154 Facts About Mariah Carey

1.

Mariah Carey is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and actress.

2.

An influential figure in popular music, Carey is credited for merging hip-hop with pop music through her collaborations and popularizing the use of remixes.

3.

Mariah Carey has been dubbed the "Queen of Christmas" for the enduring popularity of her holiday music, particularly the 1994 song "All I Want for Christmas Is You," which is the best-selling holiday song by a female artist.

4.

Mariah Carey rose to fame in 1990 with her eponymous debut album under the guidance of Columbia Records executive Tommy Mottola, who Mariah Carey eventually married in 1993.

5.

Mariah Carey became the first artist to have their first five singles reach number one on the Billboard Hot 100, from "Vision of Love" to "Emotions".

6.

Mariah Carey left Columbia in 2001 after eleven consecutive years of US number-one singles and signed a record deal with Virgin Records.

7.

Mariah Carey is one of the best-selling music artists of all time, with over 220 million records sold worldwide.

8.

Mariah Carey holds the record for the most Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles by a solo artist, a female songwriter, and a female producer.

9.

Mariah Carey is the highest-certified female artist in the United States and 10th overall, with 74 million certified album units.

10.

Mariah Carey was born on March 27,1969, in Huntington, New York.

11.

Mariah Carey's name is derived from the song "They Call the Wind Maria", originally from the 1951 Broadway musical Paint Your Wagon.

12.

Mariah Carey is the youngest of three children born to Patricia, a former opera singer and vocal coach of Irish descent, and Alfred Roy Carey, an aeronautical engineer of African-American and black Venezuelan-American lineage.

13.

The last name Mariah Carey was adopted by her Venezuelan grandfather, Francisco Nunez, after he emigrated to New York.

14.

Mariah 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.

15.

Mariah Carey began writing poetry and lyrics while attending Harborfields High School in Greenlawn, New York, where she graduated in 1987.

16.

Mariah Carey began vocal training under the tutelage of her mother.

17.

Mariah Carey never said, 'Give it more of an operatic feel.

18.

Mariah Carey moved into a one-bedroom apartment in Manhattan with four female students as roommates.

19.

Mariah Carey landed a gig singing backup for freestyle singer Brenda K Starr.

20.

In December 1988, Mariah Carey accompanied Starr to a music executive's party, where she handed her demo tape to the head of Columbia Records, Tommy Mottola.

21.

Mariah Carey had already left the event, and in what has been described as a modern-day Cinderella story, he spent two weeks looking for her.

22.

On June 5,1990, Mariah Carey made her first public appearance at the 1990 NBA Finals, singing "America the Beautiful".

23.

Mariah Carey was the best-selling album in the United States in 1991, and achieved worldwide sales of 15 million copies.

24.

Mariah Carey did not embark on a world tour to promote the album.

25.

In hopes of ending any speculation of her being a manufactured artist, Mariah Carey booked an appearance on MTV Unplugged.

26.

On March 16,1992, Mariah Carey played and recorded an intimate seven-song show at Kaufman Astoria Studios in Queens, New York.

27.

Mariah Carey's songwriting was derided as cliched and her vocal performances were described as less emotive and lazier in their delivery.

28.

In mid-1994, Mariah Carey recorded and released a duet with Luther Vandross; a cover of Lionel Richie and Diana Ross's "Endless Love".

29.

Daydream became Mariah Carey's biggest-selling album in the United States, and her second album to be certified Diamond by the RIAA, after Music Box.

30.

Forbes named Mariah Carey the top-earning female musician of 1996, collecting an estimated $32 million.

31.

Mariah Carey directed the music video for the Chick song "Malibu".

32.

On Butterfly, Mariah Carey 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.

33.

Mariah Carey described Mottola as increasingly controlling, and viewed her newfound independence as a new lease on life.

34.

Butterfly became Mariah Carey's best-reviewed album, with attention placed on the album's exploration of more mature lyrical themes.

35.

