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Genre: Pop, RnB

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-Dusty Springfield was in the rock and roll hall of fame

-Her look was very popular in the 60's

-She was a civil rights activist

-She had a mezzo soprano voice type

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I give this song a 4/5, because I like the instruments, and her voice is nice, but it also sounds kind of creepy and I'm not sure how I feel about that.

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Genre: Pop, Rock

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-  The group was two married couples

-Their music was in Mama Mia!

- They have sold over 150 million records

-They are from Sweden

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I give this song a 5/5, because I like the vocals, and it's just a vibe.

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ABBA - Dancing Queen (Official Lyric Video)

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Genre:Pop

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- They were formed through a competition series

-They have done  a lot of collaborations with brands

-They have a Netflix show showing how the group was made

-Lara was in a campaign video for Michelle Obama in 2018

-They have 6 members, Lara, Manon, Yoonchae, Daniela, Sophia, and Megan

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I give this song 5/5, because I like how it sounds Latin, and the bass is very addicting.

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Genre: Pop/RnB

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She is Michael Jackson’s sister

She has sold over 100 million records

She has won 5 grammy awards

Her brothers were in a band called the Jackson 5

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I give this song a 5/5, because I like the guitar, and the beat is very nice.

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Janet Jackson  - Someone To Call My Lover (Lyrics)

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Genre: Pop, RnB, Hip Hop

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She has a 5 octave vocal range

She is known for her Christmas song

She has 5 Grammy awards

She is nicknamed the “Christmas queen”

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I give it a 3/5, because I like the song, but every Christmas this song just spawns, so I've heard enough.

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Mariah Carey - All I Want for Christmas Is You (Make My Wish Come True Edition)

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Mariah Carey (; born March 27, 1969 or 1970) is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, and actress. Known for her five-octave vocal range, melismatic singing style, and signature use of the whistle register, she is referred to as the " Songbird Supreme" by Guinness World Records. She has also been referred to as the " Queen of Christmas". She rose to fame in 1990 with her eponymous debut album, released under the guidance of Columbia Records executive Tommy Mottola, who married her three years later. Carey is the first artist in history to have their first five singles reach number one on the Billboard Hot 100, from " Vision of Love" to " Emotions".

She achieved worldwide success with follow-up albums (1993), Merry Christmas (1994), and (1995). These albums spawned some of Carey's most successful singles, including " Hero", " Without You", " All I Want for Christmas Is You", " Fantasy", " Always Be My Baby", as well as " One Sweet Day", which topped the US Billboard Hot 100 decade-end chart (1990s). After separating from Mottola, Carey adopted a new image and incorporated more elements of hip hop into her music with the release of (1997). Billboard named her the country's most successful artist of the 1990s, while the World Music Awards honored her as the world's best-selling music artist of the 1990s and the best-selling pop female artist of the millennium.

After eleven consecutive years charting a U.S. number-one single, Carey parted ways with Columbia in 2001 and signed a $100 million recording contract with Virgin Records in April of that year. However, following her highly publicized physical and emotional breakdown, as well as the critical and commercial failure of her film (2001) and its accompanying soundtrack, her contract was bought out for $28 million by Virgin and she signed with Island Records the following year. After a relatively unsuccessful period, she returned to the top of music charts with The Emancipation of Mimi (2005), the world's second-best-selling album of 2005. Its second single, " We Belong Together", topped the US Billboard Hot 100 decade-end chart (2000s). Her performance the 2009 film won her the Breakthrough Actress Performance Award at the Palm Springs International Film Festival. Carey's subsequent ventures included serving as a judge on American Idol, starring in the docu-series Mariah's World, and appearing in the films (2013), A Christmas Melody (2015), and The Lego Batman Movie (2017).

With sales of over 200 million records worldwide, she is one of the best-selling music artists of all time. Carey has amassed an extensive catalog, with nineteen of her songs topping the Billboard Hot 100, and holds the record for the most number-one singles by a solo artist, a female songwriter, and a female producer. According to the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), she is the highest-certified female artist in the United States, with 68.5 million certified album units tying with Barbra Streisand. In 2012, she was ranked second on VH1's list of the 100 Greatest Women in Music. In 2019, Billboard named her the all-time top female artist in the United States, based on both album and song chart performances. Aside from her commercial accomplishments, Carey has won five Grammy Awards, nineteen World Music Awards, ten American Music Awards, and fifteen Billboard Music Awards. An inductee of the Songwriters Hall of Fame, she is noted for inspiring other artists in pop and contemporary R&B music.

Mariah Carey was born in Huntington, New York, on March 27, 1969 or 1970. Her name was derived from the song " They Call the Wind Maria," originally from the 1951 Broadway musical Paint Your Wagon. She is the third and youngest child of Patricia (née Hickey), a former opera singer and vocal coach of Irish descent, and Alfred Roy Carey, an aeronautical engineer of African-American and Afro-Venezuelan lineage. The last name Carey was adopted by her Venezuelan grandfather, Francisco Núñez, after he emigrated to New York. Patricia's family disowned her for marrying a black man. Racial tensions prevented the Carey family from integrating into their community. While living in Huntington, neighbors poisoned the family dog and set fire to their car. After her parents' divorce, Carey had little contact with her father, and her mother worked several jobs to support the family. Carey spent much of her time at home alone and began singing at the age of three, often imitating her mother's take on Verdi's opera in Italian. While her elder sister Alison moved in with their father, Mariah and her older brother Morgan remained with their mother.

During her years in elementary school, she excelled in the arts, such as music and literature. Carey began writing poetry and lyrics while attending Harborfields High School in Greenlawn, New York, where she graduated in 1987. Carey began vocal training under the tutelage of her mother. Though a classically trained opera singer, Patricia never pressured her daughter to pursue a career in classical opera. Carey recalled that she had "never been a pushy mom. She never said, 'Give it more of an operatic feel.' I respect opera like crazy, but it didn't influence me." In high-school, she was frequently absent because of her work as a demo singer; her classmates consequently gave her the nickname Mirage. Her work in the Long Island music scene gave her opportunities to work with musicians such as Gavin Christopher and Ben Margulies, with whom she co-wrote material for her demo tape. After moving to New York City, Carey worked part-time jobs to pay the rent, and she completed 500 hours of beauty school. Carey moved into a one-bedroom apartment in Manhattan, which she shared with four other female students. She landed a gig singing backup for Puerto Rican freestyle singer Brenda K. Starr.

1988-1992: Career beginnings, Mariah Carey and Emotions

In December 1988, Carey accompanied Starr to a CBS record executives' gala, where she handed her demo tape to the head of Columbia Records, Tommy Mottola. After listening to the tape during the ride home, he immediately requested the driver turn around. Carey had already left the event, and in what has been described as a modern-day Cinderella story, he spent the next two weeks in search of her. Another record label expressed interest, and a bidding war ensued. Mottola signed Carey to Columbia and enlisted the talents of top producers Ric Wake, Narada Michael Walden and Rhett Lawrence. Columbia marketed Carey as the main female artist on their roster, competing with Arista's Whitney Houston and Madonna of Sire Records. Columbia spent upwards of $1 million promoting Carey's debut studio album, Mariah Carey. After a slow start, the album eventually topped the Billboard 200 for eleven consecutive weeks, after Carey's exposure at the 33rd Annual Grammy Awards, where she won the award for Best New Artist, and Best Female Pop Vocal Performance for her single " Vision of Love." The album's singles "Vision of Love", " Love Takes Time", " Someday", and " I Don't Wanna Cry" all topped the US Billboard Hot 100. Mariah Carey was the best-selling album in the United States in 1991, and achieved worldwide sales of 15 million copies.

