her breakthrough came in with her self-titled debut album, which catapulted her to fame and earned her five Grammy nominations. Archived from the original on January 19, Berger also said that Carey "has and continues to donate her time, money and countless hours of personal service to many organizations both here and abroad.
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.[] It was later revealed that it would be her second Christmas album, and follow-up to Merry Christmas.[55] The release date for the album, titled Merry Christmas II You, was November 2, ;[] the track list included new songs as well as a remix of "All I Want for Christmas Is You".[]Merry Christmas II You debuted at number four on the Billboard with sales of 56, copies, and number one on the R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart, making it only the second Christmas album to top this chart.[] In February , she recorded a duet with Tony Bennett for his Duets II album, titled "When Do The Bells Ring For Me?",[] and re-recorded "All I Want for Christmas Is You" with Justin Bieber as a duet for his Christmas album, Under the Mistletoe.[][] In November that year, Carey was included in the remix to the mixtape single "Warning" by Uncle Murda; the remix also features 50 Cent and Young Jeezy.[] Later that month, Carey released a duet with John Legend titled "When Christmas Comes", originally part of Merry Christmas II You.[]
On March 1, , Carey performed at New York City's Gotham Hall; her first time performing since her pregnancy.[][] 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.[] In August , she released a stand-alone single, "Triumphant (Get 'Em)", featuring rappers Rick Ross and Meek Mill.[] Carey joined the judging panel of the twelfth season of American Idol.[][] Throughout the show there were on-set disagreements between Carey and fellow judge Nicki Minaj.[][] Three years later, Carey did not make an appearance for its original series finale.[][] In , Carey appeared in Lee Daniels' film The Butler[] and had a guest role voicing as a redneck character on the adult animated series American Dad!.[]
In February , 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.[][] For her 14th album, she worked with producers including DJ Clue?, Randy Jackson, Q-Tip, R. Kelly, David Morales, Afanasieff, Dupri, The-Dream, and Da Brat. 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 expectthere are also uptempo and signature-type songs that represent [my] different facets as an artist."[] The lead single, "Beautiful", featuring singer Miguel, was released on May 6, , and peaked at number 15 on the Hot [] Carey taped a performance of "Beautiful" along with a medley of her greatest hits on May 15, This taping aired on the American Idol season finale the following day.[] After multiple delays, The album, titled Me.
I Am Mariah The Elusive Chanteuse, was released on May 27, []
In October , Carey announced an annual residency show All I Want for Christmas Is You: A Night of Joy and Festivity. Originally performed at the Beacon Theatre in New York City, the residency began on December 15, , and ended in [][]
– #1 to Infinity residency, television and film projects
On January 30, , 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.[][][] Carey also announced her new #1 to Infinity residency at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas the same month.[] To coincide with the residency, Carey released #1 to Infinity, a greatest hitscompilation album containing all of her eighteen Billboard Hot number one singles at the time, along with a new recording, "Infinity", which was released as a single on April [] In 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.[] In December , Carey announced The Sweet Sweet Fantasy Tour which spanned a total of dates beginning in March , marking Carey's first major tour of mainland Europe in 13 years.
Four stops included shows in South Africa.[] The tour grossed $&#;million.[]
On March 15, , 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."[] The series premiered on December 4, [] Carey guest starred on the musical drama Empire, as a superstar singer named Kitty and sang the song "Infamous" featuring Jussie Smollett.[] On December 5, , Carey participated in the VH1 Divas Holiday: Unsilent Night benefit concert, alongside Vanessa Williams, Chaka Khan, Patti LaBelle, and Teyana Taylor.[] On December 31, , Carey's performance on Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve in Times Square received worldwide attention after technical difficulties caused her in-ear monitors to malfunction, resulting in what The New York Times referred to as a "performance train wreck."[] She said her inability to hear the music without in-ear auditory feedback caused the mishap.[] Carey's representatives and Dick Clark Productions placed blame on each other.[]
On February 3, , Carey released the single "I Don't" featuring YG.[] Later that month, she voiced the Mayor of Gotham City in the animated film The Lego Batman Movie.[] In July , Carey made a cameo in the comedy film Girls Trip[] and embarked on a tour with Lionel Richie, titled, All the Hits Tour.[] She was also featured in the official remix for French Montana's single "Unforgettable", alongside Swae Lee.[] In October , Carey released a new soundtrack single, "The Star", for the movie of the same name.[] She also voiced a hen named Rebecca in the film.[] The song was nominated for the Best Original Song at the 75th Golden Globe Awards.[] Carey additionally developed an animated Christmas film, 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, [][] On December 31, , 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".[]