Mariah Carey is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and actress. Referred to as the "Songbird Supreme" by Guinness World Records, she is noted for her songwriting, five-octave vocal range, melismatic singing style and signature use of the whistle register. An influential figure in popular music, Carey is credited for impacting the vocal style in contemporary music, merging hip-hop with pop music through her collaborations and popularizing the use of remixes. She has also 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.
Walter Afanasieff, formerly nicknamed Baby Love in the 1980s, is an American record producer and songwriter. He was a collaborator with Mariah Carey on her first six studio albums. He won the 1999 Grammy Award in the Record of the Year category for producing "My Heart Will Go On" by Celine Dion, and the 2000 Grammy Award for Producer of the Year, Non-Classical.
Narada Michael Walden is an American musician, singer, songwriter and record producer. He acquired the nickname Narada from Sri Chinmoy.
"Through the Rain" is a song by American singer Mariah Carey, taken from her ninth studio album, Charmbracelet (2002). It was written by Carey and Lionel Cole, and produced by the former and Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis. The song was released as the album's lead single on September 30, 2002, and a shorter version was used as the ending credits theme for a 2002 Japanese drama known as You're Under Arrest. Classified by Carey as a ballad, it is influenced by R&B and soul music genres, and features a simple and under-stated piano melody, backed by soft electronic synthesizers. "Through the Rain" was meant to be an insight into Carey personal struggles throughout 2001, and lyrically talks about encouraging others.
"Boy (I Need You)" is a song by American singer Mariah Carey, taken from her ninth studio album, Charmbracelet (2002). It was written by Carey, Justin Smith, Norman Whitfield and Cameron Giles, and produced by the former and Just Blaze. The song was released as the album's second single on November 26, 2002, by Island Def Jam and Carey's own label, MonarC Entertainment. Initially, "The One" had been chosen as the second single from the album, however, halfway through the filming of a music video for it, the singer decided to release "Boy (I Need You)" instead. Considered by Carey as one of her favorites, the track is a reworked version of rapper Cam'ron's song "Oh Boy" released earlier that year.
"Bringin' On the Heartbreak" is a song by English rock band Def Leppard. A power ballad, it was the second single from their 1981 album High 'n' Dry. The song was written by three of the band's members, Steve Clark, Pete Willis and Joe Elliott.
"Loverboy" is a song by American singer and songwriter Mariah Carey. It was released on June 19, 2001, by Virgin Records America as the lead single from her eighth studio album Glitter, the soundtrack to the 2001 film of the same name. Written and produced by Carey, Larry Blackmon, Thomas Jenkins and Clark Kent, "Loverboy" is built around a sample from "Candy" by the funk band Cameo, who are also featured on the track. Lyrically, the song finds Carey fantasizing about her loverboy, a man that will fulfill her physical and sexual desires. The recording was accompanied by an official remix, titled "Loverboy Remix", featuring guest artists Ludacris, Da Brat, Shawnna and Twenty II.
American singer Mariah Carey has released 86 official singles, 22 promotional singles, and has made 30 guest appearances. Her self-titled debut album in 1990 yielded four number-one singles on the Billboard Hot 100, the first being "Vision of Love", a song credited with revolutionizing the usage of distinguished vocal stylings, predominantly the practice of melisma, and effectively influencing virtually every female R&B performer since the 1990s. Subsequent singles "Emotions" (1991) and Carey's cover of the Jackson 5 track, "I'll Be There" (1992) continued the singer's streak of US number-one singles, with the latter becoming her fourth chart-topper in Canada and first in the Netherlands. With the release of Carey's third studio album, Music Box (1993), the singer's international popularity surged upon release of "Hero" and the album's third single, her cover of Harry Nilsson's "Without You", which became the singer's first number-one single in several countries across Europe.
"When You Believe" is a song by American singers Whitney Houston and Mariah Carey. The song was made for the 1998 DreamWorks musical animated feature The Prince of Egypt. It was written and composed by Stephen Schwartz. A pop single version of "When You Believe", with additional music and lyrics by writer-producer Kenneth Edmonds (Babyface), was also recorded for the film's end credits and its soundtrack album by DreamWorks Records. Additionally, the song serves as the soundtrack's lead single on November 2, 1998 and for both Houston's fourth studio album, My Love Is Your Love by Arista Records and Carey's first compilation album, #1's by Columbia Records. The original version of the song, featured in the narrative portion of the film, is performed by Sally Dworsky, Michelle Pfeiffer, and a children's choir. "When You Believe" is described as a big ballad, with meaningful and inspirational lyrics, describing the ability each person has to achieve miracles when they reach out to God and believe.
"There's Got to Be a Way" is a song recorded by American singer-songwriter Mariah Carey for her eponymous debut studio album (1990). Columbia released it as the fifth and final single from the album only in the United Kingdom on May 20, 1991. It was one of four songs Carey wrote with Ric Wake during their first recording session together in February 1990, but "There's Got to Be a Way" was the only composition to make the final track listing. Carey released a five-track digital extended play containing remixes of the song in July 2020 as part of her 30th-anniversary celebrations of her debut album.