The following year, Carey co-wrote, co-produced and recorded her second studio effort, . Described by Carey as a homage to the Motown soul music, Carey employed the help of Walter Afanasieff, who only had a small role on her debut, as well as Robert Clivillés and David Cole, from the dance group C+C Music Factory. Carey's relationship with Margulies deteriorated over a songwriting royalties dispute. After he filed a lawsuit against Columbia's parent company, Sony, the songwriting duo parted ways. Emotions was released on September 17, 1991. The title track, the album's lead single, became Carey's fifth chart topper on the Billboard Hot 100, making her the first artist to have their first five singles reach the chart's summit. Though critics praised the album's content and described it as a more mature effort, the album was criticized as calculated and lacking originality. While the album managed sales of eight million copies globally, Emotions failed to reach the commercial and critical heights of its predecessor.

Carey would once again refuse to embark on a world tour to promote the album. Although she credited stage fright and the vocally challenging nature of her material, speculation grew that Carey was a "studio worm," and that she was incapable of producing the perfect pitch and 5- octave vocal range for which she was known. In hopes of putting to rest any speculation of her being a manufactured artist, Carey booked an appearance on MTV Unplugged. The show presented artists "unplugged" or in a stripped setting and devoid of studio equipment. Days prior to the show's taping, Carey and Afanasieff chose to add a cover version of The Jackson 5's 1970 song " I'll Be There" to the set-list. On March 16, 1992, Carey played and recorded an intimate seven-song show at Kaufman Astoria Studios in Queens, New York. The acclaimed revue was aired more than three times as often as the average episode. It established Carey as a viable live act, with critics heralding it as a "vocal Tour de force". Carey's live version of "I'll Be There" became her sixth number-one single on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. Sony capitalized on its success and released it as an EP. It earned a triple- Platinum certification by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), and earned Gold and Platinum certifications in several European markets.

1993-1996: Music Box, Merry Christmas, and Daydream

After Emotions failed to achieve the commercial heights of her debut album, Carey's subsequent release was to be marketed as adult contemporary and pop-friendly. was produced by Carey and Afanasieff, and began a songwriting partnership that would extend until 1997's . The album was released on August 31, 1993 to mixed reviews from music critics. Carey's songwriting was derided as clichéd and her vocal performances were described as less emotive and lazier in their delivery. In his review of the album, AllMusic's Ron Wynn concluded: "sometimes excessive spirit is preferable to an absence of passion." In promotion of the album, Carey embarked on her debut tour, a six date concert series, the Music Box Tour. Music Box's second single, " Hero", became Carey's eighth chart-topper in the United States and has been recognized as her signature song. Her cover of Badfinger's " Without You" was a commercial breakthrough in Europe, becoming her first number-one single in Germany, Sweden and the United Kingdom. Music Box remains Carey's best-seller and one of the best-selling albums of all time, with worldwide sales of over 28 million copies.

In mid-1994, Carey recorded and released a duet with Luther Vandross; a cover of Lionel Richie and Diana Ross's " Endless Love". Merry Christmas, released on November 1, 1994, became the best-selling Christmas album of all time, with global sales of over 15 million copies. The lead single, " All I Want for Christmas Is You", became a holiday standard. By October 2017, it had become the 11th-bestselling single in modern music.

Carey's fifth studio album, , found her consolidating creative control over her career, leading to tensions with Columbia. The album featured a departure from her allegiance to pop and gravitated heavily towards R&B and hip hop. Critically, the album was described as Carey's best to date. The New York Times named it one of 1995's best albums and concluded: "[the album] brings R&B candy-making to a new peak of textural refinement [...] Carey's songwriting has taken a leap forward and become more relaxed, sexier and less reliant on thudding clichés." The album's lead single, " Fantasy", became the first single by a female artist to debut at number one on the Billboard Hot 100, and the second single, " One Sweet Day", a collaboration with R&B group Boyz II Men, remained atop the Billboard Hot 100 for a record-breaking 16 consecutive weeks, becoming the longest-running number-one song in history.

Daydream became her biggest-selling album in the United States, and her second album to be certified Diamond by the RIAA, after Music Box. The album continued Carey's dominance in Asian music markets and sold in excess of 2.2 million copies in Japan alone and over 20 million copies globally. Daydream and its singles were nominated in six categories at the 38th Grammy Awards. Though considered a favorite to win the top awards of the evening, Carey was shut out, prompting her to comment "What can you do? I will never be disappointed again." In early 1996, she embarked on her first international string of concerts, the Daydream World Tour. Its seven dates spanned three in Japan and four throughout Europe.

During the recording of Daydream, Carey also worked on the alternative rock album Someone's Ugly Daughter by Chick, contributing writing, production, backing vocals and art direction. She also directed the music video for the Chick song "Malibu". According to Carey, "I was playing with the style of the breezy-grunge, punk-light white female singers who were popular at the time ... I totally looked forward to doing my alter-ego band sessions after Daydream each night." Her contributions were secret until the release of her 2020 memoir The Meaning of Mariah Carey.

1997-2000: New image and independence, Butterfly, and Rainbow

Carey's subsequent musical releases followed the trend that began with Daydream. Her music began relying less on pop and adult contemporary-tinged balladry and instead incorporating heavy elements of hip-hop and R&B. On , Carey collaborated with a bevy of producers other than Afanasieff, such as Sean Combs, Q-Tip, Missy Elliott and Jean Claude Oliver and Samuel Barnes from Trackmasters. In mid-1997, after four years of marriage, Carey and Mottola separated. Carey described Mottola as increasingly controlling, and viewed her newfound independence as a new lease on life. In the booklet of her twelfth studio album, Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel (2009), Carey wrote that she considers Butterfly her magnum opus and a turning point in both her life and career. Butterfly introduced a more subdued style of singing, with critics noting Carey's incorporation of breathy vocals. Some viewed her lack of propensity to use her upper range as a sign of maturity, while others questioned whether it forebode waning vocal prowess. The music video for the album's lead single, " Honey", her first since separating from Mottola, introduced a more overtly sexual image. Butterfly became Carey's best-reviewed album, with attention placed on the album's exploration of more mature lyrical themes. In their review of the album, Rolling Stone wrote "[It's] not as if Carey has totally dispensed with her old saccharine, Houston-style balladry [...] but the predominant mood of 'Butterfly' is one of coolly erotic reverie." AllMusic editor Stephen Thomas Erlewine described Carey's vocals as "sultrier and more controlled than ever," and felt the album "illustrates that Carey continues to improve and refine her music, which makes her a rarity among her '90s peers.'" Though a commercial success, the album failed to reach the commercial heights of her previous albums, Music Box and Daydream.

After concluding her Butterfly World Tour, Carey partook in the VH1 Divas benefit concert on April 14, 1998, where she sang alongside Aretha Franklin, Celine Dion, Shania Twain, Gloria Estefan, and Carole King. Carey began conceptualizing a film project All That Glitters, later re-titled to simply (2001), and wrote songs for other projects, such as Men in Black (1997) and How the Grinch Stole Christmas (2000). After Glitter fell into developmental hell, Carey postponed the project, and began writing material for a new album. Sony Music executives insisted she prepare a greatest hits collection in time for the holiday season. The album, titled (1998), featured a cover of Brenda K. Starr's " I Still Believe" and a duet with Whitney Houston, " When You Believe", which was included on the soundtrack for The Prince of Egypt (1998). #1's became a phenomenon in Japan, selling over one million copies in its opening week, making Carey the only international artist to accomplish this feat. It sold over 3.25 million copies in Japan in its first three months on sale, and holds the record as the best-selling album by a non-Asian artist.

