I am sure that Mariah Carey plays an important role in each of her true fans' lives. Why? Because in her music we all find something very personal, such unspeakable thoughts and emotions that only shine through her music and magic voice.

There are only few performers in today's music industry who work for success as much as Mariah, who writes all her songs while she endeavors to work with musicians who can help her the best way. Once you have fallen for Mariah's music she just never lets you down, her expressive voice and sincere lyrics can really make you addicted to her music. Her genuine personality is deeply involved in everything she does.

She truly has a unique relationship with her fans, always making us feel how important we are for her. She is continually working on something to give us a treat putting out an album almost every year, going on tour or making a film. She is an artist with incredible talents, but she is hardworking at the same time, which makes her almost too good to be true!

Mariah was born on March 27, 1970 on Long Island. Her mother of Irish decent was an opera singer with the New York City Opera, who married Mariah's father in 1960, who was an aeronautical engineer with afroamerican-venezuelan descent. It didn't turn out to be a wise decision in the sixties: not only was Mariah's mother disowned by her own family but the couple was under continual outside attacks. Mariah was the youngest of their three children, her brother Morgan was 10, her sister Allison was 9 years her senior.

Those never ending outside attacks poisoned their family life so much that the couple decided for divorce when Mariah was just three years old. She and her brother stayed with their mother while Allison went to live with their father. Patricia Carey needed to start working also as a vocal coach almost all day long to provide enough for her family, still financially hard years were to come. By the time Mariah was 12 they had moved 13 times, sometimes even because of racist neighbors, and occasionally Patricia's friends provided beds for the temporarily homeless family.

Mariah was not yet three when her mother noticed her extraordinary musical talent: once she missed a note during practice but the little Mariah didn't! Mariah was always singing at home mimicking her mother or songs and commercials she heard on the radio and TV. Soon she sang along Italian arias with her mother, who started giving her daughter formal singing lessons from the age of four. They almost grew up together as Patricia often took her daughter to her late night performances or singing lessons. Sometimes friends came over for jam sessions where Mariah played an active role singing along with adults, but not childrens' songs, of course!

However, it was not the disciplined world of operas that captivated Mariah but rather soul and gospel which gave her true artistic freedom to express herself. Her brother and sister often listened to Al Green, Aretha Franklin and Stevie Wonder, who soon became Mariah's favorite artists. This was a real turning point in her life: she decided to become a singer and nothing else! She was strongly determined but only her mother supported her dream, always telling her to believe in herself to be able to do what she wants, while her teachers often let her down. So she just kept her dream secret telling only those who stood close to her or when she had no other choice but tell the truth. She started writing poems and songs when she was 12.

Mariah has always felt different because of her mixed decent, she couldn't fit in either with blacks or whites. It was also hard for her to make true friends because moving places so many times. Music became her saving grace, and as she grew up in New York, rap and hip-hop influenced her a lot, too. She felt she had a lot in common with these artists who were hardened by living in the street. She knew what poverty meant, as a child she saw things that her peers with steady backgrounds had no idea of, but however desperate she was at times, fortunately music had always been there for her and she just needed nothing else.

She was 16 when she made her first demo with her brother's financial help. In the studio she met Ben Margulies who became her songwriting partner, with whom she later wrote songs like Vision of Love, Someday and Love Takes Time. Patricia allowed her daughter to commute to Ben's studio in Manhattan where she often stayed until dawn. She was missing from school a lot making her teachers angry, but whatever efforts were her teachers making to sober her down, she just didn't change her mind. And just a few days after she graduated from high school in 1987 she left for Manhattan to make her dream come true.

But of course it wasn't easy at all. She lived in a flat with two other girls, sleeping on a mattress on the floor, having only one pair of holed shoes in the cold, snowy New York winter. She didn't have enough money to eat properly, her main meal was pasta once a week... During the day she took her demo everywhere trying to get a record deal, but nobody paid attention to her, her songs weren't even listened to. At night she was in the studio with Ben. To be able to pay the bills she took on some menial jobs as a waitress or hat check girl, but she never took them seriously enough, listening to her headphones or writing lyrics all the time, and she got fired several times because of this attitude. Once she got a job to sweep up hair in a hair salon but she left it on the very first day because the owner couldn't remember her name and wanted to call her "Echo"...

Months had been passing this way when Mariah was told by a drummer that Brenda K. Starr was looking for a background singer. She got the job but her financial situation didn't get any better as Brenda couldn't pay much for her musicians working only part-time for her. But she found a true friend in Brenda who noticed Mariah's talent right away and decided to help her get a record deal. She introduced Mariah to all her music relations trying to convince them of her great talent, and when Warner Bros had already shown real interest for Mariah, she even persuaded her to go to a big music party on a cold Friday night in November, 1988 where she wanted Mariah to meet a music executive called Jerry Greenberg. Brenda was just about to hand over Mariah's demo to him when another hand snatched it out of her hand, which hand happened to belong to Tommy Mottola, an executive at Sony, who had already noticed Mariah's exotic beauty...

After leaving the party Tommy Mottola started to listen to the tape in his limousine, and having heard just two of the four songs he decided to go back but by that time Mariah and Brenda had already left, and there was no name or phone number on the tape! Mottola only knew that the girl arrived with Brenda and he was able to find Mariah through Brenda's management. On Monday he left a message on Mariah's answering machine, who called him back almost stuttering with excitement, and in the afternoon Mariah even had to bring along her mother to Mottola's office as she was under age to sign anything. The record deal was actually signed in December and then Mariah started a long year to make her debut album.

Tommy Mottola knew right from the start that Mariah could and must be made a star, and he did his best to make it happen. He brought the best producers to work with Mariah, who then was too shy to say no though she felt her original ideas were almost neglected. She felt her songs got overorchestrized and different from their original intentions. Still the record became a huge success but Mariah was more and more trying to find way for her own ideas in the recording studio. But she had become part of a machinery where superior interests played the main roles, and her artistic intentions fell under controlling arms almost all the time. Her career was to be based on her amazing voice rather than artistic freedom to do what she really liked, and often she was just not allowed to do things that didn't fit her already working image. For a while Mariah was willing to adapt herself as she was grateful for the opportunity, but the time was just to come when she finally managed to break free from all constraints.

