Mariah Carey is regarded as one of the best singers of all time, so it is only natural to rank the pop star’s best songs. Even if you don’t agree with the New York native’s voice being one of the best, her album sales speak for itself. The self-proclaimed “Queen of Christmas” has sold over 220 million records worldwide. Additional accolades include an inductee of the Songwriters Hall of Fame, the National Recording Registry at the Library of Congress and the Long Island Music and Entertainment Hall of Fame.
Billboard named her the top-charting female solo artist, based on both album and song chart successes. Carey is the highest-certified female artist in the United States and 10th worldwide, with 75 million certified album units. She has won 6 Grammy Awards, 10 American Music Awards, 20 Billboard Music Awards, and 12 Guinness World Records.
Rolling Stone crowned the pop diva as the fifth greatest singer of all time on their list of 200. The publication gushed about her range, how she can easily pivot between “a biting, taunting growl to an unreal whistle tone so sharply delivered it could cut steel.” Her mix of old-school soul and R&B with modern pop is what the publication claims sets her apart from other pop stars.
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She was born on March 27, 1969, in New York. With her impressive five-octave vocal range, the pop singer rose quickly to superstardom in the early ’90s. Carey’s mother was an opera singer, so after she graduated high school, her mother gave her vocal lessons. Her first professional gig in the music industry was at 17 years old, singing backup for freestyle singer Brenda K. Starr. Carey’s self-titled debut album featured four no. 1 singles, cementing a chart-topping tradition that continued throughout her career.
Then, she secured her reign on Christmas with her 1994 smash hit, “All I Want For Christmas Is You.” As we previously reported, Carey rakes in between $600,000 to $1 million each December from the holiday track alone. In addition to that, she also rakes in $2.5 million in annual royalties, according to calculations from The Economist.
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Present-day Mariah Carey’s live performances have been heavily criticized on social media. After a month of traveling for her Christmas-themed tour, fans thought her performances were lackluster. Fans accused her of lip-syncing badly, with video footage of her not appearing to be singing live. Additionally, the mother of two was hardly moving on stage, which gives no stage presence. Seemingly trying to dissuade fans from thinking that is how her upcoming Las Vegas performance will be, she posted herself singing live on Instagram.