With only one album left to fulfill her contract with Sony, and with a burning desire to separate herself professionally from the record label her ex-husband still headed, Carey completed the album in three months in mid-1999. Titled , the album found Carey exploring with producers which she had not worked with before. Rainbow became Carey's first album to not feature a collaboration with her longtime writing partner, Walter Afanasieff, instead choosing to work with David Foster and Diane Warren. The album's lead single, " Heartbreaker", featured guest vocals from rapper Jay-Z and a remix produced by DJ Clue?. Rainbow was released on November 2, 1999, to the highest first week sales of her career at the time, however debuting at number two on the Billboard 200. Carey's tense relationship with Columbia grew increasingly fractious; Carey began posting messages on her website, sharing inside information with fans on the dispute, as well as instructing them to request " Can't Take That Away (Mariah's Theme)" on radio stations. Ultimately, the song was only given a very limited and low-promotion release. Critical reception of Rainbow was generally positive, with the general consensus finding: "what began on Butterfly as a departure ends up on Rainbow a progression - perhaps the first compelling proof of Carey's true colors as an artist." Though a commercial success, Rainbow became Carey's lowest selling album at that point in her career.

2001-2004: Personal and professional struggles, Glitter and Charmbracelet

Carey received Billboard's Artist of the Decade Award and the World Music Award for Best-Selling Pop Female Artist of the Millennium, and parted from Columbia Records. She signed an unprecedented $100 million, five-album recording contract with Virgin Records ( EMI Records) in April 2001. was a complete musical departure from any of her previous releases, focusing heavily on recreating a 1980s post-disco era to accompany the film, set in 1983. Carey was given full conceptual and creative control over the project. She said that Columbia had regarded her as a commodity, with her separation from Mottola exacerbating her relations with label executives. Carey's three-year relationship with Latin singer Luis Miguel ended. In July 2001, Carey suffered a physical and emotional breakdown. She began posting a series of disturbing messages on her official website, and displayed erratic behavior on several live promotional outings. On July 19, 2001, Carey made a surprise appearance on the MTV program Total Request Live (TRL). As the show's host Carson Daly began taping following a commercial break, Carey came out pushing an ice cream cart while wearing a large men's shirt, and began a striptease, in which she revealed a tight yellow and green ensemble. Days later, she posted irregular voice notes on her website: "I'm trying to understand things in life right now and so I really don't feel that I should be doing music right now. What I'd like to do is just a take a little break or at least get one night of sleep without someone popping up about a video. All I really want is [to] just be me and that's what I should have done in the first place ... I don't say this much but guess what, I don't take care of myself." Following the quick removal of the messages, Berger commented that Carey had been "obviously exhausted and not thinking clearly" when she posted the letters.

On July 26, Carey was hospitalized, citing "extreme exhaustion" and a "physical and emotional breakdown." She was admitted to an undisclosed hospital in Connecticut, and remained under doctor's care for two weeks, followed by an extended absence from the public. Virgin Records and 20th Century Fox delayed the release of both , as well as its soundtrack of the same name. Carey credited the project's poor performance on her state of mind during the time of its release, its postponement, as well as the soundtrack having been released on September 11. Critics panned Glitter and its accompanying soundtrack; both were unsuccessful commercially. The soundtrack became Carey's lowest-selling album to that point. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch dismissed it as "an absolute mess that'll go down as an annoying blemish on [her] career." Carey's $80 million record deal with Virgin Records was bought out for $28 million. She flew to Capri, Italy, for five months, where she wrote material for a new album. She described her time at Virgin "a complete and total stress-fest [...] I made a total snap decision which was based on money and I never make decisions based on money. I learned a big lesson from that." She signed a contract with Island Records, valued at more than $24 million, and launched the record label MonarC. Carey's father, Alfred Roy, with whom she had little contact since childhood, died of cancer that year. In 2002, Carey was cast in the independent film, , alongside Mira Sorvino and Melora Walters, who co-starred as waitresses at a mobster-operated restaurant. It premiered at the Sundance Film Festival, and received generally negative critical response, though Carey's portrayal of the character was praised; Roger Friedman of Fox News referred to her as "a Thelma Ritter for the new millennium," and wrote, "Her line delivery is sharp and she manages to get the right laughs." Carey performed the American national anthem at the Super Bowl XXXVI at the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana.

In December 2002, Carey released her ninth studio album Charmbracelet, which she said marked "a new lease on life" for her. Sales of Charmbracelet were moderate and the quality of Carey's vocals came under criticism. Joan Anderson from The Boston Globe declared the album "the worst of her career, and revealed a voice [that is] no longer capable of either gravity-defying gymnastics or soft coos," while AllMusic editor Stephen Thomas Erlewine wrote, "Mariah's voice is shot, sounding in tatters throughout the record. She can no longer coo or softly croon nor can she perform her trademark gravity-defying vocal runs." In April 2003, Carey announced that she would be embarking on a world tour in support of the album. The Charmbracelet World Tour: An Intimate Evening with Mariah Carey, spanned across North America and East Asia over three months. The United States leg of the tour were booked in theaters. She described the show as "much more intimate so you'll feel like you had an experience. You experience a night with me." While smaller venues were booked throughout the tour's stateside leg, Carey performed in stadiums in Asia and Europe, playing for a crowd of over 35,000 in Manila, 50,000 in Malaysia, and to over 70,000 people in China. In the United Kingdom, it became her first tour to feature shows outside London, booking arena stops in Glasgow, Birmingham and Manchester. The tour garnered generally positive reviews from music critics and concert goers, with many complimenting the tour's production and the quality of Carey's vocals.

2005-2007: Resurgence with The Emancipation of Mimi

Carey's tenth studio album, The Emancipation of Mimi, was produced with the Neptunes, Kanye West and Carey's longtime collaborator, Jermaine Dupri. She described the album as "very much like a party record [...] the process of putting on makeup and getting ready to go out [...] I wanted to make a record that was reflective of that." The Emancipation of Mimi topped the charts in the United States, becoming Carey's fifth number-one album and first since (1997), and was warmly accepted by critics. Caroline Sullivan of The Guardian defined it as "cool, focused and urban [... some of] the first Mariah Carey tunes in years which I wouldn't have to be paid to listen to again," while 's Elysa Gardner wrote, "The [songs] truly reflect the renewed confidence of a songbird who has taken her shots and kept on flying." The album's second single, " We Belong Together", became a "career re-defining" song for Carey, after a relatively unsuccessful period and a point when many critics had considered her career over. Music critics heralded the song as her "return to form," as well as the "return of The Voice," while many felt it would revive "faith" in Carey's potential as a balladeer. "We Belong Together" broke several records in the United States and became Carey's sixteenth chart topper on the Billboard Hot 100. After staying at number one for fourteen non-consecutive weeks, the song became the second longest running number one song in US chart history, behind Carey's 1996 collaboration with Boyz II Men, " One Sweet Day". Billboard listed it as the "song of the decade" and the ninth most popular song of all time. The song broke several airplay records, and according to Nielsen BDS, and gathered both the largest one-day and one-week audiences in history.

During the week of September 25, 2005, Carey set another record, becoming the first female to occupy the first two spots atop the Hot 100, as "We Belong Together" remained at number one, and her next single, " Shake It Off", moved into the number two spot ( Ashanti had topped the chart in 2002 while being a "featured" singer on the number two single). On the Billboard Hot 100 Year-end Chart of 2005, the song was declared the number one song, a career first for Carey. Billboard listed "We Belong Together" ninth on The Billboard Hot 100 All-Time Top Songs and was declared the most popular song of the 2000s decade by Billboard. The album was re-released as The Ultra Platinum Edition.

The Emancipation of Mimi earned ten Grammy Award nominations: eight in 2006 for the original release (the most received by Carey in a single year), and two in 2007 for the Ultra Platinum Edition (from which " Don't Forget About Us" became her seventeenth number-one hit). Carey won Best Contemporary R&B Album and Best Female R&B Vocal Performance and Best R&B Song for "We Belong Together". The Emancipation of Mimi was the best-selling album in the United States in 2005, with nearly five million units sold. It was the first album by a solo female artist to become the year's best-selling album since Alanis Morissette's Jagged Little Pill in 1996. At the end of 2005, the IFPI reported that The Emancipation of Mimi had sold more than 7.7 million copies globally, and was the second-best-selling album of the year after Coldplay's . To date, The Emancipation of Mimi has sold over 12 million copies worldwide. In support of the album, Carey embarked on her first headlining tour in three years, named The Adventures of Mimi after a "Carey-centric fan's" music diary. The tour spanned 40 dates, with 32 in the United States and Canada, two in Africa, and six in Japan. It received warm reception from music critics and concert goers, many of which celebrated the quality of Carey's vocals.