What made this process longer was the true love coming alive between Mariah and Tommy during recording her first album, in spite of the big age gap between the two. First they kept it secret as Tommy was still married, but after the divorce they were ready to show their feelings to the world as well. Mariah had never been so happy, she had finally found the safety that had always been missing from her life, and she even married her true-love on June 5, 1993, though she had never really believed in marriage. Tommy was the first man in her life, and love conquered everything! But as years passed Mariah had to realize Tommy wasn't quite the man she had thought him to be. Although they had a lot in common, he was just too possessive and wanted to control Mariah in almost every aspect of her life. She couldn't work with musicians she really wanted to, wasn't allowed to try new styles or dress the way she liked. She needed Tommy's permission to meet her friends, and bodyguards were sent to escort her everywhere. She wanted to take acting lessons but Tommy said no to that too. He even tapped her phone! The last straw came in December, 1996 when Mariah finally left home to live in a hotel, which decision was followed by official divorce in March, 1998.

Despite their hard times, Mariah has always been grateful for Tommy for discovering her and the happiness they used to share, so first she didn't intend to leave Sony, and she was still bound to make five more albums for the record company. However, she wanted full control over her music and the right to work with people she wanted. Finally she was able to make an album she was completely satisfied with, which showed her real personality and not only an image that others had conceived. She named her album BUTTERFLY, which became the symbol of her freedom, and she considered the title song the best song she had ever written. Her "new" image first came to life in the video for the first single, Honey, where she played the role of a sexy diva rather than the new Mary Poppins of the nighties, escaping straight from the Mafia while singing and dancing to a real hip-hop tune. This wasn't to show that she had gone crazy, she just wanted to let the world know that now she could really do whatever she wanted!

A lot of people liked the "new" Mariah while others wished for the old one. Those who followed Mariah's career weren't so surprised as there had been several signs. Mariah has always been extraordinarily creative and made several remixes to her songs coming out on her singles, which gave her opportunity to try new things (which wasn't always welcome by Sony...). Back in 1993 even Dreamlover had a hip-hop remix, but most striking was the Fantasy (with O.D.B.) remix in 1995, a video to which was directed by Mariah herself. Mariah was the first major artist to have rappers in her songs, which made people at Sony think she was just out of her mind. Why does somebody with her caliber need rap that is considered completely worthless? They just forgot about Mariah's roots and difficult childhood, as she grew up with this music and felt that she had a lot in common with these sturdy lads hardened by the world of the streets, making it all on their own. Mariah just wanted to show who she really was and where she came from, as her past had a lot to do with the development of her personality, and her artistic sincerity bound her to reveal that side of herself too. She might have lost some of her old fans making this only outwardly drastic step, but in return the world now got to know her real self, which was prior to her. For true artists sincerity always comes first and they don't make up things just to sell more copies. Mariah is a special case as she has so many true fans standing by her side that they rushed out to buy her new single and album in such quantities that both records debuted at #1 on the Billboard charts!

Mariah's singing talent is undisputable for even those who don't like her style. Still some people find all kinds of faults with her all the time, as success automatically brings in the negative side. In the beginning Mariah was often criticized because the lyrics of her love songs were found "too naive and banal". These songs told love stories anyone could relate to, shared emotions we all go through at some point in our lives, but critics are never satisfied with everyday stories. If you use simple words to tell about the most personal things in your life, your character is just not complex enough to offer great diversity worth talking about. These critics only forget about one thing: Mariah's artistic vocabulary is actually the way she sings, she doesn't need complicated lyrics to express great emotions as this job is done by her truly expressive voice and singing style that makes people almost physically feel what she's singing about. It only depends on your temperament whether you like it or not.

She was often criticized for using her famous upper register said to be able to shatter glass... But she has never used it just to show off, she just gets completely lost in singing, and every time she sings a song she goes through real emotions that make her use her upper register almost instinctively. Her fans are always happy to see that as this is something that truly makes Mariah special in the music world. Quite interestingly, when she was trying to hold back this singing style on her album MUSIC BOX, her songs were just found lacking emotions by our reasoning critics... Then what on earth made more than 30 million people buy this record which has become Mariah's best-selling album to date?

The "new" Mariah is mostly criticized for her dressing style as it is found just too revealing, though this is not at all unusual in showbiz. But as Mariah didn't start out this way, she seems to have no right to change... She just wants to be herself, she has had enough of others telling her what is right for her to wear lest she should scare the public. She is pretty, young, full of emotions, why wouldn't she show it to the world? She has got to the phase of her career when it is also important for her to entertain people, and varied outfits calling for attention are just props for the show.

Through the years Mariah has learnt to handle criticism, though in the beginning critics used to give her hard times. But she also gained a lot of strength from them, just like after the first concert in Miami during her first ever tour in 1993. Just after the show she felt she had done her best, although she was apparently nervous as this was the first time she had been singing in front of 10000 people. The audience also seemed quite satisfied but what about the critics? When Mariah turned on CNN that night she just heard the following: "Well, the reviews are in and it's bad news for Mariah Carey." Then they started to scrutinize all kinds of faults they had found with her performance, which deeply hurt Mariah's feelings. But it also made her think how she could improve the show, and she had become so angry because of the personal attack made at her that she felt she had nothing to lose on her next show in Boston where she gave such a confident performance that made all her critics just shut up. Her new attitude was obvious on all of the remaining three shows, and she sang with such confidence in her Madison Garden concert in New York in front of 15000 people that her critics finally had to admit that she was a real entertainer and her singing talent didn't just work in the studio.

The first time Mariah had indisputably proven that she could also sing outside the studio was her incredibly successful MTV UNPLUGGED show in 1992. She won two Grammies in 1991 for her performance on her debut album as Best New Artist and Best Pop Vocal Performance (for Vision of Love). In 1996 she got six Grammy nominations for her DAYDREAM album but in the end she had to walk out empty-handed, which was the most staggering event of the night. Over the years she got fewer and fewer Grammy nominations from the critics, while she was gathering more and more awards for her popularity, and having sold more than 150 million records worldwide she is the most successful recording artist of all time! This means more to her than any praise from any reviewer, who still are always out to get her whatever she may do. But now Mariah seems to be the one who is the least concerned about their opinion.

