Mariah Angela Kerry is an American pop singer and songwriter, famous for her wide vocal range, including a whistle register. She was one of the most successful performers of the 1990s and remained popular at the beginning of the 21st century.
Early biography
Mariah Kerry (photo given in the article) was born in Huntington (New York, USA) on March 27, 1970. Her mother, Patricia Hickey, an opera singer and vocal teacher, had Irish-American roots, and her father, Alfred Roy Kerry, an aircraft designer, was an African American from Venezuela. Mariah, the third and youngest child in the family, had a sister, Alison and brother Morgan, who were 10 years older than her.
Kerry had to endure racial insults, hostility and even violence. On the lawn of their home, crosses were burned, their dogs were poisoned, a car was blown up and shot through the kitchen window when the family dined there. In addition, Patricia's parents abandoned her when she got married.
This attitude forced the Kerry family to constantly move from place to place in order to find more friendly neighbors. In addition, these incidents caused Kerry serious concern and created tension in the family itself. As a result, Alfred and Patricia divorced in 1972, when Mariah was only 2 years old. After the divorce, she and Morgan remained with their mother.
Life away from his father and the lack of contact with him were too difficult for such a little girl, but life had to go on. Single mother Patricia had to work in 2-3 places and continue to move to different cities of Long Island. Despite this, she managed to surround her children with maternal love and warmth.
Passion for singing
Having good vocal abilities, Mariah began to sing when she was 3 years old. Mother accidentally found out about her huge potential at an early stage. Once, when Patricia rehearsed the role of Maddalena in Verdi's Rigoletto, she heard her daughter imitate her singing beautifully. Since then, she taught her to develop her vocal skills, not paying attention to how old Mariah Kerry is.
The girl first performed in public when she was 6. She sang for friends, in talent shows and at folk music festivals. In Oldfield High School, she had a new passion related to singing. Mariah began to compose her own songs. Driven by a strong passion for arranging, she often skipped classes and dreamed of becoming a famous singer.
When Mariah attended Harborfield High School, she began to travel to Manhattan to study with professionals. School friends jokingly called her “Mirage” because she rarely appeared in the classroom. Wanting to get into the music business, she moonlighted as a singer in Long Island Studios.
Before becoming famous, Mariah Kerry studied at a beauty school for 500 hours, worked as a cleaner in a hairdressing salon, a waitress and a cloakroom attendant. On her 16th birthday, Brother Morgan paid her the cost of her first professional recording session in Manhattan. There she met keyboardist and composer Ben Margulis, who later became her songwriting partner and close friend. In 1987, Kerry graduated from Long Island School and moved to Manhattan, where she recorded a demo tape and offered it to recording studios. A year later, her hard work began to bear fruit. She auditioned and got the job of backing vocalist Brenda Starr.
Success
In November 1988, Brenda took her to a party, where Kerry accidentally met the head of Colombia, Tommy Mottola, to whom she handed over her recording. He lost it in his limo on the way home. As soon as he heard Mariah's charming voice, he returned to the party to find her, but she was already gone. The next day, Mottola met with her and offered a record deal with CBS Columbia. There, she recorded her debut album with producers Narada Michael Walden, Rick Wake and Rhett Lawrence, using material accumulated with Ben Margulis over the past 3 years.
Her collaboration with these people was the beginning of the success that came to her after the release of the debut album "Mariah Kerry" in 1990, when she was only 20 years old. The disc was a huge success and included 4 singles that took first place on the charts: Someday, Vision of Love, I Don't Want to Cry and Love Takes Time.
The album remained in 1st place for 22 weeks. It was a huge success, which Kerry 2 Grammys secured in the categories “Best Vocalist” and “Best New Performer” at the 33rd annual awards ceremony, held on February 20, 1991. And on March 7, Rolling Stone magazine named Mariah the best beginner singer.
The second album, titled “Emotions”, was released in the fall of 1991. His title single was a huge success and took first place in the Hot 100. The disc included two more tracks that were in the top five: Can't Let Go and Make It Happen.
The following year, Kerry, with the help of Trey Lorenz, began recording a new album. Her tight schedule forced her to see Mottola often, and she began dating him. On June 5, 1993, Kerry finally ended up with a producer at the St. Thomas Episcopal Church in New York, followed by a reception at the Metropolitan Club. The VIP guests at the wedding were Bruce Springsteen, Barbra Streisand, Robert De Niro and Ozzy Osbourne.
Music Box and Daydream
Mariah released her next studio album, Music Box, in 1993. For promotional purposes, she went on her first US tour, which took place from November 25 to December 10, 1993. Like the previous ones, he became a megahit who topped several charts around the world. and became a diamond with over 7 million copies sold.