2008-2009: E=MC², Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel, and Precious

In early 2007, Carey began to work on her eleventh studio album, , in a private villa in Anguilla. Although E=MC² was well received by most critics, some of them criticized it for being very similar to the formula used on The Emancipation of Mimi. Two weeks before the album's release, " Touch My Body", the record's lead single, reached the top position on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming Carey's eighteenth number one and making her the solo artist with the most number one singles in United States history, pushing her past Elvis Presley into second place according to the magazine's revised methodology. Carey is second only to The Beatles, who have twenty number-one singles. Additionally, it gave Carey her 79th week atop the Hot 100, tying her with Presley as the artist with the most weeks at number one in the Billboard chart history."

E=MC² debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 with 463,000 copies sold, the biggest opening week sales of her career. In 2008, Carey also played an aspiring singer named Krystal in and had a cameo appearance in Adam Sandler's film You Don't Mess with the Zohan, playing herself. Since the album's release, Carey had planned to embark on an extensive tour in support of E=MC². However the tour was suddenly cancelled in early December 2008. Carey later stated that she had been pregnant during that time period, and suffered a miscarriage, hence she cancelled the tour. On January 20, 2009, Carey performed " Hero" at the Neighborhood Inaugural Ball after Barack Obama was sworn as the first African-American president of the United States. On July 7, 2009, Carey - alongside Trey Lorenz - performed her version of The Jackson 5 song " I'll Be There" at the memorial service for Michael Jackson.

In 2009, she appeared as a social worker in , the movie adaptation of the 1996 novel Push by Sapphire. The film garnered mostly positive reviews from critics, also for Carey's performance. described her acting as "pitch-perfect." In January 2010, Carey won the Breakthrough Actress Performance Award for her role in Precious at the Palm Springs International Film Festival. On September 25, 2009, Carey's twelfth studio album, Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel, was released. Reception for the album was mostly mixed; Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic called it "her most interesting album in a decade," while Jon Caramanica from The New York Times criticized Carey's vocal performances, decrying her overuse of her softer vocal registers at the expense of her more powerful lower and upper registers. Commercially, the album debuted at number three on the Billboard 200, and became the lowest-selling studio album of her career. The album's lead single, " Obsessed", debuted at number eleven and peaked at number seven on the chart, and became Carey's 27th US top-ten hit, tying her with Elton John and Janet Jackson as the fifth most top-ten hits. The album's follow-up single, a cover of Foreigner's " I Want to Know What Love Is", managed to break airplay records in Brazil. The song spent 27 weeks atop the Brasil Hot 100 Airplay, making it the longest running song in the chart's history.

On December 31, 2009, Carey embarked on her seventh concert tour, Angels Advocate Tour, which visited the United States and Canada and ended on September 26, 2010. A planned remix album of Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel; titled Angels Advocate was slated for a March 30, 2010 release, but was eventually cancelled.

2010-2014: Merry Christmas II You and Me. I Am Mariah... The Elusive Chanteuse

Following the cancellation of Angels Advocate, it was announced that Carey would return to the studio to start work on her thirteenth studio album. It was later revealed that it would be her second Christmas album, and follow-up to Merry Christmas. Longtime collaborators for the project included Jermaine Dupri, Johntá Austin, Bryan-Michael Cox, and Randy Jackson, as well as new collaborators such as Marc Shaiman. The release date for the album, titled Merry Christmas II You, was November 2, 2010; the track list included six new songs as well as a remix of " All I Want for Christmas Is You". Merry Christmas II You debuted at number four on the Billboard 200 with sales of 56,000 copies, becoming Carey's 16th top ten album in the United States. The album debuted at number one on the R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart, making it only the second Christmas album to top this chart.

In May 2010, Carey dropped out of her planned appearance in For Colored Girls, the film adaptation of the play For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When the Rainbow Is Enuf, citing medical reasons. In February 2011, Carey announced that she had begun writing new material for her upcoming fourteenth studio album. Carey recorded a duet with Tony Bennett for his album, titled "When Do The Bells Ring For Me?" In October 2011, Carey announced that she re-recorded "All I Want for Christmas Is You" with Justin Bieber as a duet for his Christmas album, Under the Mistletoe. In November 2011, Carey was included in the remix to the mixtape single "Warning" by Uncle Murda; the remix also features 50 Cent and Young Jeezy. That same month, Carey released a duet with John Legend titled " When Christmas Comes", originally part of Merry Christmas II You.

On March 1, 2012, Carey performed at New York City's Gotham Hall; her first time performing since pregnancy. She also performed a three-song set at a special fundraiser for U.S. President Barack Obama held in New York's Plaza Hotel. A new song titled "Bring It On Home", which Carey wrote for the event to show her support for Obama's re-election campaign, was also performed. In August 2012, she released a stand-alone single, " Triumphant (Get 'Em)", featuring rappers Rick Ross and Meek Mill and co-written and co-produced by Carey, Jermaine Dupri, and Bryan-Michael Cox. Carey joined the judging panel of the twelfth season of American Idol as Jennifer Lopez's replacement, joining Randy Jackson, Nicki Minaj and Keith Urban. Throughout the show there were on-set disagreements between Minaj and Carey. Three years later, Carey did not make an appearance for its original series finale. Carey appeared in Lee Daniels' 2013 film , about a White House butler who served eight American presidents over the course of three decades. Carey made guest voice-star as a redneck character on the adult animated series American Dad! on November 24, 2013.

In February 2013, Carey recorded and released a song called " Almost Home", for the soundtrack of the Walt Disney Studios film Oz the Great and Powerful. The video was directed by photographer David LaChapelle. For her 14th album, Carey worked with producers including DJ Clue?, Randy Jackson, Q-Tip, R. Kelly, David Morales, Loris Holland, Stevie J, James Fauntleroy II, Ray Angry, Afanasieff, Dupri, Bryan-Michael Cox, James "Big Jim" Wright, Hit-Boy, The-Dream, Da Brat, and Rodney Jerkins. Carey told : "It's about making sure I have tons of good music, because at the end of the day that's the most important thing... There are a lot more raw ballads than people might expect...there are also uptempo and signature-type songs that represent [my] different facets as an artist."

The lead single, " Beautiful" featuring singer Miguel, was released on May 6, 2013, and peaked at number 15 on the Hot 100. Carey taped a performance of "Beautiful" along with a medley of her greatest hits on May 15, 2013; the taping aired on the American Idol finale the following day. On October 14, 2013, Carey announced that the album's former title track has been chosen as the second single; it premiered via Facebook on November 11, 2013. During a Q&A session following the song's release, Carey gave an update about the album, stating: "Now I've been inspired to add two more songs, so we're almost there. I can't even express this properly but I feel like this is gonna be my favorite album." Following another song release, " You're Mine (Eternal)", it was announced that The Art of Letting Go would no longer be the title of the album. After the final name was announced, Me. I Am Mariah... The Elusive Chanteuse was released on May 27, 2014.

In October 2014, Carey announced All I Want For Christmas Is You, A Night of Joy & Festivity, an annual residency show at the Beacon Theatre in New York City. The first leg included six shows, running from December 15 to 22, 2014. Carey announced the second leg in October 2015. The second leg ran for 8 shows, from December 8-18, 2015.

