Image Credit: Deborah Feingold/CorbisBy the time Mariah Carey put out her debut album, she already had a reputation among music-biz insiders as a megastar in the making. “They were saying, ‘This girl has really got it. She’s the next Aretha Franklin,’” recalls producer Rhett Lawrence (Kelly Clarkson, Black Eyed Peas). When Lawrence eventually heard Carey’s demo, he jumped at the chance to work on her first album. “Man, I was knocked out,” he says. “She was even better than the hype.”
Sony Music’s then CEO Tommy Mottola had personally signed the 20-year-old Long Island native (they would later wed and divorce), and it’s easy to see why he was so excited. Carey’s debut introduced the world to a new kind of pop diva. A gifted vocalist, she decorated slow jams like “Vision of Love” (co-produced by Lawrence) with dizzying high notes and operatic trills. Even so, her novel mix of styles didn’t immediately connect. “She went against the norm,” says producer Walter Afanasieff, who would go on to work closely with Carey throughout the ’90s. “That’s not what was on the radio in 1990.” The album debuted at a lowly No. 80.
But the world soon caught on: Mariah Carey eventually hit No. 1 and stayed 
there for 11 weeks. It has since been certified nine times platinum. The album also netted Carey two Grammys, including Best New Artist. And while the singer, now 41, has seen her ups and downs, her debut remains a high point. “I will always thank Mariah for my experience on that album,” says Afanasieff. “It was like a school that we all graduated from, and everybody went on to achieve massive success — Mariah especially.”
ALSO IN ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY THAT WEEK:
Dick Tracy
Director-star Warren Beatty explained the creative process behind his comic-strip movie in our cover story: “I thought if I could make Dick Tracy the centerpiece of a swirl of color and plot, then maybe I could keep him from being terminally dull.”
TV’S 10 best series
Twin Peaks, thirtysomething, Murphy Brown, In Living Color, The Simpsons, Cheers, and Designing Women were among our picks for the 1989-90 season’s finest.
Bon Jovi
We wondered in News & Notes if the band was on the verge of a split. (It wasn’t.)
Read more: EW Turns 20! What do you miss (or regret) most about 1990?
Ah… 20 years ago… back when Mariah was good! Loved her stuff until she started wearing hankerchiefs.
I’m with you, Rachel. I loved her first few albums and then she seemed to forget how to sing and write. I wish she would go back to singing like she did on this album.
Totally. I loved Mariah in the early days, up until about her fourth or fifth album when she decided to be an R&B diva. She had some amazing pop songs that will always be classic to me.
This makes me feel really old!
Oh man me too!
The first and still the best!
Go Mimi!!
She used to be so naturally pretty. Vision of Love is still one of my favorite songs.
Her music in the 90′s is def her best, but she still makes good music. Daydream and E=Mc2 are her best albums (in my opinion).
Mariah still standing after 20 years! Good for her…. You can talk about her voice, or say whatever you want about her songs.. She plays the dingbat role really well, but it takes a talented and intelligent woman to be in this industry and on top for so long.
AMEN!
She has earned the right to do whatever she wants – I went to her concert and we happily watched her drink champagne for an entire minute. Sadly, I don’t think she can sing the 90s songs anymore. . .usually they are modulated down or has chorus handle the big notes. Oh well.
She needs to realize while she has some amazing R&B chops, she can’t forget her pop roots. It’s where her most successful and amazing musical efforts lie in. Even “We Belong Together” is a pop song – and the biggest in the last decade. I’m hoping Mariah can regain her strengths and come back with more classics. STOP TRYING TO BE A BIMBO – just be classy and sing damit. And I’m one of your biggest fans.
maybe she is trying not to sound like how her ex husband forced her to sound like? just a thought…
Mariah’s roots in essence were always soul and r&b:she was just marketed early on in her career to do pop. But We belong together is not soley “pop”-We Belong Together” is a pop ballad that exhibits strong influences from hip hop and R&B. The song is propelled by a programmed Roland TR-808-styled kick and hi-hat, which is prominently utilized in hip hop music. And if you listen to alot of Mariah’s non released songs on her albums they were soul and r&b: she has always sung it all.
Thanks for this, EW. Despite all of her accolades and awards, I still say Mariah is underappreciated. She paved the way for so many. I know a lot of people like the “old” Mariah but I love EVERYTHING she does. I wasn’t a fan since Day 1 (I was only 5 years old) but I will be a fan until the end. Happy 20 years, Mariah, and here’s to 20 more! Truly a living legend. : )
I agree. She’s still putting out great music. I’ve really enjoyed her last few albums. Some of her best work. I was in high school when “Music Box” & “Daydream” came out and I remember that she was the It Girl at the time and everyone was listening to her music. Some of her songs became our prom themes.
the next Aretha? Aretha’s first few albums are regarded as classics over 40 years later because of great songs, musicianship and arrangements. Mariah’s claim is…sales.
Aretha is large and can’t sing anymore. Is Mariah the next Aretha? Quite possibly.
Love Mariah! Together with Boyz II Men and Whitney Houston , they made the best music of the 90′s…
I don’t care if she has divattitude or if her b00bs are ALWAYS all over the place, IMO, since she CAN belt those notes and that whistle register like others would just flip their hair, she’s entitled to do whatever she wants. She puts those new pretending divas to shame!
You mean.. she used to be able to belt the notes and use a whistle register. No longer.
Mariah was definitely my FAVORITE artist growing up. I miss the way she sang before P.Diddy got to her.. now all of her songs consist of 5 notes. What happened to that phenomenal, belting voice? I just don’t get it. She taught me to sing .. I would play her records over and over in my room and sing my heart out. Now I hear her songs and just change the channel.
I love mariah shes amazing i think that her voice now is still as strong and powerful as when she came out. Her album memoirs is fabulous and i cant wait until christmas when she releases her new xmas album esp as its going to be a live album. i could listen to every one of her songs forever i love her voice it is the best.
Wow, this makes me feel old. I was OBSESSED with Mariah back then. She captured everything I thought romantic love was, and that voice…
I keep wishing she’s recapture that purity somehow, and I really thought she did on a couple of tracks from Memoirs Of An Imperfect Angel – but it was only fleeting.
My fave artist of all time so proud that she has maintained a solid career for 20 years shes absolutely stunning and has a voice that comes around once in a lifetime