Mariah Carey has proved she's no fading flower, since 1990 she 
has sold an astonishing 115 million
albums - with a record 15 #1 U.S hits making her 
the most successful female artist of her generation.
Being a Mariah Carey fan isn't wanting to know about 
Mariah's social life, it's the music that matters.
Sure, we want to know about Mariah's life- but the 
media attention isn't what Mariah's fans craved for, it
was her music. It's the music that matters, and Mariah 
Carey has used her many talents to create
some unforgettable landmarks in the music industry... 

In 1990 Mariah Carey arrived on the scene as the new much-hyped 
female artist. Her rise to Sony
music (then called CBS) wasn't an easy one, she worked 
hard to get into the recording studios. It
wasn't a matter of luck, it was Mariah's hard work 
and raw talent that attracted musical top-notch
Tommy Mottola. He heard her voice once (we all know 
the story by now) and signed Mariah up straight
away. Her talent had become recognised. 

Her first single, Vision Of Love was the first track 
from her self-titled debut album. It shot to #1 on the
U.S charts, became a Top40 Hit in Australia and reached 
international attention. This new voice, almost
angelic, was Mariah Carey... who would soon become the 
hottest female artist of the 90's. Her debut
album had also reached #1 on the albums charts. 

Love Takes Time , Mariah's first work with super-producer 
Walter Afanasieff (who later worked with the
likes of Celine Dion and Puff Johnson) , became 
her second #1 U.S single. She was without a doubt the
hottest new diva of 1990. 

In 1991, Mariah Carey won 2 Grammy Awards- Best Pop 
Vocal Performance and and Best New Artist.
The next month Mariah's new single Someday shot straight 
to #1- making her a force to be reckoned
with. She was becoming the fastest selling female artist 
to arrive in years. 

I Don't Wanna Cry, a ballad from the self-titled album 
soon followed (one month later). Becoming Mariah
Carey's fourth #1 single in a row- a feat only the 
Jackson 5 had previously achieved. 

Over the next four months,whilst Mariah's chart success 
was still at an amazing peak, she was working
busily on her second album with producers Walter 
Afanasieff, David Cole and Robert Clivilles. 

The new album was the raw and edgy album, EMOTIONS. 
Where Mariah's debut album was a very
overly-produced piece of work- this album was raw 
and emotional (explaining the title of the album). The
ballads were electric, Mariah's sensational voice 
carrying them with a heavenly edge. The title track,
Emotions hit the U.S charts on August 31st 1991, and 
2 months later hit #1- becoming Mariah's fifth #1
U.S single in a row. Mariah Carey was the first ever 
artist to have her first 5 singles reach the top
spot...one after another. 

In January 1992, Mariah Carey's second single from the 
album Can't Let Go peaked at #2 - still an
amazing success,despite breaking the string of #1 hits. 
Despite this single being so huge in America, it
was noted as Mariah's least successful single to be 
released in Australia. The album peaked at #4 on
the U.S album charts. Make It Happen, with autobiographic 
style lyrics of Mariah's struggle to reach her
dreams, reached #4 on the U.S charts and failed to make 
the Australian Top50. Meanwhile, Mariah was
becoming somewhat an idol in the musical scene in 
Japan...where her popularity continues to grow. 

In March 1992, Mariah Carey performed MTV Unplugged, 
which was so popular with fans it was soon
spawned as a CD. Mariah Carey's MTV UNPLUGGED EP ablum 
spawned Mariah's sixth #1 U.S hit (#6
in Oz) I'll Be There, which she performed with Trey Lorenz. 

1993 had became a fantastic year for Carey- she married 
Tommy Mottola and the release of her third
studio album MUSIC BOX sold in excess of 24 million albums 
world-wide. She teamed with producers
Walter Afanasieff, Babyface, David Cole and Robert Clivilles 
to take her career to new heights. Although
critics slammed her music as "sugary pop" Mariah proved 
that her "sugary pop" was making millions
and leaving critics sour. Her first single from the 
album, Dreamlover quickly became a #1 smash hit in
both America and Australia- Mariah Carey had finally 
exploded onto the Australian charts with a
vengeance. And she was there to stay...for a long time. 

Hero reached #1, as did the album on it's release. After 
Hero received tremendous airplay on radios
world-wide, people suddenly realised that Mariah Carey 
wasn't just a ditzy pop singer...she was a
powerful and talented young diva with a showcase of 
talents to display. 

Without You/Never Forget You were both released on the 
one CD single, becoming a monster hit in
both America and Australia. Mariah Carey's album MUSIC BOX
stayed in the Australian Top10 for a
record eighteen months and in America her success was 
more of a phenonemon. 