2015-2017: Las Vegas residency, television and film projects

On January 30, 2015, it was announced that Carey had left Universal Music Group's Def Jam Recordings to reunite with L.A. Reid and Sony Music via Epic Records. Carey also announced her new #1 to Infinity residency at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas the same month. To coincide with the residency, Carey released #1 to Infinity, a greatest hits compilation album containing all of her eighteen Billboard Hot 100 number one singles at the time, along with a new recording, " Infinity", which was released as a single on April 27. In 2015 Carey had her directorial debut for the Hallmark Channel Christmas movie A Christmas Melody, in which she also performed as one of the main characters. Filming for the project took place during October 2015. In December 2015, Carey announced The Sweet Sweet Fantasy Tour which spanned a total of 27-dates beginning in March 2016, marking Carey's first major tour of mainland Europe in 13 years. Four stops included shows in South Africa. The tour grossed 30.3 million dollars.

On March 15, 2016, Carey announced that she was filming Mariah's World, a docu-series for the E! network documenting her Sweet Sweet Fantasy tour and her wedding planning process. Carey told The New York Times, "I thought it would be a good opportunity to kind of, like, show my personality and who I am, even though I feel like my real fans have an idea of who I am... A lot of people have misperceptions about this and that." The series premiered on December 4, 2016. Carey guest starred on the musical drama , as a superstar singer named Kitty and sung the song "Infamous" featuring Jussie Smollett. On December 5, 2016, Carey participated in the VH1 Divas Holiday: Unsilent Night benefit concert, alongside Vanessa Williams, Chaka Khan, Patti Labelle, and Teyana Taylor. On December 31, 2016, Carey's performance on Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve in Times Square received worldwide attention after technical difficulties caused Carey's in-ear monitors to malfunction, resulting in what The New York Times referred to as a "performance train wreck." Carey cited her inability to hear the music without in-ear auditory feedback as the cause for the mishap. Carey's representatives and Dick Clark Productions placed blame on each other.

On February 3, 2017, Carey released the single " I Don't" featuring YG. Later that month, she voiced the Mayor of Gotham City in the animated film The Lego Batman Movie. In July 2017, Carey made a cameo in the comedy film , starring Queen Latifah, Jada Pinkett Smith, Regina Hall, and Tiffany Haddish. The same month, Carey embarked on a tour with Lionel Richie, titled, All the Hits Tour. Carey was also featured in the official remix for French Montana's single " Unforgettable", alongside Swae Lee. In October 2017, she released a new soundtrack single, " The Star", for the movie of the same name. Carey also developed an animated Christmas film, titled Mariah Carey's All I Want For Christmas Is You, for which she recorded an original song called "Lil' Snowman." The film was released direct-to-video on November 14, 2017. In the same month, Carey resumed her All I Want for Christmas Is You, a Night of Joy and Festivity concert series, which for the first time visited other countries including England and France. On December 31, 2017, Carey returned to perform on Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve after the technical difficulties that hindered her previous performance, in what The New York Times described as a "made-for-television act of pop culture redemption".

2018-present: Caution, Merry Christmas anniversary, and The Rarities

In 2018, Carey signed a worldwide deal with Live Nation Entertainment. The first commitment out of the deal was her new Las Vegas residency, The Butterfly Returns, which was launched in July 2018 to critical acclaim. Its first 12 shows in 2018 grossed $3.6 million, with dates later extending into 2019 and 2020. Following the residency, Carey embarked on her Mariah Carey: Live in Concert tour in Asia and returned to Europe with her All I Want for Christmas Is You concert series. While on tour, a representative from Sony Music Asia Pacific presented Carey with a certificate for achieving 1.6 billion sales units in Asia Pacific. In September 2018, Carey announced plans to release her fifteenth studio album later in the year. The project was announced alongside the release of a new song titled " GTFO", which she performed on September 21, 2018, when she headlined the 2018 iHeartRadio Music Festival. The album's lead single, " With You", was released in October and performed for the first time at the American Music Awards of 2018. The single became Carey's highest-charting non-holiday song on the US Adult Contemporary chart since "We Belong Together", and the third highest-charting song of her career on the Adult R&B Songs chart. A second single, " A No No", was released in March 2019 and peaked at number 17 at US R&B Digital Song Sales. The album, titled , was released on November 16, 2018, and received universal acclaim from critics. Caution was described as a "fine-tuning" of Carey's previous work and was praised for its freshness which made it "pleasingly defiant." By December 2018, the album had been featured on numerous year-end lists by music critics and publications.

In February 2019, Carey commenced the Caution World Tour in support of the album. Reviewing her three-day residency at the Royal Albert Hall, Michael Cragg from The Guardian described Carey's "incredible, playful performances" as a testament to her status as a "gold-plated pop diva". Kate Solomon from The Daily Telegraph acclaimed the shows as being a "a surreal but wildly enjoyable showcase of a brighter, more fun side of the pop icon". Carey also engaged in a series of both business and television ventures. On May 29, 2019, the film Always Be My Maybe, inspired by the song "Always Be My Baby", was published on Netflix. The film received generally favorable reviews from critics and was a commercial success, having been viewed by over 32 million households within its first four weeks of release. On August 25, 2019, Carey signed a $12 million contract with the Walkers crisps brand as part of their Christmas campaign. Carey also appeared in a Walkers commercial, which was released on November 2, 2019; it was praised by critics for its humor. On September 18, 2019, Carey released " In the Mix", the theme song for the ABC sitcom .

On November 1, 2019, Carey re-released her holiday album Merry Christmas for its 25th anniversary. The album package included the original album and another disc which include live performances from Carey's 1994 concert at St. John the Divine Church, several tracks from Merry Christmas II You, as well as other stand-alone singles such as "Lil Snowman" and "The Star". In conjunction with this, she organized a gift guide with Amazon, and partnered for an exclusive Christmas ornament with Swarovski. On December 5, 2019, it was announced that a mini-documentary charting the creation and subsequent cultural legacy of "All I Want for Christmas Is You" was to be produced and broadcast on Amazon Music; it aired later that month. Peaking at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 for the first time the same year, the song ended up giving Carey her nineteenth chart-topper in the USA, which not only extended her record as being the solo artist with the most number-one singles on the Hot 100, but also made her the only artist in history to have a number-one single in four consecutive decades. In January 2020, it was announced that Carey would be inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame during that year's ceremony on June 11, 2020 at the Marriott Marquis Hotel in New York City.

Carey's memoir, The Meaning of Mariah Carey, co-written with Michaela Angela Davis, was published in September 2020. The book recounts an "improbable and inspiring journey of survival and resilience as she struggles through complex issues of race, identity, class, childhood, and family trauma during her meteoric rise to music superstardom". Carey announced plans to celebrate the 30th anniversary of her debut album through the rest of 2020, in a promotional campaign billed "#MC30". The first release consisted of the live EP The Live Debut - 1990 which was released on July 17, 2020. The digital-only release includes live performances from Carey's debut showcase at New York City's Club Tatou on October 22, 1990. On September 13, 2020, Carey released the music video for "Save the Day" as part of the airing of the U.S. Open. On September 17, 2020, Carey released the second single from the album, " Out Here on My Own", a cover of the Irene Cara song, which she originally recorded in 2000.

On October 2, 2020, Carey released a compilation album called The Rarities, following a lead single " Save the Day" featuring Lauryn Hill released on August 20. The album includes rare and unreleased songs that Carey recorded at various stages of her career. At the end of the same month, Carey was featured on the track "Where I Belong" from Busta Rhymes' album Extinction Level Event 2: The Wrath of God.

Carey's 2020 Christmas special, Mariah Carey's Magical Christmas Special, premiered on December 4, 2020 on Apple TV+ along with a soundtrack. The special featured guests, including Ariana Grande, Jennifer Hudson, Snoop Dogg, Misty Copeland, Jermaine Dupri, and Mykal-Michelle Harris.

