Mariah Carey : Pop Singer

By Kristyne McDaniel

Born on March 27th in 1970, Mariah Carey has since seen a meteoric rise to stardom even through many varied opinions about her talent, and attacks on her personality.  She is an American pop and rhythm and blues singer and songwriter, who throughout her career to have also filled the shoes of record producer and even actress, and all this amidst many varying stories of her actions beyond the stage.  She made her debut in 1990 under the guidance of Columbia executive Tommy Mottola, and had her first five singles top the charts, totally unheard of before her time.

Following her marriage to Mottola, she has had a series of successful albums that garnered her a position as the highest selling act for Columbia, and is the most successful American artist of the Nineties according to one magazine.  Carey then took full creative control of her career after divorcing Mottola in 1997, and incorporated elements of hip-hop into her music after at that time, her popularity was on the wane however after she left Columbia records in 2001.

Soon afterward, she was dropped from the Virgin records label because of a highly publicized physical and emotional breakdown, and the item that topped it all off was the poor reception for her film and soundtrack project.  Carey later signed on with Island/Def Jam records, and after breaking through an awkward phase, she came to the forefront of popular music once again in 2005.  She is especially noteworthy for her singing capabilities, and tonal range, even though critics have commented that she focuses on her vocal talents while foregoing emotion in her songs.