But 2005 and THE EMANCIPATION OF MIMI seems to change everything in connection with Mariah: the album became the best selling album in 2005 with more than 5 million copies sold in the US, gained her 8 Grammy nominations, 3 of which she won this time: Best Female R&B Vocal Performance and Best R&B Song for We Belong Together, and Best Contemporary R&B Album for THE EMANCIPATION OF MIMI. And we haven't even spoken about the other numerous awards Mariah gathered at the end of 2005: at the 33rd annual American Music Awards in November she was voted Favorite Soul/Rhythm & Blues Female Artist by the 20,000 record-buyers whose votes determine the winners. At the 3rd annual VIBE Awards (on UPN), Mariah led the pack for a single album with four wins generated by The Emancipation of Mimi: Artist Of The Year, Album Of The Year, R&B Voice Of The Year, and Best R&B Song for We Belong Together. Three weeks later at the 2005 Billboard Music Awards, Mariah she was named Top R&B Singles Artist - Female, Top R&B/Hip-Hop Artist - Female, Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums Artist - Female, and Top Overall Albums Artist - Female, with "We Belong Together" named the #1 Hot 100 Single Of the Year. Later in December, at the annual Radio Music Awards broadcast live on NBC from Las Vegas, Mariah was honored with the Legend Award and was named Artist of the Year/Urban and Rhythmic Radio, in addition to We Belong Together winning both Song of the Year/Main Stream Hit Radio and Song of the Year/Urban and Rhythmic Radio.

Now Mariah is well aware of the negative side that success brings about. But for her her fans are the most important, she's doing everything for us to show how grateful she is for our support. She is always excited to show us what she has just done, hoping we'll like her new album, show or now even films. Now she goes on tour every time she has a new album out, always really looking forward to meeting her fans, not like other superstars. Her CHARMBRACELET tour consisted of about 50 concerts all over the world! When she finishes a tour, she immediately gets back to the studio to start working on her new album so that we shouldn't wait long for something new from her. No matter what bad reviews did her film GLITTER receive or what lies are in the papers about nervous breakdowns, presumed love affairs or alleged strange behaviors, we always know what we can believe and what we shouldn't. We best know Mariah from her songs, in which she tells about herself so sincerely that she almost ties us to herself, and we can hardly wait to hear and see something new from her! Mariah's latest, THE EMANCIPATION OF MIMI truly is a fantastic album, debuting right at #1 on the Billboard album chart, selling over 400000 copies in the US alone during its first week, which is Mariah's best-first-week-selling album to date! With We Belong Together Mariah broke yet another record: this is the most played song ever on US radio, staying at #1 for 14 weeks! Don't Forget About Us became Mariah's 17th #1 in her career, which tied one of the most enduring chart records in Billboard Hot 100 history, Elvis Presley's 17 #1's. Mariah is now positioned as the only active recording artist in the 47 years of the Hot 100 (which began in 1958) with the potential to match or surpass the Beatles' all-time high 20 #1 hits. What will our critics say then???

 

MARIAH CAREY
1990

EMOTIONS
1991

MTV UNPLUGGED
1992

Mariah still didn't feel mature enough to go on tour, though it was time for her to prove to her skeptics that her singing talent worked outside the studio as well. The great solution turned out to be MTV's Unplugged, where she sang in front of a small audience, using only acoustic instruments, surrounded by her background singers. She performed her hits Emotions, If It's Over, Someday, Vision of Love, Make It Happen, Can't Let Go, and she made a last minute decision to perform the song I'll Be There which was originally a hit for the Jackson Five in the early seventies. She sang the song with her talented background singer and also good friend, Trey Lorenz, achieving amazing success. MTV viewers kept calling in asking for reruns of the show, which made Sony to make the decision to put out I'll Be There as a single and the whole concert as an E.P. It turned out to be a really good move as the single became Mariah's 6th #1, while the album made it to #3 even though it hardly contained any new material from Mariah. This time the critics were also impressed by Mariah's creativity as she not only just resang her songs but converted them to an acoustic setting giving a whole new feel to her songs. A portion of the proceeds from the album was donated to charity by Mariah and Columbia Records.

 

I'll Be There (live)

 

MUSIC BOX
1993

The third album held Billboard's peak position for 8 weeks, just like the first single, Dreamlover, which even received a Grammy nomination. Mariah wanted a fun song to be the first single to show people a different side of her, and she was living one of the happiest period of her life as she had just got married. She asked her friend, Diane Martel to direct the video as this time she wanted somebody to whom she could just say "I'll kill you if you don't do this!" In the video Mariah is singing in a field with flowers among hip-hop dancers, she flies on a hot air balloon and she swims under water with her dog, showing she likes trying exciting things. Hero went to #1 at Christmas in 1993 and held position for 4 weeks, and was originally written by Mariah and Walter Afanasieff for Gloria Estefan for the movie with the same title. But hearing the song Tommy Mottola wanted Mariah to keep it for herself, which proved to be another good decision. Mariah donated all the proceeds from the single to the families of the victims of a tragic railroad shooting that happened a few days before her Madison Square Garden concert, in Long Island. Another interesting fact is that in 1999 Luciano Pavarotti personally asked Mariah to sing her song with him on his charity concert as he had written a special Italian version which he wanted to sing together with Mariah.

Without You was the song that had brought the absolute worldwide success to Mariah. Although it peaked only at #3 in the US, it became the most successful song of the year in almost all the other countries. Mariah covered Harry Nilsson's hit from 1972, who quite astonishingly passed away exactly on the day when Mariah's version was put out! It had become a tradition for Mariah to cover an old song for each of her albums since EMOTIONS, to the great joy of her fans. Never Forget You was written by Mariah and Babyface, and it came out as the so called B side to Without You. Anytime You Need A Friend interestingly brought less success commercially (#12) than critically. It is one of Mariah's own favorite songs showing how much she likes gospel. The song had several remixes, to one of which even a new video was shot, revealing how spontaneous Mariah as a person is. The title song of the album, Music Box was Mariah's confession of love for her husband.

Dreamlover

 

Hero (live)

 

 

Without You (live)

 

 

Anytime You Need A Friend

 

 

Anytime You Need A Friend (remix)

 

 

Just To Hold You Once Again

 

Do You Think Of Me (Dreamlover B-side)

 

Everything Fades Away

 

Hero (live with Luciano Pavarotti)

 

 

LUTHER VANDROSS:
SONGS
1993

Endless Love
(with Luther Vandross)

Walter Afanasieff was just working with Luther Vandross on his new album containing cover versions of Luther's favorite songs when Mariah came up with the idea to sing Endless Love with Luther, which was a huge hit for Diana Ross and Lionel Richie back in 1981. The song also came out as a single reaching #3 in the US. Mariah was Luther's surprise guest in his London concert where they had a chance to perform the song live, with great success. The video of this performance was played in heavy rotation on MTV Europe.