Influences

Carey has said that from childhood she has been influenced by Billie Holiday, Sarah Vaughan, and R&B and soul musicians such as Al Green, Stevie Wonder, Gladys Knight and Aretha Franklin. Her music contains strong influences of gospel music, and she credits the Clark Sisters, Shirley Caesar and Edwin Hawkins as the most influential in her early years. When Carey incorporated hip hop into her sound, speculation arose that she was making an attempt to take advantage of the genre's popularity, but she told , "People just don't understand. I grew up with this music." She has expressed appreciation for rappers such as the Sugarhill Gang, Eric B. & Rakim, the Wu-Tang Clan, The Notorious B.I.G. and Mobb Deep, with whom she collaborated on the single " The Roof (Back in Time)" (1998). Carey was heavily influenced by Minnie Riperton, and began experimenting with the whistle register due to her original practice of the range.

During Carey's career, her vocal and musical style, along with her level of success, has been compared to Whitney Houston, whom she has also cited as an influence, and Celine Dion. Carey and her peers, according to Garry Mulholland, are "the princesses of wails [...] virtuoso vocalists who blend chart-oriented pop with mature MOR torch song." Author and writer Lucy O'Brien attributed the comeback of Barbra Streisand's "old-fashioned showgirl" to Carey and Dion, and described them and Houston as "groomed, airbrushed and overblown to perfection." Carey's musical transition and use of more revealing clothing during the late 1990s were, in part, initiated to distance herself from this image, and she subsequently said that most of her early work was "schmaltzy MOR." Some have noted that unlike Houston and Dion, Carey writes and produces her own music.

Musical style

Love is the subject of the majority of Carey's lyrics, although she has written about themes such as loss, sex, race, abuse and spirituality. She has said that much of her work is partly autobiographical, but magazine's Christopher John Farley wrote: "If only Mariah Carey's music had the drama of her life. Her songs are often sugary and artificial- NutraSweet soul. But her life has passion and conflict," applying it to the first stages of her career. He commented that as her albums progressed, so too her songwriting and music blossomed into more mature and meaningful material. Jim Faber of the New York Daily News, made similar comments, "For Carey, vocalizing is all about the performance, not the emotions that inspired it. Singing, to her, represents a physical challenge, not an emotional unburdening." While reviewing Music Box, Stephen Holden from Rolling Stone commented that Carey sang with "sustained passion," while Arion Berger of Entertainment Weekly wrote that during some vocal moments, Carey becomes "too overwhelmed to put her passion into words." In 2001, The Village Voice wrote in regards to what they considered Carey's "centerless ballads," writing, "Carey's Strawberry Shortcake soul still provides the template with which teen-pop cuties draw curlicues around those centerless [Diane] Warren ballads [.....] it's largely because of [Blige] that the new R&B demands a greater range of emotional expression, smarter poetry, more from-the-gut testifying, and less [sic] unnecessary notes than the squeaky-clean and just plain squeaky Mariah era. Nowadays it's the Christina Aguileras and Jessica Simpsons who awkwardly oversing, while the women with roof-raising lung power keep it in check when tune or lyric demands."

Carey's output makes use of electronic instruments such as drum machines, keyboards and synthesizers. Many of her songs contain piano-driven melodies, as she was given piano lessons when she was six years old. Carey said that she cannot read sheet music and prefers to collaborate with a pianist when composing her material, but feels that it is easier to experiment with faster and less-conventional melodies and chord progressions using this technique. While Carey learned to play the piano at a young age, and incorporates several ranges of production and instrumentation into her music, she has maintained that her voice has always been her most important asset: "My voice is my instrument; it always has been."

Carey began commissioning remixes of her material early in her career and helped to spearhead the practice of recording entirely new vocals for remixes. Disc jockey David Morales has collaborated with Carey on several occasions, starting with " Dreamlover" (1993), which popularized the tradition of remixing R&B songs into house records, and which magazine named one of the greatest dance songs of all time. From " Fantasy" (1995) onward, Carey enlisted both hip-hop and house producers to re-structure her album compositions. Entertainment Weekly included two remixes of "Fantasy" on a list of Carey's greatest recordings compiled in 2005: a National Dance Music Award-winning remix produced by Morales, and a Sean Combs production featuring rapper Ol' Dirty Bastard. The latter has been credited with popularizing the R&B/hip-hop collaboration trend that has continued into the 2000s, through artists such as Ashanti and Beyoncé. Combs said that Carey "knows the importance of mixes, so you feel like you're with an artist who appreciates your work-an artist who wants to come up with something with you."

In an article in The New York Times, writer David Browne discusses how the once-ubiquitous melisma pop style was heavily popularized by singers such as Carey. Browne commented, "beginning [in 1990], melisma overtook pop in a way it hadn't before. Mariah Carey's debut hit from 1990, "Vision of Love", [set] the bar insanely high for notes stretched louder, longer and knottier than most pop fans had ever heard." Browne further added "A subsequent generation of singers, including Ms. Aguilera, Jennifer Hudson and Beyoncé, built their careers around melisma. (Men like Brian McKnight and Tyrese also indulged in it, but women tended to dominate the form.)"

Voice and timbre

Carey possesses a five-octave vocal range, and has the ability to hit notes beyond the seventh octave. Referred to as the "Songbird Supreme" by the Guinness World Records, she was ranked first in a 2003 MTV and magazine countdown of the 22 Greatest Voices in Music, as voted by fans and readers in an online poll. Carey said of the poll: "What it really means is voice of the MTV generation. Of course, it's an enormous compliment, but I don't feel that way about myself." She also placed second in Cove magazine's list of "The 100 Outstanding Pop Vocalists."

Regarding her voice type, Carey said that she is an alto, though several critics have described her as a coloratura soprano. Carey claims that she has had nodules in her vocal cords since childhood, due to which she can sing in a higher register than others. However, tiredness and sleep deprivation can affect her vocals due to the nodules, and Carey explained that she went through a lot of practice to maintain a balance during singing.

Jon Pareles of The New York Times described Carey's lower register as a "rich, husky alto" that extends to "dog-whistle high notes." Additionally, towards the late 1990s, Carey began incorporating breathy vocals into her material. Tim Levell from the BBC News described her vocals as "sultry close-to-the-mic breathiness," while USA Today's Elysa Gardner wrote "it's impossible to deny the impact her vocal style, a florid blend of breathy riffing and resonant belting, has had on today's young pop and R&B stars."

Sasha Frere-Jones of The New Yorker adds her timbre possesses various colors, saying, "Carey's sound changes with nearly every line, mutating from a steely tone to a vibrating growl and then to a humid, breathy coo. Her wide vocal range allows Carey to take melodies from alto bottom notes to coloratura soprano upper register." Carey also possesses a "whisper register." In an interview, Ron Givens of Entertainment Weekly described it this way, "first, a rippling, soulful ooh comes rolling effortlessly from her throat: alto. Then, after a quick breath, she goes for the stratosphere, with a sound that nearly changes the barometric pressure in the room. In one brief swoop, she seems to squeal and roar at the same time." Her sense of pitch is admired and Jon Pareles adds "she can linger over sensual turns, growl with playful confidence, syncopate like a scat singer... with startlingly exact pitch."

Carey is credited for introducing R&B and hip-hop into mainstream pop culture, and for popularizing rap as a featuring act through her post-1995 songs. Sasha Frere-Jones, editor of The New Yorker commented, "It became standard for R&B/hip-hop stars like Missy Elliott and Beyoncé, to combine melodies with rapped verses. And young white pop stars-including Britney Spears, Jessica Simpson, Christina Aguilera, and 'N Sync-have spent much of the past ten years making pop music that is unmistakably R&B." Moreover, Jones concludes that "[Carey's] idea of pairing a female songbird with the leading male MCs of hip-hop changed R&B and, eventually, all of pop. Although now anyone is free to use this idea, the success of The Emancipation of Mimi suggests that it still belongs to Carey."

