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Mariah Carey Profile |
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Birth Date: March 27, 1970
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Birth Place: Long Island, New York, USA
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Birth Name: Mariah Angela Carey
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Height: 5'9"
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Biography |
Mariah Carey was born on March 27, 1970, in Long Island, New
York, to parents Patricia and Alfred. Unfortunately, her
parents divorced when she was only three years old. As a
result of her Irish/African-American/Venezuelan descent,
Mariah encountered some racial discrimination while growing
up.
Carey was raised in a poverty-stricken home and her mother
was forced to work multiple jobs in order to make ends meet.
Conveniently enough, it was Mariah's mom who noticed her
daughter's vocal talents.
mariah carey signs a record deal
One day, when Patricia was rehearsing her role of Maddalena
in Verdi's opera Rigoletto, she heard Mariah imitating her
singing. Even though she was only 3 at the time, Mariah's
mom began teaching her how to develop her vocal skills.
In high school, Carey didn't concentrate much on her
education and would frequently skip class; instead, she
wrote songs and dreamt about becoming a famous singer.
Before she got her big break, Mariah completed 500 hours of
beauty school and even worked as a hair sweeper in a salon,
as a waitress and as a coat check girl.
After she graduated from high school in 1987, Carey moved to
New York in order to pursue her dream of becoming a famous
singer. She spent hours working in a studio writing her
music and making demo tapes. In 1988, one of Mariah's
friends, who played the drums for Brenda K. Starr, urged her
to try out as a backup singer for Starr. Although Mariah was
a little hesitant at first, she quickly realized that it was
better than what she was doing at that time.
One day, while Carey was singing for Starr, Sony record
executive producer Tommy Mottola was given Carey's demo
tape, and her wish of becoming a singer was soon realized.
mariah carey releases her debut
Mariah Carey's first self-titled album uncovered a
high-octave voice that could break sound barriers, as well
as record sales. Although people initially labeled her as a
"white girl with a black girl's voice," Carey quickly
squashed all the hearsay and set the record straight.
Nevertheless, all the media hype ultimately contributed to
her selling over six million albums.
Thanks to her debut album, she landed at No. 1 with four of
her singles and won a couple of Grammys. Her following two
albums, 1991's Emotions and 1992's Unplugged, were just as
successful. In 1993, Mariah wed Tommy Mottola, then-chairman
of Sony. Media hounds were quick to criticize the age
difference between the couple (Tommy is 20 years her
senior).
Once she was a success, Carey quickly got involved with the
cause of inner-city youth, donating large quantities of time
and money to what would be renamed "Camp Mariah." The camp
is a refuge for urban youth who rarely get the chance to
experience nature and embrace the arts.
mariah carey has more no. 1 singles
In 1993, Mariah's fourth album, Music Box, and fifth album,
1994's Merry Christmas, burned up the charts just as
strongly as did her previous releases. In 1995, Carey
released Daydream, which earned her six Grammy nominations
and began to uncover a Mariah that the world had never seen
before.
Mariah began to develop a hip-hop feel in her music and
began frequenting other hip-hoppers like Da Brat and Ol'
Dirty Bastard. At the same time, Mariah's music started
gaining popularity in clubs, and her fan base became wider
in range.
mariah carey releases rainbow
Carey quickly became one of the most powerful women in the
music industry, with career sales topping 80 million units.
Throughout 1997, Mariah watched her professional image
evolve, even though her marriage to Tommy took a turn for
the worst. Although they denied rumors of marital problems,
Mariah released Butterfly, and the video for the first
single depicted Mariah as a prisoner in an estate. This
video only fueled the fire of rumors surrounding the
couple's marriage. They ultimately divorced in March of
1998.
In 1999, Carey released Rainbow, which spawned the hits
"Heartbreaker" and a cover of "Against All Odds (Take A Look
At Me Now)."
mariah carey has a breakdown
Next, Carey tried her hand at acting. She had a small role
in 1999's The Bachelor, starring Renee Zellweger. Her
starring debut came with the release of Glitter in September
2001, which chronicled the tumultuous rise of a singer in
the 1980s.
While promoting the film and its soundtrack album (and after
several bizarre public occurrences), Mariah suffered what
her publicist referred to as a "physical and emotional
breakdown." She was briefly hospitalized and announced she
was taking a break from performing.