In 1994, Kerry's first Christmas album, Merry Christmas, was released. He was followed by Daydream. One of the most successful compositions was One Sweet Day, in which Boyz II Men took part. The track was led by the Billboard Hot 100 for 16 consecutive weeks. And thanks to the single “Always Be My Baby”, Mariah Kerry was equal in number of hits with Madonna and Whitney Houston.
New image
Remembering her loyal fans outside the United States, Kerry flew to Europe and Asia to give several concerts. Success in the USA and the world dramatically changed the image of the singer. She almost a night from a modest neighbor girl turned into a big mess. Along with these changes, a problem arose with her marriage.
In December 1996, Kerry left Motolla. By January of the following year, she had forgotten about her problems and began recording a new album with P. Diddy, David Morales, Walter Afanasyev and others. Unfortunately, her marriage could not be saved, and she divorced on March 5, 1998.
In 1997, Kerry released Butterfly. The record debuted at number 1 on the Hot 200. The single Honey became the No. 1 hit and remixes by such rappers as Diddy, The Lox and Ma $ e were made on its basis.
In 1998, the singer released her first collection of hits. It had such compositions as When You Believe, Sweetheart, I Still Believe.
Mariah Kerry became an American pop diva. At the Diva VH1 concert, she performed on a par with Aretha Franklin, Celine Dion, Gloria Estefan and Shania Twain. The event continued with a charity program, and the singer showed her philanthropy, participating in many social initiatives.
In late summer 1999, the new Rainbow studio project was completed. Apart from the hit Heartbreaker, there were no other strong singles on this album. Then she tried herself as an actress. In 1999, Kerry played a cameo role in the film "The Bachelor" and in 2002 in the "Fraudsters."
Professional and personal problems
When her contract with longtime Sony label was nearly over, Kerry made a record deal with Virgin Records EMI. But instead of creating new music, the singer had to turn to a psychiatric medical institution and interrupt her performances in 2001.
After the break, Mariah Kerry made her debut in the semi-autobiographical film "Shine", which described the rapid rise of the singer in the 1980s. He received a negative assessment of most film critics and was a failure in terms of box office. Fans did not welcome her album of the same name either. Worse, the singer could not personally advertise him because of health problems. The lead single, LoverBoy, reached number two on the Hot 100, but the album took only 7th position and became the weakest in her music career, despite being greeted as one of her best works.
Due to the failure of "Shine", the EMI studio decided to part with Kerry and bought its contract for $ 35 million. Despite this, in the following months several other record companies appeared, seeking a contract with her. In 2002, Mariah decided where she would release her next albums. It was an Island Def Jam studio. As for personal life, Kerry did not meet with baseball star Derek Jeter for long. She also had a romantic relationship with singer Louis Miguel.
While her next album was still in the making, Mariah worked on the following films, playing a prominent role in the movie Fraudsters (2002). This time she received much better reviews from critics. In December 2002, she released her first concept album, Charmbracelet, as part of a new deal with Island Records, which debuted 3rd on the Billboard Hot 200. It included singles such as Through the Rain, Boy (I Need You) featuring rapper Cam'ron and 1980s cover for Def Leppard Bringin 'On the Heartbreak.
Although many loyal fans continued to buy the singer’s CDs, her songs were not broadcast on radio closed to such mature pop divas as Celine Dion, M Eraya Kerry and Houston Whitney. Given this fact, many observers came to the conclusion that the singer lost her magic. However, the duet of Mariah Kerry and Basta Rimes I Know What You Want in 2003 significantly improved her position, taking 3rd place on the Billboard. In the same year, she was awarded the World Music Awards Diamond Award for over 100 million albums sold worldwide.
Without releasing a new record, Kerry went on a world tour and received positive reviews, although the press focused more on her surroundings, great luggage, her requirements for hotel rooms and dressing rooms, and other similar behavior. The following year, she devoted most of her time to the release of her second concept album, The Emancipation of Mimi.
In the fall, she participated in the hit single Jadakiss U Make Me Wanna, who managed to get into the top 10 of the R&B Billboard. And in November of that year, her new song, Say Something, featuring Snoop Dogg and Farrell Williams, leaked to the Internet, but was greeted coolly.
Return of success
On April 12, 2005, the release of Mimi’s album was released, dedicated to self-knowledge and changing your image. He received positive reviews, and some critics called him the best for many years. The release debuted at No. 1 on the charts, with nearly half a million copies sold in the first week, which was the highest record in the singer’s career. Subsequently, he was seen as a comeback album after the failed Glitter and Charmbracelet.