Judnick Mayard, writer of The Fader, wrote that in regarding of R&B and hip hop collaboration, "The champion of this movement is Mariah Carey." Mayard also expressed that "To this day ODB and Mariah may still be the best and most random hip hop collaboration of all time," citing that due to the record " Fantasy", "R&B and Hip-Hop were the best of step siblings." Kelefa Sanneh of The New York Times wrote, "In the mid-1990s Ms. Carey pioneered a subgenre that some people call the thug-love duet. Nowadays clean-cut pop stars are expected to collaborate with roughneck rappers, but when Ms. Carey teamed up with Ol' Dirty Bastard, of the Wu-Tang Clan, for the 1995 hit remix of "Fantasy", it was a surprise, and a smash." In a review of her Greatest Hits album, Devon Powers of PopMatters writes that "She has influenced countless female vocalists after her. At 32, she is already a living legend-even if she never sings another note." magazine writer Craig Jenkins pointed out that some of Ariana Grande's songs reminisced on Carey's work in the late '90s where she managed to bend and combine hip-hop, pop, and R&B sounds.

Carey is also credited for popularizing and redefining the practice of remixing within the music industry. In a 2019 article for MTV, Princess Gabbara hailed Carey as "the queen of remixes", praising her ability to "satisfy pop, R&B, hip-hop, and EDM audiences" when doing so. Speaking to Billboard in 2019 for a profile of Carey's career, David Morales, who first collaborated with Carey on the Def Club Mix of her 1993 single " Dreamlover", commented on Carey's revolutionary role in the popularization of remixes: "Mariah opened up a whole other door, and not many people at that time were capable of that. When other big artists saw what I did with Mariah, they wanted that. She's how I got into the studio with Toni Braxton, Aretha Franklin, Seal and Donna Summer."

Carey is considered a pop icon and has been labeled a "diva" for her stardom and persona. She stated, "I have had diva moments, and then people can't handle it. I guess it's a little intense, because I come from a true diva: My mother is an opera singer. And that's a real diva, you know - Juilliard diva. And I mean it as a compliment, or I wouldn't be the person I am without experiencing that."

She has also been cited as a sex symbol. During her tours, she has frequently worn Jimmy Choo and Christian Louboutin high-end stiletto footwear, as well as leotards, corsets, and fishnet tights. As the biggest pop star in music by the mid-1990s, Carey's "first years as a pop star were extraordinarily fruitful but restrictive". In the late 1990s, after separating from Mottola, Carey adopted a more provocative and less conservative image than had been previously seen and began wearing more revealing clothes. Her album has been credited for revamping Carey's image as a pop star where she began to embrace hip-hop and R&B themes and fully come into her own self.

She is recognized as a gay icon and her song "Hero" is regarded as an anthem among the gay community as it touches upon themes of embracing individuality and overcoming self-doubt. Her diva persona has also given her much admiration from gay fans. Carey was honored by GLAAD in 2016 with the "GLAAD Ally Award" for which she expressed gratitude to her LGBT+ fans. In her speech she thanked the community, "For the unconditional love because it's very difficult for me to have that. I haven't experienced much of it...I wish all of you love, peace, [and] harmony..."

" All I Want for Christmas Is You", as well as her 1994 album Merry Christmas, have become such a ubiquitous part of wider popular culture that Carey has been dubbed the " Queen of Christmas". The album is credited as being the greatest selling Christmas album of all time. Both the song and album have been hailed as being "one of the few worthy modern additions to the holiday canon" by publications such as The New Yorker. Speaking to Vogue in 2015 about "All I Want For Christmas Is You", Elvis Duran stated that the song's appeal was based on the fact that it was "a modern song that could actually have been a hit back in the '40s", praising its "timeless, classic quality". The success of the song, in particular, has led Carey to build what Billboard described as a "growing holiday mini-empire".

Carey's vocal style, as well as her singing ability, have significantly impacted popular and contemporary music. She has consistently been cited as one of the greatest and most influential vocalists of all time. As music critic G. Brown from The Denver Post wrote, "For better or worse, Mariah Carey's five-octave range and melismatic style have influenced a generation of pop singers." One of Carey's biggest milestones has been to "close out the '90s on a very high note" after being named Billboard's artist of the decade in 1999. MTV writer Erika Harwood wrote that "she is also known for ruling the '90's from fashion to music."

According to Rolling Stone, "Her mastery of melisma, the fluttering strings of notes that decorate songs like " Vision of Love", inspired the entire American Idol vocal school, for better or worse, and virtually every other female R&B singer since the Nineties." In 2008, Jody Rosen of wrote of Carey's influence in modern music, calling her the most influential vocal stylist of the last two decades, the person who made rococo melismatic singing. Rosen further exemplified Carey's influence by drawing a parallel with American Idol, which to her, "often played out as a clash of melisma-mad Mariah wannabes. And, today, nearly 20 years after Carey's debut, major labels continue to bet the farm on young stars such as the winner of Britain's X Factor show, Leona Lewis, with her Generation Next gloss on Mariah's big voice and big hair." New York Magazine's editor Roger Deckker further commented that "Whitney Houston may have introduced melisma (the vocally acrobatic style of lending a word an extra syllable or twenty) to the charts, but it was Mariah-with her jaw-dropping range-who made it into America's default sound." Deckker also added that "Every time you turn on American Idol, you are watching her children." As Professor Katherine L. Meizel noted in her book, The Mediation of Identity Politics in American Idol, "Carey's influence not just stops in the emulation of melisma or her singing amongst the wannabe's, it's also her persona, her diva, her stardom which inspires them.... a pre-fame conic look."

In addition to her vocal ability, Carey has been credited for her role and impact as a songwriter and producer. Upon honoring her with the "Icon Award" at their eponymous awards ceremony in 2012, Broadcast Music, Inc. (BMI) described Carey's songwriting as having a "unique and indelible influence on generations of music makers". Jeffrey Ingold of Vice hailed Carey's lyricism as being "among the most verbose in pop music", praising her ability to convey "nuanced stories about love, loss, sex, race and abuse" within her songs. In January 2020, it was announced that Carey was to be inducted into the Songwriter's Hall of Fame during that year's ceremony on June 11, 2020 at the Marriott Marquis Hotel in New York City.

Numerous historians and social scientists have also credited Carey's outspokenness on her own multiracial heritage for facilitating public discourse surrounding race relations in the United States, as well as the advent of intersectional feminism, during the 1990s. As noted by Professor Michael Eric Dyson in his book, Between God and Gangsta Rap: Bearing Witness to Black Culture, Carey's "refusal to bow to public pressure" surrounding the nature of her ethnicity exposed "the messy, sometimes arbitrary, politics of definition and categorisation" and "the racial contradictions at the centre of contemporary pop music" at the time. Sika Dagbovie-Mullins of Florida Atlantic University further credited Carey as being a trailblazing "multiracial heroine", remarking upon her ability to both exploit and critique "the various manifestations of the mulatta stereotype" throughout her career.

Carey has inspired singers and songwriters all over the world. According to Stevie Wonder, "When people talk about the great influential singers, they talk about Aretha, Whitney and Mariah. That's a testament to her talent. Her range is that amazing." Beyoncé credits Carey's singing and her song "Vision of Love" as influencing her to begin practicing vocal "runs" as a child, as well as helping her pursue a career as a musician. Rihanna has stated that Carey is one of her major influences and idol. Christina Aguilera has said in the early stages of her career that Carey was a big influence in her singing career and one of her idols. According to Pier Dominguez, author of Christina Aguilera: A star is made, Aguilera has stated how she loved listening to Whitney Houston, but it was Carey who had the biggest influence on her vocal styling. Carey's carefully choreographed image of a grown woman struck a chord with Aguilera. Her influence on Aguilera also grew from the fact that both are of mixed heritage. Philip Brasor, editor of The Japan Times, expressed how Carey's vocal and melismatic style even influenced Asian singers. He wrote that Japanese singer Hikaru Utada "sang what she heard, from the diaphragm and with her own take on the kind of melisma that became de rigueur in American pop after the ascendance of Mariah Carey."

