Mariah Carey has sold more than 175 million albums, singles and videos worldwide. She was named the best-selling female pop artist of the millennium at the 2000 World Music Awards. Carey is also the recipient of the Chopard Diamond Award at the 2003 World Music Awards, recognizing sales of over 100 million albums worldwide.According to the Recording Industry Association of America, she is the third best-selling female artist and sixteenth overall recording artist with shipments of over 63 million albums in the US. She is also ranked as the best-selling female artist of the U.S. Nielsen SoundScan era (third best-selling artist overall).
Mariah Carey was born on March 27, 1970, in Huntington, New York, to parents Patricia and Alfred. Unfortunately, her parents divorced when she was only 3 years old. As a result of her Irish, Venezuelan and black descent, Mariah Carey encountered some racial discrimination while growing up. Mariah Carey was raised in a poverty-stricken home, and her mother was forced to work multiple jobs to make ends meet. Conveniently enough, it was Mariah Carey's mom who noticed her daughter's vocal talents. Mariah Carey's rise to glory began in 1990 with her hit song "Vision of Love." After several follow-up albums, she has grown to become a household name, as well as a diva of our era. Mariah Carey has been extremely successful as a singer, having cowritten many of her biggest hits and having sold millions of albums worldwide. She may be considered a pop diva, but her singles have crossed over to top the R&B, hip-hop and adult contemporary charts too. Between 1990 and 2000, she had 15 No. 1 singles on Billboard's Hot 100 Singles chart; that's twice as many as Janet Jackson during the same period, and more than Madonna, Whitney Houston and Celine Dion combined. Her first four singles all reached the pop summit, while her 1995 duet with Boyz II Men "One Sweet Day," holds the record for most weeks at No. 1; it sat tight for an incredible 16 weeks. She's also been nominated for countless Grammy Awards. She started winning them from the time of her 1990 debut album, when she won in the Best New Artist and Best Female Pop Vocal Performance (for "Vision of Love") categories. As if those accomplishments weren't enough, Mariah Carey continued to receive success as her career progressed. Her 2005 album, The Emancipation of Mimi, debuted at No. 1, and the single "We Belong Together" held the Hot 100's No. 1 position for 14 weeks and was 2005's biggest hit in the States. Her 2008 album E=MC2, another brilliant success, was Mariah Carey's 11th studio album to date.
"Butterflies are always following me everywhere I go."