Mariah Carey began conceptualizing a film project All That Glitters, later re-titled to simply Glitter, and wrote songs for other projects, such as Men in Black and How the Grinch Stole Christmas.

36.

Mariah Carey received Billboards Artist of the Decade Award and the World Music Award for Best-Selling Pop Female Artist of the Millennium, and parted from Columbia Records.

37.

Mariah Carey was given full conceptual and creative control over the project.

38.

Mariah Carey said that Columbia had regarded her as a commodity, with her separation from Mottola exacerbating her relations with label executives.

39.

In July 2001, Mariah Carey suffered a physical and emotional breakdown.

40.

Mariah Carey began posting disturbing messages on her website, and behaved erratically in live promotional outings.

41.

Mariah 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.

42.

Mariah Carey flew to Capri, Italy, for five months, where she wrote material for a new album.

43.

In 2002, Mariah Carey was cast in the independent film WiseGirls alongside Mira Sorvino and Melora Walters, who co-starred as waitresses at a mobster-operated restaurant.

44.

In December 2002, Mariah Carey released her ninth studio album, Charmbracelet, which she said marked "a new lease on life" for her.

45.

Sales of Charmbracelet were moderate and the quality of Mariah Carey's vocals came under criticism.

46.

In support of the album, Mariah Carey embarked on her first headlining tour in three years, named The Adventures of Mimi after a "Mariah Carey-centric fan's" music diary.

47.

Mariah Carey is second only to The Beatles, who have twenty number-one singles.

48.

In 2008, Mariah Carey 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.

49.

Mariah Carey later stated that she had been pregnant during that time period, and suffered a miscarriage, hence she cancelled the tour.

50.

On January 20,2009, Mariah Carey performed "Hero" at the Neighborhood Inaugural Ball after Barack Obama was sworn as the first African-American president of the United States.

51.

On December 31,2009, Mariah Carey embarked on her seventh concert tour, Angels Advocate Tour, which visited the United States and Canada and ended on September 26,2010.

52.

In May 2010, Mariah Carey dropped out of her planned appearance in For Colored Girls, the film adaptation of the play For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When the Rainbow Is Enuf, citing medical reasons.

53.

In February 2011, Mariah Carey announced that she had begun writing new material for her upcoming fourteenth studio album.

54.

In November 2011, Mariah Carey was included in the remix to the mixtape single "Warning" by Uncle Murda; the remix features 50 Cent and Young Jeezy.

55.

That same month, Mariah Carey released a duet with John Legend titled "When Christmas Comes", originally part of Merry Christmas II You.

56.

On March 1,2012, Mariah Carey performed at New York City's Gotham Hall; her first time performing since her pregnancy.

57.

Mariah Carey performed a three-song set at a special fundraiser for US President Barack Obama held in New York's Plaza Hotel.

58.

Mariah Carey joined the judging panel of the twelfth season of American Idol as Jennifer Lopez's replacement, joining Randy Jackson, Nicki Minaj and Keith Urban.

59.

Three years later, Mariah Carey did not make an appearance for its original series finale.

60.

Mariah Carey appeared in Lee Daniels' 2013 film The Butler, about a White House butler who served eight American presidents over the course of three decades.

61.

In February 2013, Mariah Carey recorded and released a song called "Almost Home", for the soundtrack of the Walt Disney Studios film Oz the Great and Powerful.

62.

Mariah Carey taped a performance of "Beautiful" along with a medley of her greatest hits on May 15,2013; the taping aired on the American Idol finale the following day.

63.

On October 14,2013, Mariah Carey announced that the album's former title track has been chosen as the second single; it premiered via Facebook on November 11,2013.

64.

In 2015 Mariah Carey had her directorial debut for the Hallmark Channel Christmas movie A Christmas Melody, in which she performed as one of the main characters.

65.

In December 2015, Mariah Carey announced The Sweet Sweet Fantasy Tour which spanned a total of 27-dates beginning in March 2016, marking Mariah Carey's first major tour of mainland Europe in 13 years.

66.