Endless Love

 

 

MERRY CHRISTMAS
1994

Mariah's Christmas album is the most successful holiday album of all time! Beside such famous Christmas songs like Silent Night, O Holy Night, Joy To The World, Santa Claus Is Comin' To Town there are also three new songs on it written by Mariah and Walter Afanasieff. All I Want For Christmas Is You was written in sixties' style and two different videos were shot to it. The first was done at Christmas time in 1993 when the song was not even ready! Mariah and Tommy's home video footage was also used to it, where Mariah was snow boarding and playing with her dog in the snow, while her husband was dressed as Santa Claus. The other video was filmed in the style of the sixties, black and white, Mariah wearing a mini dress and long boots as if she was performing live in a TV show. Miss You Most (At Christmas Time) is one of Mariah's most beautiful ballads, which was completely out of time when she wrote it as she was still happy with her husband, but it might even reflect the mood of some of her later Christmas nights. The most surprising new song on the album was Jesus Born On This Day, which is just like a festive church song!

The album was a complete surprise to even Mariah's biggest fans! It was totally kept secret through a whole year while Mariah kept all the Christmas decorations of her studio so that she could be in the right mood during the recording process. New copies of the album come out each year, already having sold more than 10 million, and All I Want For Christmas Is You has become one of the most popular Christmas songs ever, played in heavy rotation on radio and music channels around Christmas time. From time to time Mariah surprises her fans with new versions of the songs, she makes new videos or remixes to them as she herself has always loved Christmas surprises, especially the ones her mother used to make for her when she was a little girl.

All I Want For Christmas Is You

 

 

All I Want For Christmas Is You (60's style)

All I Want For Christmas Is You Dance Mix 2009

 

 

Miss You (Most at Christmas Time)

 

 

O Holy Night (1996)

 

 

Joy To The World (live)

 

 

Joy To The World (remix)

 

Hark! The Herald Angels Sing (live, 1990)

 

DAYDREAM
1995

DAYDREAM is Mariah's most critically acclaimed album to date, which was even nominated for six Grammy awards. She still dedicated the album to her husband, though their conflicts started to sharpen during recording this album. Mariah more and more wanted to work with other artists, going more towards hip-hop, which Tommy didn't like at all, and he might have been a little jealous of her young wife too. The first single, Fantasy was a huge success not only debuting at #1 but also keeping its position for 8 weeks. Mariah directed the video herself to make it exactly what she wanted it to be. It was shot in an amusement park with a lot of hip-hop dancers, she was also singing while sitting on her favorite roller coaster. The true sensation, however, was the Bad Boy Fantasy remix which Mariah wrote with Sean ("Puffy") Combs who then was just known in hip-hop circles. Mariah even invited O.D.B., that is "Old Dirty Bastard" to rap for a remix version, and she liked the result so much that she also made a video to it, making Sony people think she had just gone out of her mind... She always chooses this version to sing in her concerts while she even dances as well, which is not at all typical of her!

Mariah let Whitney Houston's "Exhale" to hold the #1 spot for only one week when she demanded it back with her song One Sweet Day sung with Boyz II Men. The single had broken all existing records as it held the #1 spot for 16 weeks! This song has an almost unbelievable story behind it: Mariah had just started to write a song for the memory of David Cole (with whom she wrote all her uptempo songs for EMOTIONS and MUSIC BOX) when she suddenly had the idea to complete the song together with Boyz II Men as she thought their style was perfect for the song. When she played the part she had already written, the "Boyz" were almost shocked as one of them, Nathan Morris had also written a song for the memory of their passed away road manager, and the two songs were basically the same in lyrics and melody! Perhaps fate wanted them to write their name in the history of pop music together!

Again there was just one week to wait for Mariah's next #1, Always Be My Baby, which she wrote with Jermaine Dupri. She directed the video again which was now shot at her charity camp for urban children named Camp Mariah. Another video was made for the hip-hop version of the song, again by Mariah herself, in which Da Brat did the rap part. Tommy Mottola and Sony just hated the idea, but Mariah was just unyielding this time and kept her ground. Open Arms made it to the album as Mariah's new cover originally performed by Steve Perry, one of Mariah's favorite singers, and even a Spanish version was recorded. The video to Forever was shot in Japan, a country where Mariah is the absolute superstar! The most personal song on the album is the last one, Looking In, where Mariah let us know how differently people see her as a famous person, though she is not like that at all.

Fantasy

 

 

Fantasy (remix with ODB)

 

 

Fantasy (Def Club Mix)

 

 

One Sweet Day (with Boyz II Men)

 

 

Always Be My Baby

 

 

Always Be My Baby (remix)

 

Always Be My Baby (club mix)

 

Open Arms (live)

 

Forever

 

 

Looking In

 

When I Saw You

 

Melt Away

 

 

BUTTERFLY
1997

This album is the symbol of Mariah's freedom, where she made all the decisions! Now real hip-hop and R&B played the main role, which styles had always been close to her but she had just not been allowed to explore this side of her, except for remix versions. Both the album and the first single, Honey debuted at #1 on Billboard, which was another record set by Mariah as nobody had ever had three of their singles debut at #1! In the video to Honey Mariah escapes straight from the Mafia diving out of a window into a pool, racing along with a jet-ski, and in the remix video she even climbs a rope to get to a helicopter to manage to slip away, all the way wearing the most sexy outfits ever! Many people thought that Mariah was just making a parody of ending her relationship with Tommy Mottola who happened to be of Italian descent and enmeshed Mariah's life just like the Mafia... The remix video was even nominated for an MTV Video Music Award for the first time in Mariah's career! Mariah just wanted to truly entertain people with her video while letting everybody know that her "imprisonment" was over once and for all and finally she was able to do whatever she just had in mind!