In April 2008, when she married Nick Cannon, Kerry released “E = MC²”. For the first week, 463 thousand copies were sold. The album debuted at the top of the Billboard Hot 200. It had at least 4 hits. The song by Mariah Kerry Touch My Body reached number one on the Hot 100 list, making her the only singer with the most hits. Others included Bye Bye, I'll Be Lovin 'U Long Time and I Stay in Love.
Skirmish with Eminem
The following year, the pop diva recorded another studio album, “Memories of the Imperfect Angel.” In June of that year, the release of “Obsessed,” the lead single from Mariah Kerry’s new disc, was released. The translation of one of the verses of the song is: "Why are you so obsessed with me / Boy, I want to know / Lying that you sleep with me / When everyone knows / It is clear that you are angry with me." This composition was believed to be the answer to her former lover Eminem, who criticized her in his song Bagpipes to Baghdad.
Nick, who defended Kerry immediately after the appearance of the work of Eminem, denied the enmity between his wife and rapper. In his opinion, she did not settle accounts with him: Mariah did not sharpen her teeth, she was a vegetarian. He explained that the song was actually inspired by the Lindsey Lohan film Mean Girls.
Imperfect Angel, Merry Christmas II You, Elusive Chanteuse
The release of Memoirs was delayed several times, but in the end the album hit the market in September 2009. It took 3rd place in the Hot 200, but was supported by a tour that started on New Year's Eve at Madison Square Garden in New York and ended in February in Las Vegas at the Coliseum of Caesar's Palace.
Mariah Kerry's work stopped when, in 2010, she and her husband announced that they were expecting their first child. In 2011, she gave birth to the twins Monroe and Moroccan. The singer had a cesarean section. Kerry happily took up parental responsibilities, but still managed to treat fans with the Merry Christmas II You holiday disc, delaying the release of her next album.
Me І Am Mariah ... The Elusive Chanteuse was finally announced in 2014. The release took place in the USA on May 23 and was preceded by the singles Beautiful, The Art of Letting Go and You're Mine (Eternal). Despite the planned digital release surprise in the style of Beyonce Knowles, the album was released traditionally.
On December 12, Carrie's husband filed for divorce, which took place in 2016.
Moving to Las Vegas
After the appearance of Elusive Chanteuse, the 8th line of the Billboard 200, Kerry is rumored to have left Def Jam. Allegedly, she planned to reunite with LA Reid on Epic Records. In early 2015, she did sign an agreement with Epic and officially announced her move to Las Vegas.
To support her show at Caesar's Palace, which kicked off on May 6, she released “# 1 to Infinity”, a compilation of 18 of her singles in first place on the Billboard Hot 100, as well as one original song called Infinity. This only new composition debuted in April and received positive reviews, and the album was supposed to appear on shelves on May 18.
Later that year, Mariah Kerry made her debut as the director of the New Year movie "Christmas Melody", in which she starred in one of the main roles. The film was completed in October and aired on December 19. Then the singer announced that she would go on a new tour called The Sweet Sweet Fantasy, which kicked off in March next year. Her concerts were filmed for the documentary series The World of Mariah.
2016-18: The Star and other projects
In January 2016, Kerry and Australian billionaire James Packer announced their betrothal, but the couple reversed their decision in October because Kerry decided that Packer was not completely mentally healthy.
December was a busy month. The singer not only starred in the musical drama "Empire", but also participated in a charity concert "Divas VH1" along with Vanessa Williams, Chaka Khan, Patti Labelle and Theana Taylor. Mariah came to the center of attention of the whole world during her performance in the New Year's TV show Dick Clark with Ryan Seacrest, where her performance was interrupted due to a malfunction of the ear monitors. After the incident, representatives of Kerry and Dick Clark Productions blamed each other.
Mariah was humiliated, but that did not stop her from creating new music. In February 2017, together with YG, she released a track called I Don't, and in April launched her own label Butterfly MC Records. Later in July, the diva went on a tour with Lionel Richie called "All Hits."
In October, the singer was busy releasing the soundtrack of The Star to the movie of the same name and her own Christmas cartoon Mariah Carey's All I Want for Christmas Is You. She also recorded the Lil Snowman soundtrack, which was released on November 14th. Her hard work paid off when PETA awarded her the Angel for Animals Award, as the cartoon is about a young girl who sheltered a homeless dog.
Also in November, Mariah Kerry resumed her All I Want for Christmas Is You concerts.
In 2018, the singer toured Oceania on a tour of The Number Ones. In addition, Mariah is going to collaborate with Brett Ratner to produce a drama about her life. The show will be dedicated to her early success when she was still a teenager in New York.