In June 1993, Mariah's next single Anytime You Need A Friend 
peaked at #12 on the Billboard charts.
She then came back later with her duet with Luther 
Vandross, Endless Love (from Vandross' album
"Love Songs") hitting #1 in the U.S and #2 in Australia. 
This became Mariah's most successful single in
Australia. 

In 1994, Mariah Carey's Merry Christmas peaked at #3 on 
the U.S charts and became a Top10 hit in
Australia. This was possibly the biggest selling Christmas 
album of all time. It spawned the hit single
All I Want For Christmas (Is You) , which peaked at #2, 
and other singles followed; Joy To The World,
O Holy Night and Miss You Most (At Christmas Time). The 
album became an instant classic, and still
continues to sell fast around Christmas time. But every 
Mariah fan can honestly say that their Mariah
Christmas album plays all year-round. 

By the end of 1995, Mariah fans craved new music from the artist. 
She had reached major star status in
America, England, Japan and Australia. Her highly anticipated 
album DAYDREAM had finally arrived.
Producers Walter Afanasieff and Babyface (who co-wrote,co-produced 
with Mariah and did backing
vocals for "Melt Away") continued to collaborate with 
Mariah- but producers David Cole and Robert
Clivilles got the boot, Mariah was looking for an edgier 
and funkier album and critics had slammed the
Cold/Clivilles work with Mariah as "...her weakest efforts." 
Afanasieff worked on seven of the twelve
tracks with Mariah. What most critics failed to recognise 
was that Mariah Carey was more than just a
pop singer. She wrote her own lyrics, co-produced all 
her songs, did vocal arrangements, her own
background vocals, even directed her filmclips for several 
later singles. She was more than just a singer
- she was an amazingly talented woman. Producers Dave 
Hall and Jermaine Dupri joined ship to
co-produce. Hall co-produced Fantasy and Dupri co-produced 
Always Be My Baby, Long Ago with Mariah. 

Fantasy was the first track, and single, from the album. 
It debuted at #1 on the Billboard charts, hit #1
in Australia, Japan and many other countries and became her 
biggest selling single. Where Mariah won
over listeners was the unmistakable beat and funk of this 
single, it was (and is now) Mariah's best
dance track. Unlike tracks in the past where Mariah's tried 
to get listeners dancing (like I've Been
Thinking About You, You're So Cold, Prisoner) Mariah has 
trully got the feet tapping with this fantastic track. 

One Sweet Day, Mariah Carey's collaboration with Boyz II Men, 
followed. It was an inspiring ballad that
is hailed as Mariah's finest work. It debuted at #1 on 
the Billboard Charts, hit #4 in Australia, #1 in
Japan... it was a world-wide smash. It sat at #1 on 
the Billboard charts for a record time of 16 weeks,
and smashing previous records held by Whitney Houston 
(I Will Always Love You). 

Mariah's next #1 Billboard single was Always Be 
My Baby - a major hit in Japan and a Top20 platinum
hit in Australia. 

The best thing about being an Australian fan of Mariah Carey 
is that we get more singles released here
than America. We soon received another 2 Mariah singles 
released on the charts, Open Arms and
Forever - both really failing to make much impact. 
Open Arms peaked at #22 and Forever didn't make
the Top50. However the album was still selling incredibly 
well, going platinum six times in Australia. 

It was evident that Mariah Carey was trying to expand her 
talents. Such songs as Long Ago and Melt
Away suggested that Mariah was hoping to branch into the 
R&B market. It then became more clear
when she released remixes to Fantasy and Always Be My 
Baby. Rap artists ODB and Da Brat joined
Mariah on rap/R&B remixes of the singles. This showed 
Mariah's love for urban music. 

So it became no suprise when Mariah Carey released her new 
single from her latest hit album,
BUTTERFLY. In November 1997, media focused on the new-look 
Mariah Carey. She had split with
husband Tommy and had a new R&B edge with her music. She 
collaborated with Sean "Puffy" Combs
(rapper Puff Daddy) for her R&B hit Honey, which hit #1 
in the U.S and peaked at #6 in Australia. The
filmclip was co-produced and directed by Mariah, seeing 
her stripped of her usual clothes parading in
sexy outfits. Looking sexy without slutty, Mariah proved 
that she had the R&B world in her hands. 

So the album BUTTERFLY was released. She had collaborated 
with Walter Afanasieff (now a long-time
music partner of 7 years, working on 17 songs with Mariah), 
Dru Hill, Missy Elliot, Sean Combs, Bone
Thugs N Harmony and Trackmasters... even old pal Trey Lorenz 
lended his voice for backing vocals for
such songs as Butterfly and Babydoll. 