Unfortunately, Glitter failed to follow the success of her
single and album releases. The film did poorly at the box
office, and even the soundtrack didn't come close to
matching the sales of her previous releases. To add even
more insult to injury, Virgin Records dissolved its contract
with her, paying her $28 million to walk away.
mariah carey records charmbracelet
But Carey bounced back with a new record deal, this time
with Island Def Jam (part of Universal Music Group). Her
next release, Charmbracelet, proved that she still had the
vocal chops to stay in the game, although it it didn't come
close to the success of her previous albums. Mariah also
kept busy with the start of her own label, MonarC.
Carey then added Wisegirls (co-starring Mira Sorvino) to her
acting resume, as it premiered at the 2002 Sundance Film
Festival and aired on HBO.
mariah returns with the emancipation of mimi
After a few years in relative obscurity, Mariah burst back
onto the music scene in April 2005 with her 10th studio
album, The Emancipation of Mimi (the second album for Island
Def Jam). Her first single, "It's Like That," exploded onto
the charts, and the album itself sold more copies -- about
404,000 -- in its first week than any of her previous
albums. As her latest album continues to climb the charts,
Mariah is proving that she's back and here to stay.
In 2005, she was back on the big screen with roles in State
Property 2 and The Sweet Science. |
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Other
Information |
Bought Marilyn Monroe's white lacquered baby grand piano at
auction in October, 1999 for $600,000 plus commission.
Her highest octave is two octaves higher than normal
soprano.
Got her name from the song "They Call The Wind Mariah". The
popular Lerner & Loewe musical Paint Your Wagon (1969),
starring Lee Marvin and Clint Eastwood, which was enjoying a
great deal of success after its release in 1969, and the
song containing Mariah's name, was a favorite of mother
Patricia.
Worked a variety of odd jobs to support herself, including
hat/coat-checker, hostess, hair sweeper in hair salons, and
waitress. She stated that she got fired from all her jobs
because of her attitude and was concentrating of becoming a
backing singer and mixing demos.
Dated Latin singer Luis Miguel.
Attended Oldfield Middle School and Harborfield High School.
Father is Black Venezuelan-American, mother is White
Irish-American.
In 1999 Mariah won the Horizon Award at the Congressional
Foundation Awards for her work with and for children.
The only female artist (and third artist or group ever) to
have 17 #1 songs on the US Billboard Hot 100 charts.
Made her singing debut, age 20. [1990]
Had the nickname "Mirage" in high school, because she never
showed up for class.
According to her spokesperson, Mariah suffered a physical
and emotional breakdown, and spent the next couple weeks
recovering in a Connecticut mental hospital. [25 July 2001]
Appeared on the benefit concert "A Tribute To Heroes" and
sang the song "Hero" in dedication to the families, friends,
victims, and heroes of the World Trade Center tragedy.
[September 2001]
Signed an $80 million deal with Virgin Records for her next
four albums. [2001]
Founder of Camp Mariah, a serene escape located in Fishkill,
New York for inner-city youth to embrace the arts, introduce
career opportunities, and build self-esteem.
Named one of People Magazine's '25 Most Intriguing People of
2001'.
Virgin Records bought out her $80 million contract for $28
million. The primary reason being the failure of her Glitter
(2001) album and film. [26 January 2002]
Single 'One Sweet Day' holds the record for the single
staying most weeks at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 (a record
16 weeks)
She is in 2nd place among all artists with the most No. 1s
in music history, tying Elvis Presley's in second place with
a total of 17 #1 hits, with The Beatles remaining in first
place with 20.
Owns a three floor apartment in New York City
Signed a three-album deal with Island/Def Jam records for a
reported $21-24 million. She had already started work on a
new album, which had no release date at that point.
Meanwhile, WiseGirls (2002), her movie with Mira Sorvino,
premiered on HBO in the fall of 2002. [May 2002]
Voted in at #36 in FHM's Sexiest Girls of 2002 poll,
American edition.
Her seventh studio album, titled 'Charmbracelet', will be
released on December 3, 2002, a week earlier than originally
planned.
Is the most successful female singer-songwriter of all time,
with 17 #1 hits and more than 160 million records sold
worldwide.
Measurements: 34BC-22-35 (before implants in 1998). (Source:
Celebrity Sleuth magazine)
Her paternal Venezuelan grandfather's name was Francisco
Nuñez. He changed his last name Nuñez to Carey after moving
to New York City; he hoped an American name would help him
make a good life in the US. He took the name Carey from his
biological father. Francisco's mother Margarita Nuñez was
with a man named Carey, but they were not married.
