Mariah Carey is the most successful female artist of all-time. If you hear anything different believe me it isn't true. Carey is unrivalled in terms of album sales (190 million and counting) and number one singles in the US (a massive 16). Mariah hasn't had the easiest ride in recent years but she has come out at the other end with a big grin on her face confounding the critics and winning a new army of fans.

Carey first came to the attention of the public in 1990 with the debut single Vision Of Love and the debut self titled album. Mariah's five octave voice wowed audiences and amazed the industry. It should have been no surprise that Carey had such an amazing voice as her mother was an opera singer. As rumour would have it Mariah was singing back-up for Brenda K Starr when she got noticed. She made a demo which found it's way into the hands of then Sony boss Tommy Mottola and he snapped her up immediately. If the legend is to be believed he rushed back to a party that she was attending to seek her out. Under Mottola's guidance Mariah enjoyed huge success seemingly overnight and she even ended up marrying him - although the marriage was not to last.

Mariah's biggest album to date was 1993's Music Box which produced Mariah's signature tune Hero. The album sold in excess of 10million albums in the US alone and was a bestseller all over the world.

By 1997 Carey's marriage to Mottola had crumbled and the singer reinvented herself as a pop/R&B crossover artist with 1997's Butterfly. The album is widely considered Mariah's best and most personal work to date. It was Mariah who pioneered the guest rappers on songs. Her silky vocals complemented the rough edge of hip-hop and Mariah's reinvention was complete. She has further explored this sound on all her records since Butterfly. Seemingly able to do no wrong Cray left Sony Records and signed to Virgin Records in 2000. This proved to be a mistake. Her first project for the label was the soundtrack to the commercially panned film Glitter which showcased Mariah in her first acting role. The soundtrack was released in 2001 the same week as the September 11th attacks and in the middle of Carey's emotional meltdown. Critics predicted the end for Mariah and Virgin soon paid Carey to leave the label.

Determined to prove the critics wrong Carey signed up to Island Records and released 2002's Charmbracelet which sold a modest amount across the world. The album lay the foundation for Carey to make her comeback. Critics once again wrote her off and criticised her for pretty much everything she did after the release of the album. 2005 has seen Mariah take back her title as the most successful female artist of all-time. She released her current album The Emancipation Of Mimi and the album has exploded across the world. In the US she has just scored her 16th number one single with We Belong Together and the album has sold in excess of 2million copies in under 3 months. The album is doing well in the UK too and is approaching the 200,000 sales mark. Carey is once again at the top of her game. We Belong Together is the most played record on US radio ever and has spent a total of 6 weeks at the number one spot so far. The single is set to do the same here in the UK after the success of the album and first single It's Like That.

2005 looks promising for Carey who has at least two more singles lined up and a world tour later in the year. It's good to have you back Ms Carey.

Visit Mariah's Official site for more info.