For the first time in her career she really felt she was able to show her real personality through her songs. The most personal songs on the album are the title song, Butterfly, Close My Eyes and Outside. Butterfly tells about her painful break-up with Tommy, in Close My Eyes she sings about how her difficult childhood still affects her life, while Outside reveals that she still can't find her place with either blacks or whites. The video to Butterfly was directed by Mariah, while the special videos for Breakdown and The Roof by her friend Diane Martel again. Mariah wanted Babydoll to come out as a single too, which she wrote with Missy Elliott, but Sony just wouldn't let her, making Mariah lose her faith in her recording company once and for all.

My All became Mariah's 13th #1, which is considered as one of her best ballads, and turned out to be a huge success all over the world again, especially after VH1's Divas Live in 1998, where she performed it as a medley with the club version of the song. The hip-hop remix titled My All/Stay a While is another favorite for her fans, the sexy video of which was directed by Diane Martel again. This time Mariah covered a Prince song, The Beautiful Ones, which she sings with Dru Hill. This album is still Mariah's favorite record she's done, and butterfly as a symbol has always been turning up in some form on the inside or outside covers of all her records since 1997, letting us all know how important her freedom is to her.

Honey

 

 

Honey (remix)

 

 

Butterfly

 

 

Breakdown

 

 

The Roof

 

 

The Roof (Morales Club Mix)

 

My All

 

 

My All / Stay A While (remix)

 

My All (live)

 

 

My All /Stay A While (live)

 

 

Chain of Fools (live with Aretha Franklin)

 

 

Close My Eyes (live)

 

Got To Be Real (live with Patti Labelle)

 

# 1's
1998

Mariah started her Asian leg of her BUTTERFLY tour in January, 1998, which meant a delay for her next studio album. But as Sony wanted something new from Mariah for Christmas they found out to put out an album that contained all Mariah's 13 #1's, for no other singers had ever managed to achieve it, so why not boast about it? Mariah liked the idea too, as this meant another album she was bound to make for Sony, but she also wanted some new songs on the album to please her fans. That's how Sweetheart made it to the album as a collaboration with Jermaine Dupri, even nominated for a Grammy, but surprisingly not put out as a single in the US. The biggest sensation was When You Believe, Mariah's duet with Whitney Houston, a song that was written for the soundtrack of "The Prince of Egypt". The two allegedly rival divas had a great time during the recording process and the video shooting as well, and they were both satisfied with the job they had done together. Although the song got to only #12 on Billboard, it was awarded the best song in a film at the Oscars in 1999 where the two singers performed the song live too.

Mariah decided to cover I Still Believe, a song made famous by Brenda K. Starr, as a gratitude to her friend who once helped her so much. In the video she also paid homage to one of her idols, Marylin Monroe, for the video directed by Brett Ratner was shot in an air base where Mariah was dressed like Marylin and sang to soldiers just like Marylin used to. Mariah made a remix with Damizza and Da Brat, and now she directed her video in true Mexican mood. Whenever You Call was a song from BUTTERFLY, but for this album she sang it with Brian McKnight. Without You was also included as it was a worldwide #1 except for the US. To the European edition another new song was added, Do You Know Where You're Going To, which was originally a theme from the film "Mahogany" sung by Diana Ross. In the US this song came out the next year on Mariah's special Valentine CD as a present for her fans, including five of her love songs.

Sweetheart

 

When You Believe (with Whitney Houston)

 

 

I Still Believe

 

 

I Still Believe (Damizza mix)

 

I Still Believe (remix)

 

 

Whenever You Call (live with Brian McKnight)

 

 

RAINBOW
1999

RAINBOW was made in the summer of 1999 in Capri, during only three months! She had already written a few songs for her film GLITTER, but as the shooting was postponed for the second time she just didn't want her fans to wait too long, so she decided to make an album instead. She also made use of a few songs written for the soundtrack, just like the first single, Heartbreaker, for which she invited Jay-Z to rap. The song was a hit all over the world and became Mariah's 14th #1 in the US. The video directed by Brett Ratner again was shot in a movie theater and Mariah played two parts in it: herself and a black-haired bad girl called Bianca who was just flirting with Mariah's actual boyfriend. Mariah was taken to the movies by her friends who just wanted to open her eyes about her boyfriend cheating on her, so they started to throw popcorn at Bianca, the result of which was a real fight between Mariah and Bianca in the women's room. As Mariah played both parts and the scene was taken several times, in the end Mariah had an ache all over her body, but she was still glad for she had done something totally unexpected from her. Heartbreaker Remix also made it to the album as Mariah was really satisfied with it as a song, and she even made a video to it with Da Brat, Missy Elliott and Snoop Doggy Dogg, which was directed by Diane Martel.

Mariah's 15th #1 was Thank God I Found You, a song she wrote to the Mexican singer Luis Miguel, with whom she had found real love again. She sings the original version with R&B singer Joe and the boy band 98 Degrees, and she sings the Make It Last Remix with Joe again, to which a new video was shot in Germany. Mariah wanted Can't Take That Away (Mariah's Theme) to be her next single as it was important for her to express her strong faith in herself: she doesn't care what others tell about her or how different people are trying to bring her down, as her faith in herself is something that just can't be taken away from her. She wrote the song with Diane Warren and performed it live at VH1 Divas Live 2000 with great success, but Sony wanted a song that they believed to get more airplay. Mariah got into serious debates with her record company over this matter, the result of which was that in the end Sony put out the song in the US but with no promotion at all, so it couldn't get high on the charts.

In Europe Against All Odds was put out instead, which was a cover of Phil Collins' song, and Mariah respected him so much that first she sent her version to him for his personal approval before she had the courage to put it on her album. During the recording Mariah just burst out sobbing as the song reminded her of a real situation she had gone through. Later she also made a version with Westlife that came out as a single in the UK holding the #1 spot for four weeks. One of Mariah's personal favorites from the album is Crybaby, which together with Did I Do That? was probably written for Derek Jeter who she had fallen in love with a few years before but their relationship soon ended despite the fact that Mariah thought for a long time he was truly the one for her. Petals is such a personal song that probably only those know it is about them who she had actually written the song to.

Mariah also wanted to record a version of After Tonight together with Luis Miguel, but the song didn't really work that way, and they didn't have the time to make the necessary changes. The album includes a duet with Usher, How Much, which Mariah wrote with Jermaine Dupri. RAINBOW as a symbol means two things for Mariah. First that people should "co-exist harmoniously, like a rainbow: a multitude of colors, each layer vibrant and clear by itself but in unison, boundless, breathtaking, celestial" like she says on the inside cover of the album. Second that you should never despair whatever bad things may happen to you as "after every storm - if you look hard enough - a rainbow appears".

