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She's All That And Then Some!
It had to be Mariah Carey. Her sweet crystal voice torched the charts with "The Emancipation of Mimi" earlier this
year and never burnt out. In fact, the CD is still on top and it doesn't look like it's going south anytime soon. So far,
it has recorded sales of 7 million worldwide.
Her reign was solidified with a slew of nominations and wins at several awards ceremonies recently, including: eight Grammy
nominations (including Record of the Year, Song of the Year and Album of the Year), five Billboard Music Awards and more at
the American Music Awards and Vibe Awards in November.
In early September, Carey became the first female lead artist in the 47 years of the Billboard Hot 100 ever to occupy
the No. 1 and No. 2 spots in the same week, with "We Belong Together" (her 16th No. 1 career single) and "Shake
It Off," respectively. The biggest single in the history of both Carey and the Island Def Jam Music Group, "We Belong
Together" hit an astonishing 14 weeks at No. 1. This positions Carey as the only active artist with the potential to
match or surpass the Beatles (with 20 No. 1s) and Elvis Presley (18 No. 1s) in the modern era, especially with "Don't
Forget About Us" in position (at press time) to be No. 17.
And she ain't done yet! Last week marked the historic Internet retail roll-out of the current
smash, "Don't Forget About Us." Written by Carey and produced by Jermaine Dupri and Carey, and mixed by Phil Tan
and Jermaine Dupri, "Don't Forget About Us" is available only as a physical single or one of the four new tracks
on "The Emancipation Of Mimi: Ultra Platinum Edition." In an unprecedented release, "Don't Forget About Us"
became available as a digital download in five different remixes, each one exclusive to a separate digital retailer:
* iTunes: "Don't Forget About Us" remix featuring Juelz Santana and Bone Thugs-N-Harmony (3:32, the original
album version);
* MSN Music: "Don't Forget About Us" Ralphi and Jody DB Anthomic Dub" (11:43, remix produced, programmed
and engineered by Ralphi Rosario);
* Napster: "Don't Forget About Us" Dance Floor Anthem (9:32, remixed by Tony Moran and Warren Rigg);
* Real/Rhapsody: "Don't Forget About Us " (7:41, remix produced, programmed and engineered by Ralphi Rosario
and Craig J. Snider);
* Yahoo! Music Engine: "Don't Forget About Us" (12:29, a Quentin Harris re-production).
AOL Music also has the exclusive stream of the iTunes remix.
The first-time digital roll-out of "Don't Forget About Us" expands Carey's sales presence on the Internet, where
cumulative ring-tone downloads of the CD's three singles - "We Belong Together," "Shake It Off" and "Don't
Forget About Us" - have surpassed the
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2 million mark.
Kudos also to PR guru Marvet Britto, Laura Swanson and staff at Universal and star maker Jermaine Dupri for assisting
in engineering Carey's amazing comeback.
The best-selling female performer of the 1990s, Carey rose to superstardom on the strength of her stunning five-octave
voice, coupled with her ability to compose nearly all of her own material. Born in Long Island, N.Y., on March 27, 1970, the
darling daughter of mixed parents moved to New York City at the age of 17 - just one day after graduating high school - to
pursue a music career. Her big break came when she working as a back-up vocalist on a studio session with dance/pop singer
Brenda K. Starr. Carey's demo tape was passed to then Columbia Records head Tommy Mottola at a party. According to legend,
Mottola listened to the tape in his limo while driving home that same evening, and doubled back to the party to track Carey
down.
After signing to Columbia, Carey released her 1990 self-titled debut LP, which produced four No. 1 singles: "Vision
of Love," "Love Takes Time," "Someday" and "I Don't Wanna Cry." She also earned Grammy
awards as Best New Artist and Best Female Vocalist. In 1991, she released "Emotions," with the title track hitting
No. 1 while "Can't Let Go" and "Make It Happen" made the Top 5. Carey's next release was 1992's MTV Unplugged
EP, which generated a No. 1 cover of the Jackson 5's "I'll Be There."
"Music Box," her best-selling record to date, was released in June 1993. Two more singles, "Dreamlover"
and "Hero," went No. 1. In 1995, she released "Daydream," with the first single, "Fantasy,"
hitting No. 1. The follow-up, "One Sweet Day" - a collaboration with Boyz II Men - not only hit No.1, but remained
at the top of
the charts for 16 weeks.
"Butterfly" was another success, followed by "No. 1s," a collection of her 13 previous chart-topping
singles as well as "The Prince of Egypt (When You Believe)," a duet with Whitney Houston. With "Heartbreaker,"
the first single from her 1999 album "Rainbow," Carey became the first artist to top the charts in each year of
the 1990s. She also passed the Beatles as the artist with the most cumulative weeks spent atop the Hot 100 singles chart.
Then there was the soundtrack and movie "Glitter," which didn't. But Carey came back with the moderately successful
"Charmbracelet."
There's no doubt the Carey of the '90s was back on "The Emancipation of Mimi." Her songwriting ability as
well as her musical charm is in full effect. No doubt, she's still immensely talented and beautiful. We're glad Mimi is free!
Congratulations Mariah Carey,
Star of the Year!
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