Used to be a backup singer for Brenda Starr.
The first single from the Glitter (2001) soundtrack, "Loverboy,"
was the #1 best selling single for a movie soundtrack in the
year 2001.
Has worked with an extensive amount of musicians, including:
Brian McKnight, Whitney Houston, Boyz II Men, Jay-Z, Snoop
Dogg, Cam'ron, Carole King, Céline Dion, Michael Jackson, 98
Degrees, Joe, Da Brat, Missy 'Misdemeanor' Elliott, Aretha
Franklin, Shania Twain and many, many more.
She has twice recorded Phil Collins' song "Against All
Odds", initially on her album "Rainbow" and then a
collaboration with Westlife hit number one in the UK in
2000.
Her mother Patricia Hickey is a former mezzo-soprano New
York City opera singer and a freelance vocal coach. Patricia
was also Mariah's vocal coach. Her father Alfred Roy Carey
was an aeronautical engineer.
Her highest note thus far was a G#7 (a few keys from the top
of a piano) hit during two live performances of "Emotions"
in 1991. Also, she has hit an A2 in her 1998 hit "My All,"
verifying her 5-octave range. Also, celebrity vocal coach
Mark Raxter says that he has heard Mariah sing past the top
note on the piano.
Her siblings are Alison and Morgan, and are significantly
older by ten years.
Mariah writes and co-writes as well as produces and
co-produces her own songs, including all of her number one
hits (with the exception of her cover of "I'll Be There").
Her wedding to Tommy Mottola was modeled after the royal
wedding of Prince Charles and Princess Diana. Her excuse for
using the royal wedding as basis for her own was that she
never really had much interest in weddings as a girl, and
she wanted to know what such a gala affair should be like.
Even the tiara she wore, a family heirloom, was redesigned
to look like Princess Diana's. Her wedding dress was an
ivory-silk duchess satin gown designed by Vera Wang, with a
8.25 m (27') train and matching satin pumps. The whole
affair cost almost $US0.5M, not including the 1893 sixpence
Mariah put in one of her shoes for luck.
Her godmother is R&B/Soul diva Patti LaBelle.
With "Heartbreaker," the first single from her 1999 album
Rainbow, she became the first artist to top the charts in
each year of the 1990s.
"We Belong Together" from her 2005 album The Emancipation of
Mimi became her 16th #1 single, is also Hot 100's Greatest
Airplay Gainer, and moved to #1 on the R&B/Hip-Hop Songs
chart to become her ninth #1 chart topper there. It is also
her first #1 without any guest artists since her song "My
All" captured the top spot in May 1998. "Don't Forget Us"
became her 17th#1 single, tying her with Elvis Presley's 17
#1 singles.
Some of her prestigious awards include 5 Grammies, numerous
grammy nominations, numerous Radio Music Awards, many
American Music Awards, Billboard's "Artist of the Decade"
Award and the World Music Award for "World's Best Selling
Female Artist of the Millennium" to name a few.
Her mother Patricia discovered Mariah's talent in 1972 while
rehearsing at home for her New York City Opera debut as
Maddalena in Verdi's Rigoletto. Patricia said, "From the
time Mariah was a tiny girl. she sang on true pitch; she was
able to hear sound and duplicate it exactly. I missed my
cue, but Mariah didn't. She sang it - in Italian - at
exactly the right point. She wasn't even yet 3." From then
on, Patricia began coaching Mariah.
Some of her albums feature the serif typeface friz quadrata.
Ranked #47 in Askmen's "Most Desirable Woman" (2001)
Ranked #99 in FHM's "100 Sexiest Women" (2001)
Ranked #17 in FHM's "100 Sexiest Women" (2000)
Some of her musical influences include Aretha Franklin,
Gladys Knight, Minnie Riperton and Stevie Wonder.
The Emancipation Of Mimi, named the biggest-selling album of
2005, generated an all-time career-high 8 Grammy nominations
for Mariah. The album includes Mariah's 16th and 17th #1
career singles, "We Belong Together" and "Don't Forget About
Us," respectively - 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.
For the first time in history, a non current song, "All I
want for Christmas is you" (1994) reached the #1 spot in the
Digital Songs and Tracks the week of December 22th 2005. |
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