Heartbreaker

 

 

Heartbreaker (remix)

 

Thank God I Found You

 

 

Thank God I Found You (Make It Last remix)

 

Against All Odds (live)

 

Against All Odds (with Westlife)

 

 

Can't Take That Away

 

 

 

Can't Take That Away (club mix)

 

 

Crybaby

 

 

After Tonight

 

Petals / Rainbow (live)

 

This album was the last one Mariah made for Sony as their relationship had got really bad by 2000. Mariah had to pay a heavy price for her stubbornness as Sony didn't let her sing her own song, Where Are You Christmas? just because it was to come out on the soundtrack of the Jim Carrey film "How The Grinch Stole Christmas" which happened to belong to a rivaling record company, Universal... In the end Faith Hill got the chance to sing this highly successful song. To avoid further scandals Sony finally let Mariah go in spite of the fact that she still owed the record company one more album which was actually almost finished by then as a soundtrack to her first film, GLITTER. Following the agreement between Sony and Virgin, Mariah's new record company, Sony was to put it out in Japan while Virgin in the rest of the world. Knowing that Mariah is probably the most popular artist in the densely populated Japan, this offer is not as generous as it first may seem...

Where Are You Christmas (written by Mariah Carey, sung by Faith Hill)

 

 

 

GLITTER
2001

Mariah had been planning to make a film since or even before her break-up with Tommy Mottola. She regularly took acting lessons, which turned out to be a truly revealing experience for her as she realized how her difficult childhood still affected her life. She just wanted to try her creativity in the world of movies too, but she had to wait 4-5 years to be able to play a main role. She played the minor role of an opera singer in "The Bachelor" and of a rather strangely acting singer again in an episode of "Ally McBeal". In GLITTER she plays the role of a girl who grows up without parents but becomes a music star. The film was directed by Vondie Curtis-Hall, who was truly impressed by Mariah's acting talent and performance, not like the critics... It's true the film didn't manage to fulfill financial hopes but after the tragic events of September 11, 2001, not many people were keen on going to the movies. Unfortunately, the soundtrack also came out on this tragic day...

The film and also the soundtrack got postponed several times, as production of the film was not started as originally planned, but once it was also postponed because of Mariah' nervous exhaustion, the main reason of which was that she just overworked herself for her new record company. When she had finished working on the soundtrack she was immediately sent for a long and fatiguing promotional tour where she was either giving interviews or traveling to the next stop, not having enough time even to eat or sleep properly. She just didn't want to say no to anybody as she felt she had just started a new life with her new record company. The result was complete exhaustion, which was just made worse by her previous break-up with Luis Miguel and Sony's and Tommy Mottola's trying to undermine the success of her new album.

First many people thought Mariah had just a paranoia thinking Tommy was after her but time proved she was just right. When Mariah recorded most of the soundtrack, she still belonged to Sony, where a lot of people, including Tommy Mottola, knew what novelties she was going to come up with. In Loverboy Mariah first used a sample which was interestingly put out before Mariah's version on the second album of Sony's new babe, Jennifer Lopez. Mariah rather chose to remake her song... It was also Mariah's idea to invite Ja Rule for her song If We, but he was also invited to make a remix for Jennifer Lopez, which was such an "original" idea that even a video was done and it became a huge success... Later even Ja Rule admitted that Tommy Mottola personally told him what to use on JLo's record... It had been among Mariah's plans to put out If We but after this affair she just gave up on the idea... Again she had to learn not to trust anybody...

Mariah's success was seemingly also diminished by Billboard's modified valuation system, as now not sold copies played the main role but airplay popularity, that is how often a song got played on the radio. So in vain did Loverboy sell the most copies for weeks, it got only to #2 as Mariah was so widely criticized that radios just wouldn't play the song even if hundreds of fans called in for the cause! Once so many fans called a radio station trying to make them play the song that the radio station just got fed up and they simply boycotted the song! And even though Loverboy Remix got great reviews, it didn't help the situation...

As the film was set in the eighties, Mariah made her style and arrangements fit in the era, so most of the songs were uptempo. Among these her personal favorite was her cover version of Last Night A DJ Saved My Life, which she even wanted to put out as a single, but she just couldn't do it for copyright reasons. To Don't Stop a special video was made where Mariah played all three members of a girl trio, so three Mariahs could be seen at the same time!

The album's four ballads got great reviews again, which Mariah had written from the point of view of the film's main character, Billie Frank. Mariah's favorite is Lead The Way, a song about finding real love all of a sudden. In Reflections Billie is reflecting on how her mother was able to leave her all alone. Never Too Far is the last song sang live in the film, and it is about tragically losing real love when all you have is just your memories... At one of her live performances Mariah sang a medley of Never Too Far and Hero which had such a great success that it came out as a single titled Never Too Far/Hero Medley, also including the song, There For Me, which was originally written for RAINBOW but didn't make it to the album however good it was. Mariah wrote Twister about her stylist, Tanya Twist, who sadly committed suicide.

Loverboy

 

 

Loverboy (remix)

 

Loverboy (club mix)

 

Never Too Far (live)

 

Don't Stop (Funkin' 4 Jamaica)

 

 

Never Too Far / Hero (live)

 

Never Too Far / Hero (live)

 

Reflections (live)

 

 

Last Night A DJ Saved My Life

 

 

Lead The Way

 

There For Me

 

Mariah produced the album with Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, who she had already worked with on RAINBOW, having a very good relationship with them personally and artistically as well. Although it is not her most popular album, in 2001 GLITTER sold the most copies as a soundtrack. It just makes me wonder how things would look now if that tragic September 11 had not happened or if Mariah's original ideas - which have always had a lot to do with her success - hadn't got so treacherously stolen... But this is something we'll just never know... What looks promising, however, is that Mariah got great reviews of her performance in an independent movie titled WISE GIRLS, in which she plays a waitress who has underworld connections. Mariah herself admitted how naive it was of her to play a singer as her first major role, for critics again saw the singer-songwriter in her and not her abilities as an actress. But in 2002 when Mariah sang the US Anthem at the Superbowl, even her biggest critics admitted that her rendition had been the best since Whitney Houstons', making all American hearts beat a bit faster!

