Mariah Carey (album)

Mariah Carey
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Album by Mariah Carey
Released June 12 1990
Recorded 1989 & 1990 at Cove City Sound Studios and Shakedown Studios in New York, New York
Genre Pop
Length 46 min 26 sec
Record label Columbia Records
Producers Mariah Carey, Ric Wake, Narada Michael Walden, Ben Margulies and Walter Afanasieff
Professional reviews
AMG 3 stars out of 5 link
Mariah Carey Chronology
Mariah Carey
(1990) 		Emotions
(1991)
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Mariah Carey is the first album by Mariah Carey, released on June 12 1990 (see 1990 in music). It was incredibly successful for a debut album, eventually selling 9 million copies in the US and 19 million worldwide. It especially made Carey a star in the US, as the four singles released from the album all went straight to the top of the Billboard Hot 100, and the album itself spent 11 weeks on top of the Billboard 200 during 1991, after debuting at #80.

Contents
1 Pre-promotion
2 The album
3 Charts
4 Tracklisting

Pre-promotion

By early 1990, Carey may have been no stranger to the music industry, but to the general public, she was a relative unknown. In order to start bridging the gap before the release of Mariah Carey, she performed three songs with only Richard Tee on the piano to accompany her in front of an invitation-only audience at an intimate soirée. This was such a success that June saw her repeat the experience twice, but this time in front of the television cameras at two of the most popular and infeluential programmes aired in America - The Tonight Show and The Arsenio Hall Show, the latter of which became her television debut. Inbetween these two experiences, Columbia Records even organised for Carey to perform the national anthem at the NBA National basketball finals; this was rather unexpected for someone who hadn't even released a single yet, however it most certainly helped her slow but sure recognition process across the country.

The album

For a relative unknown's artist debut album to enter in the top half of the Billboard 200 is uncommon, so when Mariah Carey entered the charts at #80, it was a huge accomplishment for Carey. Although it would be some 6 or 7 months before the album would reach the pole position, it didn't stop Carey's first two singles - which were both ballads - "Vision Of Love" and "Love Takes Time" from reaching the top of the Hot 100. Uptempo "Someday" and darker "I Don't Wanna Cry" soon followed suit, making her the second recording artist in American music history to have her first 4 singles make #1, after the Jackson 5. "There's Got To Be A Way" was a special single release for the UK market, but it was a flop there, peaking at a low #54. Out of the album tracks, critics and fans generally place the dark ballad, "Vanishing" as being the best–people often question why it was never released as a single.

Charts

Album

Year Chart Position
1990 The Billboard 200 1
1990 Top Canadian Albums ??
1990 UK Albums Chart 6

Singles

Year Single Chart Position
1990 "Vision Of Love" Billboard Hot 100 1
1990 "Vision Of Love" UK Singles Chart 9
1990 "Love Takes Time" Billboard Hot 100 1
1990 "Love Takes Time" UK Singles Chart 37
1991 "Someday" Billboard Hot 100 1
1991 "Someday" UK Singles Chart 38
1991 "I Don't Wanna Cry" Billboard Hot 100 1
1991 "There's Got To Be A Way" UK Singles Chart 54

Tracklisting

  1. "Vision Of Love"
  2. "There's Got To Be A Way"
  3. "I Don't Wanna Cry"
  4. "Someday"
  5. "Vanishing"
  6. "All In Your Mind"
  7. "Alone In Love"
  8. "You Need Me"
  9. "Sent From Up Above"
  10. "Prisoner"
  11. "Love Takes Time"

See also: Mariah Carey (album), 1989, 1990, 1990 in music, 1991, Album, All Music Guide, Billboard 200, Billboard Hot 100