Mariah Carey guest starred on the musical drama Empire, as a superstar singer named Kitty and sung the song "Infamous" featuring Jussie Smollett.

67.

On December 5,2016, Mariah Carey participated in the VH1 Divas Holiday: Unsilent Night benefit concert, alongside Vanessa Williams, Chaka Khan, Patti LaBelle, and Teyana Taylor.

68.

On February 3,2017, Mariah Carey released the single "I Don't" featuring YG.

69.

In July 2017, Mariah Carey made a cameo in the comedy film Girls Trip, starring Queen Latifah, Jada Pinkett Smith, Regina Hall, and Tiffany Haddish.

70.

Mariah Carey was featured in the official remix for French Montana's single "Unforgettable", alongside Swae Lee.

71.

In 2018, Mariah Carey signed a worldwide deal with Live Nation Entertainment.

72.

In September 2018, Mariah Carey announced plans to release her fifteenth studio album later in the year.

73.

In February 2019, Mariah Carey commenced the Caution World Tour in support of the album.

74.

Later in 2019, Mariah Carey engaged in a series of business and television ventures.

75.

On September 18,2019, Mariah Carey released "In the Mix", the theme song for the ABC sitcom Mixed-ish.

76.

On November 1,2019, Mariah Carey re-released her holiday album Merry Christmas for its 25th anniversary.

77.

In January 2020, it was announced that Mariah Carey would be inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame during that year's ceremony on June 11,2020, at the Marriott Marquis Hotel in New York City.

78.

On October 2,2020, Mariah Carey released a compilation album titled The Rarities, which includes rare and unreleased songs that Mariah Carey recorded at various stages of her career.

79.

On November 2,2021, Mariah Carey teased a snippet of a new song titled "Fall in Love at Christmas", which features Khalid and Kirk Franklin.

80.

On January 12,2022, Mariah Carey announced a children's picture book titled The Christmas Princess, co-written with Michaela Angela Davis and illustrated by Fuuji Takashi; it was released in November that year.

81.

In June, Mariah Carey performed the remix of "Big Energy" with Latto at the BET Awards 2022; she made a surprise appearance during the latter's set.

82.

In December 2022, Mariah Carey performed a pair of shows at two venues: Scotiabank Arena in Toronto on December 9 and 11,2022, and Madison Square Garden in New York City on December 13 and 16,2022.

83.

Mariah Carey served as a co-producer of Some Like It Hot on Broadway, a musical based on the eponymous 1959 comedy film, which premiered on December 11,2022 at the Shubert Theatre in Manhattan, New York.

84.

Mariah Carey's music contains strong influences of gospel music, and she credits the Clark Sisters, Shirley Caesar, and Edwin Hawkins as the most influential in her early years.

85.

Mariah Carey was heavily influenced by Minnie Riperton, and began experimenting with the whistle register due to her original practice of the range.

86.

Mariah Carey commented that as her albums progressed, so too her songwriting and music blossomed into more mature and meaningful material.

87.

David Foster stated that Mariah Carey "thinks like a record producer and lays her vocals down like a virtuoso guitarist".

88.

Mariah Carey's output makes use of electronic instruments such as drum machines, keyboards and synthesizers.

89.

Mariah Carey said that she cannot read sheet music and prefers to collaborate with a pianist when composing her material, but feels that it is easier to experiment with faster and less-conventional melodies and chord progressions using this technique.

90.

Mariah Carey began commissioning remixes of her material early in her career and helped to spearhead the practice of recording entirely new vocals for remixes.

91.

From "Fantasy" onward, Mariah Carey enlisted both hip-hop and house producers to re-structure her album compositions.

92.

Mariah Carey's debut hit from 1990, "Vision of Love", [set] the bar insanely high for notes stretched louder, longer and knottier than most pop fans had ever heard.

93.

Mariah Carey possesses a five-octave vocal range, and has the ability to reach notes beyond the seventh octave.

94.

However, tiredness and sleep deprivation can affect her vocals due to the nodules, and Mariah Carey explained that she went through a lot of practice to maintain a balance during singing.