The Star Spangled Banner (live)

 

 

 

GREATEST HITS
2001

Sony suffered a great loss losing "the best selling recording artist of the millennium", but they still have certain rights over Mariah's work as she had made great deal of recordings for them. So from time to time Sony comes up with different ideas to be able to make further profit from the relationship that once had such a fruitful start... The first such idea was a GREATEST HITS package, as back in 1998 #1's did not include all Mariah's great hits. But lacking Mariah meant it was just not possible for them to make the compilation of 2 CD's even more attractive by adding some new songs to it, only three songs that originally had not been included on any of Mariah's albums. These were Endless Love with Luther Vandross, Against All Odds with Westlife and the So So Def Remix version of All I Want For Christmas Is You that came out only in Japan at Christmas in 2000. A great animated video was also made to this version of the song, where our nice animated Mariah is personally trying to wake up Santa Claus to make him deliver her friends's, Jermaine Dupri's and Lil Bow Wow's presents!

All I Want For Christmas Is You (So So Def Remix)

 

CHARMBRACELET
2002

Mariah's relationship with Virgin Records did not turn out to last long either, as GLITTER was just not a hit they had imagined it would be. Mariah set up her first record label, MonarC Music within Universal's The Island Def Jam Music Group, and her new album, CHARMBRACELET debuted just at #2 on Billboard, which gave clear evidence that her career by no means was all over as so many people in the music industry had kindly asserted... What looks strange though is that not as many singles were put out from this album as her fans would have liked. But regarding the changes taking place in today's music business, where airplay has so definitely taken over sold copies in determining chart position, it's no longer essential to release singles commercially to achieve great success. The strangest thing about it is that you can have a #1 song without even releasing a single, just because it gets a lot of airplay, for some reason...

On reflection, matters standing this way give a whole new meaning to reality, but everything is changing in the world right now, so why would just this be an exception to the rule... Because of pirate copies and downloads from the internet the music industry suffers a great loss in profits, so the new aim seems to be to make whole albums popular instead of just singles from them, which means if you like a song, buy the album, which can even be made copy-proof. For the sake of collectors a particular single may be put out only in some countries, for today you can buy your copy through the internet even from the end of the world! Videos though still stay the main means of making songs popular as it is no longer enough to release just records to make people interested as visual content increasingly seems to determine the image. Great many performers should express their gratitude to video directors for making them "stars", as often the image makes the message...

So Mariah's incredible success has become the victim of the changes in today's music industry where you are just no longer bound to get to the top of the charts even if you sell the most copies in the world. For example, the first single from CHARMBRACELET, Through The Rain was only released as a single in the US after Mariah was given a standing ovation for her performance of the song at the 2003 American Music Awards, but then it just wasn't new enough to get high on the charts even if many fans bought several copies of it. In the video you can see the story of Mariah's parents, how her mother was disowned by her own family for marrying a black man. The difference is, however, that in the video Mariah's father is still alive watching her daughter perform on stage together with Mariah's mother, while in reality he unfortunately was already dead at the time. The message of the song is however desperate you may feel sometimes, you can always stand up if you really want and are just strong enough. The video to Boy (I Need You) was shot in Japan, this time Cam'ron doing the rap.

Mariah's fans but also all music lovers could feel sorry that Bringin' On The Heartbreak wasn't given the publicity it would really deserve, as this song would have easily been able to repeat the incredible worldwide success of Without You! Mariah covered this great Def Leppard song proving her singing talent again in yet another genre. The single was only released in the Netherlands and Belgium, which was just not enough to make everybody hear her great performance! In the video Mariah is dressed as a gipsy girl singing her song live to her luckiest fans. Unfortunately no other video was released from this album! One of Mariah's personal favorites is My Saving Grace, which actually is not a love song as it first may seem but her way to thank God for helping her through all her life. Clown was Mariah's apt answer to Eminem's lies saying she had an affair with him but he dumped her. The truth is that Mariah liked him and thought of him as a friend because they had similar childhood experiences, but Eminem just used this friendship to call for attention and wrote such lyrics about Mariah that were bound to make him sell even more copies... Mariah performed this great song on her tour as well, giving voice to her personal opinion of Eminem who is not more than a puppet show!

CHARMBRACELET has been Mariah's favorite album since BUTTERFLY. Working with Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis has brought its fruit: the music is exactly what she had in mind and her lyrics are more personal than ever. It has always been very important for her to feel she is making a step forward with each album, always doing something new, achieving something more. With BUTTERFLY she managed to break free, and by the time she made CHARMBRACELET she had left behind all kind of criticism aimed at her music or personality, now she is only making music for herself and her fans, only laughing at all the lies certain people say about her. Nothing stands in her way any more, she is free to do whatever she wants, and this is something that not so many people can boast with. She dedicates her album to her deceased father, with whom she managed to form a great relationship in his last years, in spite of a bad start and spending such a long time apart from each other. She expresses her gratitude to him in her song Sunflowers For Alfred Roy.

Through The Rain

 

 

Through The Rain (live)

 

Boy (I Need You)

 

 

Bringin' On The Heartbreak

 

 

My Saving Grace (live)

 

 

I Only Wanted

 

 

Yours (live)

 

 

The One (live)

 

The One (So So Def Mix)

 

 

THE REMIXES
2003

I Know What You Want
(with Busta Rhymes)

Can you believe it? Sony releases a compilation of Mariah's remixes on 2 CD's, with all the songs that once represented Mariah's efforts to break free and walk her own way? Oh yes, times are really changing! Money is money, and why miss a chance to make more? And even though fans have most of Mariah's CD singles, this time those who only buy albums can have a compilation of her remixes that show how creative an artist Mariah is. But it seems just too late, as the 2 CD's are by no means enough to include all of her best remixes, or will a second edition come to make up for the loss? What I miss most from the collection is I Still Believe/Pure Imagination (Damizza Mix) and two great David Morales remixes: Can't Take That Away Morales Revival Triumphant Mix and Always Be My Baby Always Club Mix. I Know What You Want with Busta Rhymes must have brought some stormy days to the Sony headquarters if Mariah had wanted to release it back in those days while today it really is a worldwide hit!