"Someday" is a song by American singer and songwriter Mariah Carey from her self-titled debut studio album (1990). It is a dance-pop, new jack swing and R&B song. Prior to Carey signing a record contract, she and producer Ben Margulies had written and produced a four-track demo which included "Someday". After signing a contract with Columbia Records, Carey began work on her debut album and she reached out to Ric Wake to ask if he would produce the song, to which he agreed. The composition of the demo recording was changed during the recording process, most notably replacing the horns with a guitar, which Carey disapproved of.
Trey Lorenz is an American R&B singer-songwriter and record producer. He was born in Florence, South Carolina and is a graduate of Wilson High School. Lorenz is best known for his duet with recording artist Mariah Carey on "I'll Be There", a cover of the 1970 number-one Jackson 5 recording of the same name. The record topped the US Billboard Hot 100 and R&B singles chart a second time in 1992 and earned Lorenz and Carey both a Grammy Award nomination for Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals. They would later perform the song again at the funeral of Michael Jackson on July 7, 2009. He is also known for his 1992 hit single "Someone to Hold".
Music Box is the third studio album by American singer-songwriter Mariah Carey. It was released by Columbia Records on August 31, 1993. The album comprises ballads primarily written by Carey and Walter Afanasieff, with whom she had previously worked on Emotions (1991), and a few urban dance tracks. During the course of the album's development, Carey wanted to broaden her audience, choosing a more pop/R&B oriented sound. During this time frame, she experimented with different musical instruments, leading the album's sound away from her more contemporary previous two efforts.
Glitter is the soundtrack to the 2001 film of the same title and the eighth studio album by American singer-songwriter Mariah Carey. It was released on August 18, 2001, in Japan by Sony Music and in the United States on September 11, 2001, the same day as the September 11 attacks, by Virgin Records. Mixing dance-pop, funk, hip hop and R&B, the album was a complete musical departure from any of Carey's previous releases, focusing heavily on recreating a 1980s post-disco era to accompany the film, set in 1983. By covering or heavily sampling several older tunes and songs, Carey created Glitter as an album that would help viewers connect with the film, as well as incorporating newly written ballads. The singer collaborated with Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis and DJ Clue, who co-produced the album. Musically, Glitter was structured to be a retro-influenced album and have more of a dance-oriented element. On several songs, critics noted Carey to be more sexually suggestive lyrically than before. Glitter featured several musical acts such as Eric Benét, Ludacris, Da Brat, Busta Rhymes, Fabolous, and Ja Rule.
"Endless Love" is a song written by Lionel Richie and originally recorded as a duet between Richie and singer/actress Diana Ross. It is Richie's first single after leaving Commodores. In this ballad, the singers declare their "endless love" for one another. It was covered by Luther Vandross with R&B-pop singer Mariah Carey, and also by country music singer Shania Twain. Richie's friend Kenny Rogers also recorded the song. Billboard has named the original version as the greatest song duet of all time.
"Prisoner of Love" is a 1931 popular song, with music by Russ Columbo and Clarence Gaskill and lyrics by Leo Robin.
"I'll See You in My Dreams" is a popular song, composed by Isham Jones, with lyrics by Gus Kahn, and published in 1924. It was recorded on December 4 that year, by Isham Jones conducting Ray Miller's Orchestra. Released on Brunswick Records, it charted for 16 weeks during 1925, spending seven weeks at number 1 in the United States. Other popular versions in 1925 were by Marion Harris; Paul Whiteman; Ford & Glenn; and Lewis James; with three of these four reaching the Top 10.
"September in the Rain" is a popular song about nostalgia by Harry Warren and Al Dubin, published in 1937. The song was introduced by James Melton in the film Melody for Two. It has become a standard, having been recorded by many artists since.
The Rarities is the eighth compilation album by American singer-songwriter Mariah Carey, released on October 2, 2020, by Columbia Records and Legacy Recordings. It is a part of "#MC30", a promotional campaign marking the 30th anniversary of Carey's self-titled debut studio album, Mariah Carey (1990), and coincides with her memoir The Meaning of Mariah Carey (2020). Featuring a mix of b-sides and previously unreleased material "with personal relevance and meaning" to Carey—some of which are discussed in her memoir—the album also includes a second disc consisting of audio from her March 7, 1996, live performance at the Tokyo Dome during her Daydream World Tour. A Blu-ray disc featuring enhanced video footage from the concert was released exclusively in Japan.
"Save the Day" is a song recorded by American singer and songwriter Mariah Carey. It was released on August 21, 2020 as the lead single from her eighth compilation album, The Rarities (2020) by Columbia and Legacy Records. The music was composed by Carey, and the lyrics and melody were written by Carey, Jermaine Dupri, James "Big Jim" Wright, Charles Fox, and Norman Gimbel. Carey and Dupri produced it.
