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 with influencing vocal styles, merging hip-hop with pop through her collaborations and popularizing 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.
The 36th Annual Grammy Awards were held on March 1, 1994. They recognized accomplishments by musicians from the previous year. Whitney Houston was the Big Winner winning 3 awards including Record of the Year and Album of the Year while opening the show with "I Will Always Love You".
The 38th Annual Grammy Awards were held on February 28, 1996, at Shrine Auditorium, Los Angeles. The awards recognized accomplishments by musicians from the previous year. Alanis Morissette was the main recipient, being awarded four trophies, including Album of the Year. Mariah Carey and Boyz II Men opened the show with their Record of the Year nominated "One Sweet Day".
Mariah Carey is the debut studio album by American singer Mariah Carey, released on June 12, 1990, by Columbia Records. Its music incorporates a range of contemporary genres with a mix of slow ballads and up-tempo tracks. Originally, Carey wrote four songs with Ben Margulies, which solely constituted her demo tape. After Carey was signed to Columbia, all four songs, after being altered and partially re-recorded, made the final cut for the album. Aside from Margulies, Carey worked with a range of professional writers and producers, all of whom were hired by Columbia CEO, Tommy Mottola. Mariah Carey featured production and writing from Rhett Lawrence, Ric Wake and Narada Michael Walden, all of whom were top record producers at the time. Together with Carey, they conceived the album and reconstructed her original demo tape.
Narada Michael Walden is an American musician, singer, songwriter and record producer. He acquired the nickname Narada from Sri Chinmoy.
Daydream is the fifth studio album by American singer-songwriter Mariah Carey, released on September 26, 1995, by Columbia Records. The follow-up to her internationally successful studio album Music Box (1993), and the holiday album Merry Christmas (1994), Daydream differed from her previous releases by leaning increasingly toward hip hop and urban music. Throughout the project, Carey collaborated with Walter Afanasieff, with whom she wrote and produced most of her previous albums. With Daydream, Carey took more control over the musical direction as well as the album's composition. Carey considered the album to be the beginning of her musical and vocal transition, a change that would become more evident in her sixth studio album Butterfly (1997). During the album's production, Carey endured many creative differences with her label and then-husband Tommy Mottola. On Daydream, Carey collaborated with Jermaine Dupri, Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds, and R&B group Boyz II Men. With Afanasieff's assistance and the addition of a few contemporary producers, she was able to make a subtle transition into the contemporary R&B market, after previously only pursuing pop, adult contemporary and traditional R&B music.
"Never Too Far/Hero Medley" is a medley recorded by American singer and songwriter Mariah Carey, first released as a charity single on December 11, 2001, through Virgin Records America and is included in the Japanese release of Carey's second compilation album, Greatest Hits (2001). The medley combines the first verse and chorus of "Never Too Far", co-written and co-produced by Carey and Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, with a re-recorded version of the first verse, chorus and bridge of "Hero", written and produced by Carey and Walter Afanasieff. As the latter did not receive co-production credits due to the change in instrumentation, Randy Jackson was named as producer alongside Carey instead. The single was meant to express a message of unity and love in the aftermath of the September 11 attacks.
"Can't Let Go" is a song by American singer-songwriter Mariah Carey from her second studio album, Emotions (1991). It was released as the album's second single on October 23, 1991, by Columbia Records in the United States and the first quarter of 1992 elsewhere. It was written and produced by Carey and Walter Afanasieff. The protagonist of this synthesizer-heavy ballad laments an ex-lover who has moved on, and though she tries she "can't let go."
"I Don't Wanna Cry" is a song recorded by American singer-songwriter Mariah Carey for her self-titled debut studio album Mariah Carey (1990). Written by Carey and producer Narada Michael Walden, Columbia Records released it as the album's fourth single in March 1991. A Latin soul-influenced pop and R&B ballad, the torch song describes the end of romance. It features drums, guitars, digital synthesizers, and a prototypical song structure with highly delineated section roles. Modulations occur between these segments that emphasize the singer's emotions. Varying from whispering to belting, Carey's vocal range spans more than two octaves.
"Love Takes Time" is a song recorded by American singer-songwriter Mariah Carey for her eponymous debut studio album (1990). Written by Carey and Ben Margulies, while produced by Walter Afanasieff, the song was released as the second single from the album on August 22, 1990, by Columbia Records. An adult contemporary-influenced ballad, the song follows its protagonist lamenting the loss of a lover and confesses that "love takes time" to heal and that her feelings for her ex-lover remain.
"Hero" is a song by American singer-songwriter, and record producer Mariah Carey released on October 18, 1993, via Columbia Records as the second single from her third studio album, Music Box (1993). The song was written and produced by Carey and Walter Afanasieff. While writing the song, Carey did not connect to its style or sound, therefore forfeiting it to Gloria Estefan, who was intended to sing it for the soundtrack of the film of the same name (1992). However, after being convinced by Sony executive Tommy Mottola to keep it for herself, she changed some of the lyrics to more precisely fit her personality. Lyrically, the song is regarded as one of Carey's most inspirational and personal ballads, with its protagonist declaring that even though people may feel discouraged or down at times, in reality, they are "heroes" if they look inside themselves and see their own inner strength; in time, it will help them "find the way".
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.