Butterfly was the second song to be released from the album. 
It sold moderately well but didn't sell as
highly as anticipated for one reason- the track was 
simply too beautiful. People that buy the records
buy them to sing with, and marketing experts said that the 
single was one that people would just listen
to with awe- the song was much too angelic to sell! Who could 
match Mariah's voice? However, this
became Mariah's most powerful ballad to date. Never had she 
sounded so beautiful and emotional. This
wasn't a "new" Mariah- this was the real Mariah. 

Breakdown and My All were both released on one single in 
America, and released seperately in
Australia. Mariah co-directed the Breakdown filmclip (featuring 
Bone Thugs N Harmony) in 2 days.
Something she was proud of. My All was a stunning black/white 
filmclip that captured the raw strength
of the song. Mariah performed this song at the 1998 Blockbuster 
Entertainment Awards after her tour,
she also won Best Female Pop Artist that night, beating Celine 
Dion (who was nominated for "Let's Talk About Love"). The 
My All/Breakdown single became Mariah's 13th #1 hit on the 
Billboard charts,making Mariah's feet firm in the shoes 
of the hottest female artist ever. "Whenever You Call" was made
into a video also, with clips from her concerts.

Mariah's tour ended in Hawaii, where she says a video from 
the Hawiian concert will be released later in
1998. Her concerts in Japan, America, Tawain, Australia and 
Hawaii were sell-out events. She
performed the following songs on the Sydney concert, Feb 3: 
Emotions, Make It Happen, Vision Of
Love, Dreamlover, I'll Be There, Dreamlover (Remix), , Hero, 
Without You, Fantasy (ODB Remix), One
Sweet Day, Honey, Butterfly, My All, Whenever You Call, 
Close My Eyes, Breakdown and The Roof. 

Mariah was a fantastic performer. She charmed the audience, 
stopping and talking to them for long
periods of time. Ms Carey proved she was down to earth and 
cared for her fans, something critics don't
want to believe. But Mariah Carey is not just a fantastic 
artist- she is a beautiful person. 

Trey Lorenz joined Mariah Carey on the tour. He sang the track 
Make You Happy, from the MiB
soundtrack, which Mariah co-wrote,co-produced and did background 
vocals on, under the fake name
"Honey BFly". Mariah and Trey have worked together for years, 
he did background vocals for her
albums Mariah Carey, Emotions, Music Box and Butterfly. 
She produced,wrote and sang on Trey's self
titled album in 1992. 

Mariah Carey's talents continue to expand. She has started 
her own record label, Crave, and signed her
first group Allure. Allure have already become a hit with 
their smash U.S single All Cried Out , which
was also a Top10 platinum hit in Australia. Mariah co-produced 
the single with Corey Rooney, who
co-produced her duet with Dru Hill, The Beautiful Ones. 
Mariah is also featured on the album's
upcoming single Head Over Heals. Mariah wrote the lyrics 
for this track in a day, and did backing
vocals (but didn't note that on the album jacket). 

Mariah's greatest hits album is "Ones" and is a collection 
of her 13 #1 hits and new songs with Brian McKnight 
(Whenever You Call), Jermaine Dupri (Sweetheart), 
I Believe (a Brenda K Starr cover) and her upcoming hit 
single "When You Believe" with Whitney Houston.

Mariah followed in 1999 with her next #1 smash hit,
"Heartbreaker", featuring Jay Z. Her love for R&B was
evident as she collaborated with Snoop Dog, Da Brat, Missy
Elliot, Usher, Snoop Dog, Mystikal and many others. As well,
Mariah stayed true to her love for ballads with such stunning
songs as "Can't Take That Away" and the touching "Petals". The
album enjoyed success whilst Mariah continued doing the music
she felt more comfortable with. The album also spawned another
#1 hit, "Thank God I Found You", featuring R&B singer Joe
and hit boy band group 98 DEGREES. 

2001 now brings an exciting new chapter into Mariah's life
with the release of her film "Glitter" and her solo album /
soundtrack to coincide with the release of her acting debut.
She will also star in the upcoming independant film "Wise Girls"
with Oscar winning Mira Sorvino. Mariah's album boasts the hit
single "Loverboy" (#1) and exciting new collaborations with the
likes of Cameo, Busta Rhymes, DaBrat (who also stars in the film)
and many more. 

So what's next for Mariah?

I guess we'll have to wait and see. No matter what Mariah Carey 
does, she always does it well and
she'll always have millions of dedicated fans supporting every 
move that she makes.