95.

Mariah Carey stated in a 2021 interview with the Daily Express that with her voice, it's all about "timing, vocal rest and sleep".

96.

One of her earliest performances was at MTV Unplugged, which received positive reception as Mariah Carey silenced critics saying her vocals were studio-made.

97.

Mariah Carey performed "America the Beautiful" at the 1990 NBA Finals in which Rolling Stone writer, Brittany Spanos, stated the players were struck "with awe by the incredible talent of a burgeoning young star".

98.

Mariah Carey is known for being very static during her live performances; some reviewers credited her stage fright and lack of confidence as the reasoning, while others pointed out that her performances focus on her vocals and the quality of her songs.

99.

The music video for "Fantasy" was the first that Mariah Carey directed entirely on her own.

100.

Mariah Carey had been open about the fact that she had not been happy with some of her previous music videos, and has subsequently been noted for self-directing and co-producing her subsequent videography.

101.

In 2021, Mariah Carey was honoured at the African American Film Critics Association with a Special Achievement Innovator Award for her "visual storytelling in her music videos and specials".

102.

Mariah Carey has been called a pop icon and has been labeled a "diva" for her stardom and persona.

103.

Mariah Carey's fans are credited with originating the internet term "skinny legend", used as a form of praise and endearment for their idol.

104.

In 2008, Mariah Carey was named one of Times 100 most influential artists and entertainers in the world.

105.

NOW writer Kevin Hegge agreed that "Mariah Carey's influence is indisputable".

106.

Mariah Carey's style has often been described as "eccentric" and "over the top".

107.

Writer Noah Berlatsky noted that "Mariah Carey has always reveled in uber-feminine, girly imagery", with her album titles such as Butterfly, Rainbow, Glitter and Charmbracelet being prime examples.

108.

Emilia Petrarca of W stated that "Mariah Carey is uber-cautious about cultivating her public image" but that when it comes to style, she is "more do than don't".

109.

Mariah Carey was cited a fashion icon by Insider writer Susanna Heller who added that "her decadent closet spans multiple rooms and is full of designer clothing, lingerie, shoes, and accessories".

110.

Additionally, Mariah Carey played a role that resembled the rapper in the song's accompanying music video.

111.

Mariah Carey was honored by GLAAD in 2016 with the GLAAD Ally Award for which she expressed gratitude to her LGBT+ fans.

112.

The success of the song, in particular, has led Mariah Carey to build what Billboard described as a "growing holiday mini-empire".

113.

Mariah Carey has been credited for her role in breaking down racial barriers in popular culture and facilitating public discourse surrounding multiracialism during the 1990s.

114.

Mariah Carey's career matured as current conversations about mixed identity were still forming and while the passing narratives of the past, both brilliant and clumsy, had yet to fade from pop-cultural memory.

115.

When reviewing her fifteenth studio album, Caution, Eddino Hadi wrote, "In the last three decades since she made her debut, many female pop stars have scaled the heights that Mariah Carey has reached but very, very few have matched her longevity".

116.

Mariah Carey is the first artist to reach number-one on the Billboard Hot 100 in the physical, digital and streaming eras.

117.

Mariah Carey's music has been recorded, performed or sampled by a variety of artists such as Aretha Franklin, Patti LaBelle, Dolly Parton, Luciano Pavarotti, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Shania Twain, Michael Ball, Ariana Grande, Bryson Tiller, Drake, Fifth Harmony, and Sigala.

118.

The impact of Mariah Carey's artistry has helped popularize rappers as a featured act in pop music through her post-1995 songs.

119.

When other big artists saw what I did with Mariah Carey, they wanted that.

120.

Mariah Carey pioneered a subgenre that some people call the thug-love duet.

121.

Mariah Carey has been considered one of the greatest vocalists of all time.

122.

Mariah Carey has won five Grammy Awards, nineteen World Music Awards, ten American Music Awards, and fifteen Billboard Music Awards.

123.

Mariah Carey is one of the best-selling recording artists in history, with more than 220 million records sold.