Merry Christmas is the fourth studio album by American singer-songwriter Mariah Carey, and her first Christmas album. Released by Columbia Records on October 28, 1994, at the peak of the initial stretch of Carey's career, between Music Box (1993) and Daydream (1995), the album features cover versions of popular Christmas songs in addition to original material. Carey worked with Walter Afanasieff, with whom she wrote all of the original tracks, as well as producing Carey's interpretations of the covered material. Three singles were released from the album, of which "All I Want for Christmas Is You" went on to become one of the best-selling singles of all time and the best-selling Christmas ringtone in the United States.
Ric Wake is an American record producer who has won two Grammy Awards. During his tenure as staff producer with Sony Music Entertainment he has worked with vocalists such as Celine Dion, Whitney Houston, Lucero, Taylor Dayne, Mariah Carey, Jessica Simpson, Anastacia, Barry Manilow, Marc Anthony and Jennifer Lopez. He has worked with Greek composer Yanni to help produce Yanni Voices.
Celine Dion is the eleventh studio album by Canadian singer Celine Dion, and her second English-language album. It was originally released by Sony Music on 30 March 1992, and features the Grammy and Academy Award-winning song "Beauty and the Beast", and other hits like "If You Asked Me To" and "Love Can Move Mountains". The album was produced by Walter Afanasieff, Ric Wake, Guy Roche and Humberto Gatica. It reached number one in Quebec, number three in Canada and was certified Diamond there, denoting shipments of over one million copies in this country. At the 35th Annual Grammy Awards, Celine Dion was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance. The album has sold over five million copies worldwide. To support it, Dion toured as the opening act for Michael Bolton on his "Time, Love and Tenderness Tour" in the summer of 1992 through the United States. From August 1992 till March 1993, she toured Canada with her Celine Dion in Concert tour.
Songs is the ninth studio album by American R&B/soul singer-songwriter Luther Vandross. It was released by Epic Records on September 20, 1994. The album, a collection of cover versions, produced the singles "Endless Love", "Always and Forever", and "Ain't No Stoppin' Us Now". According to an interview both Vandross and Mariah Carey gave in Japan following the release of their duet "Endless Love", there was mention that Carey had given advice as to what songs Vandross would cover on this album.
Joy: A Christmas Collection (2000) is Avalon's fourth release, and their first Christmas album. In addition to standard Christmas songs, the album also includes covers of Celine Dion's "Don't Save It All for Christmas Day", Mariah Carey's "Jesus, Born on This Day", and David Meece's "We Are The Reason".
Tamara Diane Wimer, known professionally as Tamara Gee, is an American pop singer and songwriter. She grew up singing and performing from the age of 5, and was a professional vocalist by the time she was 12 years old, winning various singing competitions throughout her adolescence and adulthood, as well as a beauty pageant. Gee opened for vocalist Tony Bennett and his orchestra after being the featured vocalist on various albums throughout her teen years. She released her debut album Hidden Treasure with Universal Music in 2007, while living in Poland. Her single from the album, "For Life", was voted unanimous winner of Piosenka dla Europy, the Polish final for the 2008 Eurovision Song Contest. Tamara and her song "For Life" was the first Polish entry in history to qualify out of a semifinal. A portion of Gee's Eurovision performance was shown on The Oprah Winfrey Show on "The World's Got Talent" episode with Simon Cowell where Gee sang with former participants Celine Dion and Julio Iglesias. In 2007 Gee co-wrote and performed "Fate" on DJ Schiller's album Sehnsucht. The album went triple platinum and was nominated for a Grammy. She released her solo EP Christmas Angel in 2009. On November 27, 2014, Tamara released a new highly anticipated album "Love, Tamara" of which she wrote with and was produced by Multi Grammy Award winning producer/songwriter Walter Afanasieff.
Daniel Martin Shea is an American record producer and composer who has worked with numerous artists including Mariah Carey, Celine Dion, Jennifer Lopez, Janet Jackson, Santana, Barbra Streisand, Jessica Simpson. Sara Evans, Rob Thomas, Marc Anthony, Boyz II Men, Martina McBride, Kenny G, Ricky Martin, Bono, Mary J. Blige, R. Kelly, Robin Thicke, Toni Braxton, Babyface, Natalie Cole, Phil Collins, Luther Vandross, Michael Bolton, Lady Antebellum, Jim Brickman, Plácido Domingo, Grover Washington Jr., Al Jarreau, Kenny Loggins, Dusty Springfield, Daryl Hall, Boney James, New Kids on the Block, Rissi Palmer, Christina Milian, Jordan Pruitt, Thalía, Savage Garden, Clarence Clemons, and more. As producer, composer, and multi-instrumentalist, Dan Shea's albums have sold over 150 million copies worldwide.
"Gimme Your Love" is a song recorded as duet between American singers Aretha Franklin and James Brown in 1989. The two singers' only collaboration, it is the lead track on Franklin's album Through the Storm and also appeared on Brown's Soul Session Live. It was written by Narada Michael Walden and Jeffrey Cohen, and produced by the former. It was released as the album's third and final single on September 18, 1989, by Arista Records and peaked at No. 48 on the Billboard R&B singles chart. The song was poorly received by critics, with Rolling Stone describing it as "a series of whoops and grunts as challenging to [the singers] as yawning". Nevertheless, it was nominated for the 1990 Grammy Award for Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal.
