Fame
She has been extremely successful as a singer, and has co-written many of her biggest hits1. She has sold millions and millions of albums2 worldwide. She may be considered a pop diva3, but her singles have crossed over to top the R&B4, hip-hop5 and adult contemporary charts6 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 had during the same period, and more than Madonna, Whitney Houston and Celine Dion combined7. Her first four singles all reached the pop summit8, while her 1995 duet9 with Boyz II Men, “One Sweet Day,” still holds the record for most weeks at No. 1, sitting tight10 for an incredible 16 weeks.
She's also been nominated11 for countless Grammy Awards12. She started winning them from the time of her 1990 debut13 album release, when she won in the Best New Artist and Best Female Pop Vocal14 Performance categories.
Biography
Mariah Carey was born on March 27, 1970, in Long Island, New York. Unfortunately, her parents divorced when she was only three years old. Carey was raised in a poverty-stricken15 home and her mother was forced to work multiple16 jobs in order to make ends meet17. Conveniently enough, it was Mariah's mom who noticed her daughter's vocal talents.
Mariah Carey Signs a Record Deal
One day, when her mother was rehearsing18 her role in an opera, 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 class19; instead, she wrote songs and dreamt about becoming a famous singer. After she graduated from high school in 1987, Carey moved to New York in order to pursue20 her dream. She spent hours working in a studio writing her music and making demo21 tapes. In 1988, one of Mariah's friends, urged her to try out as a backup singer22 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-octave23 voice that could break sound barriers, as well as record sales. 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.
Mariah Carey Has More No. 1 Singles
In 1993, Mariah's fourth album, “Music Box”, and fifth album, 1994's “Merry Christmas”, burned up24 the charts just as strongly as her previous releases did. 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. At the same time, Mariah's music started gaining popularity25 in clubs, and her fan base became wider in range. In 1999, Carey released “Rainbow”, which spawned26 the hits “Heartbreaker” and a cover of “Against All Odds”.
Mariah Carey Has a Breakdown
Next, Carey tried her hand at acting. She had a small role in 1999's “The Bachelor”. Her starring debut came with the release of “Glitter” in September 2001.