124.

Mariah Carey is an inductee of the Songwriters Hall of Fame.

125.

Mariah Carey was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2015, and a Billboard Icon Award in 2019.

126.

Mariah Carey has topped the Billboard Hot 100 for 91 weeks, the most for any artist in US chart history.

127.

In 2020, Mariah Carey became the first artist to top the Billboard Hot 100 over four decades.

128.

Mariah Carey was the first woman to debut at number-one, with "Fantasy", the first act to debut at number-one multiple times, and she held the record for the most number-one debuts, until surpassed in 2020.

129.

Mariah Carey holds the record for the longest span of number-one songs and the most consecutive years topping the chart.

130.

In 2012, Mariah Carey was ranked second on VH1's list of the "100 Greatest Women in Music".

131.

Mariah Carey holds the record for the longest-running number-one song on the Brasil Hot 100, with her 2009 cover of Foreigner's "I Want to Know What Love Is", which spent 27 weeks atop the Brazilian charts.

132.

Mariah Carey signed a licensing deal with the cosmetics company Elizabeth Arden, and in 2007, she released her own fragrance, "M".

133.

Mariah Carey has released a series of fragrances with Elizabeth Arden, including Luscious Pink and Forever.

134.

In December 2020, Carey launched a partnership with Virtual Dining Concepts and restaurateur, Robert Earl, for a biscuit line titled Mariah's Cookies.

135.

In 2021, Mariah Carey announced the launch of a new line of alcohol called Black Irish, an homage to her Black, Venezuelan, and Irish heritage.

136.

That same year, Mariah Carey partnered with McDonald's, promoting an entirely new limited time menu.

137.

In 2022, Carey recorded nine video lessons for MasterClass titled "Mariah Carey Teaches the Voice as an Instrument", as well as re-recording "The Roof " alongside Brandy.

138.

Mariah Carey is a philanthropist who has been involved with several charitable organizations.

139.

Mariah Carey became associated with the Fresh Air Fund in the early 1990s, and is the co-founder of a camp located in Fishkill, New York, that enables inner-city youth to embrace the arts and introduces them to career opportunities.

140.

Mariah Carey donated royalties from her hits "Hero" and "One Sweet Day" to charities.

141.

In 2008, Mariah Carey was named Hunger Ambassador of the World Hunger Relief Movement.

142.

In 2017, Mariah Carey was awarded with PETA's Angel for Animals Award for promoting animal adoption through her animated movie All I Want for Christmas Is You.

143.

The concert was a ratings success, and Mariah Carey participated in the Divas 2000 special and a 2016 holiday edition.

144.

Mariah Carey hosted the CBS television special At Home for the Holidays, which documented real-life stories of adopted children and foster families.

145.

In 2008, Mariah Carey performed in a New Year's Eve concert for the family of Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi.

146.

Mariah Carey later said she felt "horrible and embarrassed" to have taken part in the concert.

147.

In 2013, human rights activists criticized Mariah Carey for performing in a concert for Angola's "father-daughter kleptocracy" and accused her of accepting "dictator cash".

148.

In March 2021, Mariah Carey attempted to trademark the phrase "Queen of Christmas" so that it could be used by her company Lotion LLC Darlene Love protested, saying David Letterman gave her the title about thirty years earlier.

149.

The newlyweds moved into a custom-built mansion referred to by Mariah Carey as "Sing Sing" located on a 51-acre estate in Bedford, New York, alluding to her feeling imprisoned there.

150.

Mariah Carey was in a relationship with singer Luis Miguel from 1998 to 2001.

151.

Mariah Carey met actor and comedian Nick Cannon while they shot the music video for her song "Bye Bye" on an island off the coast of Antigua.

152.

Mariah Carey filed for divorce on December 12,2014, which was finalized in 2016.

153.

In 2015, Mariah Carey began dating Australian billionaire James Packer and, on January 21,2016, she announced they were engaged.

154.

Mariah Carey was diagnosed in 2001 and initially kept the diagnosis private.