I Know What You Want (with Busta Rhymes)

 

 

THE EMANCIPATION OF MIMI
2005

It's Like That

We Belong Together

Shake It Off

Get Your Number

Don't Forget About Us (included only on Ultra Platinum Edition)

Say Something

Fly Like A Bird

Dear Critics! Now you are in great trouble, and I truly wonder what you might find out to undermine the success of this truly fantastic album where Mariah just shows her best! Not only the songs are great but they are also fantastic as a collection, and after listening the whole album anyone can clearly see how incredibly talented this singer/songwriter/producer is who happens to be called Mariah Carey! Mariah wrote each of the songs as always and now she worked with such great musicians like Jermaine Dupri, Pharell Williams, Kanye West and James Wright, just to name a few. Mariah was making this album for one and a half year and now she truly feels people can finally "hear" her personality through the songs. That's why she wanted to give a special title to this album: THE EMANCIPATION OF MIMI: Mimi is one of her most confidential nicknames, while emancipation stands for the long process that finally made her achieve a state of mind where she now feels free to show her real self without feeling ashamed in any way.

Listening to the new songs we are charmed not only by Mariah's singing talent but the incredible harmony her voice finds with the music: it is as if Mariah's voice was a special instrument that can speak words to express exactly what we hear in the music! The lyrics are perfectly reflected by the tones Mariah uses, and she also shows us her great sense of humor she is so fortunate to have to elegantly get over all those ridiculous accusations and rumors she is faced day by day. Just like in one of her favorite songs from the album: Shake It Off, where even the Calgon commercial is mentioned to make the feeling figurative in a way. Her other personal favorite is Fly Like A Bird, the perfect closing song of the album that will definitely put you in high spirits and make you feel that you are never alone whatever happens to you: the Lord is always there to carry you home.

Whatever your musical taste might be, you are bound to find at least one song in this collection that will just capture your attention if not admiration, I'm sure! Take It's Like That if you want a catchy party song full of rhythm and ease. We Belong Together is the kind of love song that you want to hear over and over again not because its sad content but the melody, Mariah's truly captivating singing style and the kind of lyrics that just makes you wonder how long it took her to write as it fits the song so much. Mine Again finds Mariah sing the way only she can in the whole world and the music deeply grips your heart. Say Something has a special atmosphere spiced with real hip-hop and Snoop Dogg's true element. Stay The Night offers the kind of music that you just can't get out of your head and you constantly find yourself singing along with Mariah if you can... And then comes Get Your Number which doesn't only find way to your head but definitely puts you on the dance floor or at least makes you imagine so... Jermaine Dupri really gives a special touch to the song!

One And Only is a song for those who are constantly let down by their loved ones, making them feel they will never find their one and only, and even if the song can't heal their hearts, the music at least lets them share the pain. Circles just grabs you with its melody again and Mariah does her best to make sure you constantly replay the song as a single listening is just never enough! Your Girl is for anyone who is determined to get the love they want, perfectly reflecting that the wait for something to happen has just been too long. I Wish You Knew is about wanting someone more than anything in your life, still not having enough courage to tell them how you feel. It's interesting that Mariah gave a concert feel to the song, talking to the audience, as if she just wanted to prove: "if you can tell this to thousands of people, you must have the courage to tell the one too". To The Floor features Nelly and is a song about the importance of making sure your love is real before you go into a deep relationship. Joy Ride is the "I found love" song of the album, showing how true love is able to give you the happiness you have always longed for.

If you want two extra songs, you should buy the Japanese version of the album which also includes Sprung and Secret Love as bonus tracks. Somehow they are different from all the other songs on the album, having a kind of futuristic feel that makes them truly special. With this great album Mariah has proved again that she can constantly find out something new to surprise even her biggest fans and although we all can have our own perception of her, we should never forget that she is a true artist and there is just no way we can ever think we just know her enough! Carey on, Mariah!

 

It's Like That

 

 

We Belong Together

 

 

Shake It Off

 

 

Get Your Number

 

 

THE EMANCIPATION OF MIMI
ULTRA PLATINUM EDITION
CD or CD+DVD
2005

It's Like That

We Belong Together

Shake It Off

Get Your Number

Don't Forget About Us

Say Something

Fly Like A Bird

 

A THE EMANCIPATION OF MIMI has been such a huge hit in the US that ISLAND DEF JAM RECORDS decided to re-release it as ULTRA PLATINUM EDITION in November 2005! Since April it was continuously in the Top 5 for months on Billboard and right before the re-release it was still at #15, with a total sales of 3.7 million copies only in the US. The new version contains 4 new songs: Don't Forget About Us written with Jermaine Dupri, which ruled the Billboard Charts for another two weeks, Makin' It Last All Night (What I Do) again with Jermaine Dupri , So Lonely with Twista (One And Only Part Two), and the incredibly successful We Belong Together Remix with Jadakiss and Styles P. We Belong Together was #1 for 14 weeks on Billboard, taking over the #1 spot on the Billboard Hot 100, Pop 100, Pop 100 Airplay, Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay, Adult R&B (a career first for Mariah), Rhythmic Top 40 and Mainstream Top 40 - making Mariah the first solo artist ever to top all eight charts concurrently. On top of all that, the song broke all air-play records in the US! Shake It Off reached #2 when We Belong Together still was at #1!!! Great videos of It's Like That, We Belong Together, Shake It Off and Get Your Number were added to the DVD with a link to download the video of Don't Forget About Us, and we can also download a never before seen interview 'Mariah In Her Own Words'.

Don't Forget About Us

 

 

Say Something

 

 

MERRY CHRISTMAS
Dual Disc (CD+DVD)
2005

No wonder Sony is not able just to sit back and watch Mariah's incredible success: they re-release the world's best-selling holiday album MERRY CHRISTMAS as a Dual Disc. The CD side also includes the Anniversary Mix of Santa Claus Is Comin' To Town and - on certain versions - All I Want For Christmas So So Def Mix which Sony already put out on GREATEST HITS. The DVD side offers all of Mariah's Christmas videos to date: Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town [Anniversary Mix] (computer animated "claymation" music video), All I Want For Christmas Is You, Miss You Most (At Christmas Time), All I Want For Christmas Is You [J. D. Remix: animation], Joy to the World [Celebration Mix], O Holy Night [Live], All I Want For Christmas Is You [Black & White Version], Joy To The World [Live at St. John the Devine]. All true Mariah fans need a copy, don't they?

Santa Clause Is Comin' To Town (Anniversary mix)

 

 

 

 

 

Hero (new studio version)

Hero (live)

 

2009