Unfortunately, “Glitter” failed to follow the success of her single and album releases. The film did poorly at the box office27, and even the soundtrack28 didn't come close to matching the sales of her previous releases. To add even more insult to injury29, Virgin Records dissolved its contract with her, paying her $28 million to walk away.
Mariah Returns with “The Emancipation30 of Mimi”
After a few years in relative obscurity31, Mariah burst back onto the music scene in April 2005 with her 10th studio album, “The Emancipation of Mimi”. 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.
蜚声乐坛
她一直是一位非常成功的歌手，许多成名歌曲都是她自己与别人共同创作的。销往世界各地的专辑不计其数。她可能被认为是”流行歌后“，可实际上她的单曲曾荣登Hip-hop、R&B以及成人抒情歌曲排行榜的冠军宝座。
在1990年至2000年期间，她共有15首单曲在“美国音乐排行榜”百首热门单曲中获得冠军。这一数目是珍妮·杰克逊同一时期的两倍，大大超过麦当娜、惠特尼·休斯顿和席琳·迪翁成绩的总和。她的前四首单曲都登上流行乐榜首，而1995年与男人·男孩组合合唱的单曲《甜蜜的一天》在排行榜上停留时间达16周之久，创下了几乎周周夺冠的惊人记录。
她无数次获格莱美奖提名，1990年发行的首张专辑为她赢得了“最佳新人”和“最佳流行女歌手”两项格莱美奖。
天后档案
玛丽亚·凯莉1970年3月27日生于纽约长岛。不幸的是父母在她年仅3岁时就离异了。凯莉在一贫如洗的家庭里长大；为了维持生计，母亲不得不从事各种工作。然而，是母亲首先发现了女儿的歌唱天分。
签约索尼
一天，母亲在剧院排练时，听见女儿在模仿自己唱歌。尽管玛丽亚当时只有3岁,母亲就开始教她练习声乐演唱技巧。
高中时，凯莉并没有将精力投入到学习中去，而且频频逃课。她自己写歌，还梦想成为著名歌星。1987年高中毕业后，她搬到纽约，开始了星路历程。她在录音棚里写歌、制作试音带，一干就是几个小时。1988年，一个朋友劝她到斯达尔（以“I Still Believe”而闻名的美国女歌手，此歌后被玛丽亚重新翻唱。）的乐队做和音歌手。最初玛丽亚还有些犹豫，但很快就意识到这比自己当时从事的工作要好。
一天，当凯莉为斯达尔伴唱时，索尼唱片执行制作人汤米·摩托拉得到凯莉的一盘试音带, 她梦想成为歌手的愿望此后不久就实现了。
小试牛刀
玛丽亚·凯莉的首张同名专辑展示了她的高八度音，她的高音足以打破人类音域的局限，也打破了唱片销售记录。专辑有四张单曲荣登冠军宝座，并为她赢得两项格莱美奖。接下来的两张专辑，1991年的《情感》和1992年的《不插电演唱会》也大获全胜。1993年玛丽亚与当时的索尼总裁汤米·摩托拉喜结良缘。娱记们马上对此大量报道，指责二人的年龄差距过大。
战绩辉煌
1993年玛丽亚的第四张专辑《音乐盒》，1994年的第五张专辑《圣诞快乐》和前几张专辑一样在各大排行榜成绩斐然。1995年发行专辑《白日梦情》，获得六项格莱美提名，并向世人展示了一个与以往不同的玛丽亚·凯莉。
在这张专辑里玛丽亚演绎了嘻哈风格。同时她的音乐在俱乐部里广为流传，乐迷队伍迅速壮大。1999年凯莉发行专辑《彩虹》，产生了两首热门单曲《负心人》和翻唱歌曲《冲破险阻》。
经历失败
接着凯莉尝试演电影。1999年她在电影《单身汉》中饰演一个小角色。2001年9月首次主演《星光闪闪》。
不幸的是，《星光闪闪》并没有继她的单曲和专辑一样取得成功。影片票房收入很差，即使电影声带也不如她以前的专辑畅销。更遭的是，维贞唱片公司赔偿了她2800万美元，主动与她解约，这无疑是雪上加霜。
重返乐坛——我心无羁
过了几年相对深居简出的生活后，2005年4月玛丽亚突然重返乐坛，推出第十张录音专辑：《我心无羁》（咪咪是玛丽亚的昵称）。第一支单曲《像那样》横扫各大排行榜，专辑上市第一周销量就达到40万4千张，比她以前任何一张专辑销量都大。这张专辑在排行榜上排名继续上升，玛丽亚向世人证明了自己重返乐坛的天后实力。
1. hit [hit] n. 风行一时的歌曲；电影作品
2. album n. 唱片集，专辑
3. diva n. 出众的歌手；歌剧女主角
4. R&B Rhythm and Blues 节奏布鲁斯
5. hip-hop 嘻哈乐
6. chart n. (常用复) 最畅销品（尤指唱片）排名
7. combine v. 混合，组合
8. summit n. 最高点，顶点，绝顶
9. duet n. 二重唱
10. sit tight 稳坐
11. nominate v. 提名
12. Grammy Award 格莱美奖
13. debut n. 首次露面；首次演出
14. vocal adj. 歌唱的
15. poverty-stricken 贫困潦倒的
16. multiple adj. 多个
17. make ends meet 勉强维持生计
18. rehearse v. 排练，排演
19. skip class 逃课
20. pursue v. 追求，寻求
21. demo n. 示范唱片/磁带
22. backup singer 伴唱歌手
23. high-octave n. 高八度音
24. burn up 烧起来；旺起来
25. popularity n. 普及，流行
26. spawn v. 酿成，引起，大量生产
27. box office 票房收入
28. soundtrack n. （电影）音带，声带
29. add insult to injury 雪上加霜，更糟的是
30. emancipation n. 解放；无约束
31. obscurity n. 湮没无闻