Other activities

Endorsements

Declining offers to appear in commercials in the United States during her early career, Carey was not involved in brand marketing initiatives until 2006, when she participated in endorsements for Intel Centrino personal computers and launched a jewelry and accessories line for teenagers, Glamorized, in American Claire's and Icing stores. During this period, as part of a partnership with Pepsi and Motorola, Carey recorded and promoted a series of exclusive ringtones, including "Time of Your Life". She signed a licensing deal with the cosmetics company Elizabeth Arden, and in 2007, she released her own fragrance, "M". The Elizabeth Arden deal has netted her $150 million. For the fragrance, Carey won a Basenotes Fragrance Award for Best Celebrity Women's Fragrance as well as being nominated in three other categories. She has released a series of fragrances with Elizabeth Arden, including Luscious Pink (2008) and Forever (2009). On November 29, 2010, she debuted a collection on HSN, which included jewelry, shoes and fragrances. In November 2011, Carey was announced as "brand ambassador" for Jenny Craig which included "participation in a new company initiative [...] public service announcements and community and education programs." In 2018, Carey featured in an advertisement for Hostelworld with the tagline "Even Divas are Believers".

In 2019, Carey starred in a Christmas commercial for Walker Crisps.

Philanthropy

Carey is a philanthropist who has been involved with several charitable organizations. She became associated with the Fresh Air Fund in the early 1990s, and is the co-founder of a camp located in Fishkill, New York, that enables inner-city youth to embrace the arts and introduces them to career opportunities. The camp was called Camp Mariah "for her generous support and dedication to Fresh Air children," and she received a Congressional Horizon Award for her youth-related charity work. Carey has continued her direct involvement with Camp Mariah, and by 2019 the executive director of The Fresh Air Fund reported that "...the kids who have gone to Camp Mariah have higher graduation rates out of high school and college. In 1999, Carey was presented with a Congressional Award for contributing "to expanding opportunities for all Americans through their own personal contributions, and [setting] exceptional examples for young people through their own successes in life.

Carey also donated royalties from her hits " Hero" and " One Sweet Day" to charities. She has worked with the Make-A-Wish Foundation, and in November 2006 she was awarded the Foundation's Wish Idol for her "extraordinary generosity and her many wish granting achievements." Carey has volunteered for the Police Athletic League of New York City and contributed to the obstetrics department of New York Presbyterian Hospital Cornell Medical Center. A percentage of the sales of MTV Unplugged was donated to various other charities. In 2008, Carey was named Hunger Ambassador of the World Hunger Relief Movement. In February 2010, the song, " 100%", which was originally written and recorded for the film, Precious, was used as one of the theme songs for the 2010 Winter Olympics, with all money proceeds going to Team USA. Carey is also a supporter and advocate for the LGBT community, and was honored with the "Ally Award" at the 27th GLAAD Media Awards in May 2016. The award is presented to media figures who have "consistently used their platform to support and advance LGBT equality and acceptance".

One of Carey's most high-profile benefit concert appearances was on VH1's 1998 special, during which she performed alongside other female singers in support of the Save the Music Foundation. The concert was a ratings success, and Carey participated in the special and a 2016 holiday edition. In 2007, the Save the Music Foundation honored Carey at their tenth gala event for her support towards the foundation since its inception. She appeared at the America: A Tribute to Heroes nationally televised fundraiser in the aftermath of the September 11 attacks, and in December 2001, she performed before peacekeeping troops in Kosovo. Carey hosted the CBS television special At Home for the Holidays, which documented real-life stories of adopted children and foster families. In 2005, Carey performed for Live 8 in London and at the Hurricane Katrina relief telethon "Shelter from the Storm." In August 2008, Carey and other singers recorded the charity single, " Just Stand Up" produced by Babyface and L. A. Reid, to support Stand Up to Cancer.

On March 29, 2020, Carey was one of the headliners for the iHeart Living Room Concert for America hosted by Elton John, where she performed her song " Always Be My Baby". The event raised over $8 million in the fight against COVID-19. Carey also was one of the headliners for the Rise Up New York! virtual hour-long telethon, hosted by actress Tina Fey. The event aired on May 12, 2020 and was intended to raise money for those affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. She performed her songs " Through the Rain" and " Make It Happen". The event raised over $115 million. In response to the killing of George Floyd, Carey took to social media and sang a snippet of her 1990 song " There's Got to Be a Way" while encouraging fans to demand justice for Floyd saying, "I wrote this song for my first album. Still looking for answers today. We have to make a change. We can't be silent."

Controversies

In 2008, Carey performed in a New Year's Eve concert for the family of Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi. She later said she felt "horrible and embarrassed" to have participated in the concert. To make amends, in March 2011, Carey's representative Cindi Berger stated that royalties for the song " Save the Day", written for her fourteenth studio album, would be donated to charities that create awareness for human rights. Berger also said that "Mariah has and continues to donate her time, money and countless hours of personal service to many organizations both here and abroad." "Save the Day" remained unreleased until 2020. In 2013, human rights activists criticized Carey for performing in a concert for Angola's "father-daughter kleptocracy" and accused her of accepting "dictator cash".

In January 2019, Carey performed in Saudi Arabia, which attracted criticism. Owen Jones of The Guardian observed that Carey has a large gay fanbase and that homosexuality is punishable in Saudi Arabia by death. Carey had been pressured to cancel the performance because of the murder of the journalist Jamal Khashoggi and because of Saudi Arabia's imprisonment of feminists. In a statement to the Associated Press, Carey's publicist said: "Presented with the offer to perform for an international and mixed gender audience in Saudi Arabia, Mariah accepted the opportunity as a positive step towards the dissolution of gender segregation. [...] As the first female international artist to perform in Saudi Arabia, Mariah recognizes the cultural significance of this event and will continue to support global efforts towards equality for all."

Personal life

Carey began dating Tommy Mottola while recording Music Box, and married him on June 5, 1993. After the release of Daydream and the success that followed, Carey began focusing on her personal life, which was a constant struggle at the time. Carey's relationship with Mottola began to deteriorate, due to their growing creative differences in terms of her albums, as well as his controlling nature. On May 30, 1997, the couple announced their separation, with their divorce finalized by the time Mottola remarried on December 2, 2000. Carey was in a three-year relationship with singer Luis Miguel from 1998 to 2001.

Carey met actor and comedian Nick Cannon while they shot her music video for her song " Bye Bye" on an island off the coast of Antigua. On April 30, 2008, Carey married Cannon in The Bahamas. At 35 weeks into her pregnancy, she gave birth to their fraternal twins, Moroccan and Monroe, on April 30, 2011, via Cesarean section. Monroe is named after Marilyn Monroe; Moroccan is named after the Moroccan-decor room in Carey's apartment where Cannon proposed to her. In August 2014, Cannon confirmed he and Carey had separated. He filed for divorce on December 12, 2014. It was finalized in 2016.

In 2015 Carey began dating Australian billionaire James Packer and, on January 21, 2016, she announced that they were engaged. By October, however, they had ended their engagement. In October 2016 she began dating American choreographer Bryan Tanaka.

Carey is an active Episcopalian. She stated in 2006: "I do believe that I have been born again in a lot of ways. I think what I've changed are my priorities and my relationships with God. I feel the difference when I don't have my private moments to pray. ... I'm a fighter, but I learned that I'm not in charge. Whatever God wants to happen is what's going to happen. I feel like I've had endless second, third, fourth, fifth and sixth chances. It's by the grace of God I'm still here." In April 2018, Carey opened up about her struggle with bipolar II disorder. She, self-reportedly, was diagnosed in 2001, but kept the diagnosis private. Recently, she has sought out treatment in the form of medication and therapy.

Achievements

Throughout her career, Carey has earned numerous awards and honors. She has won five Grammy Awards, nineteen World Music Awards, ten American Music Awards, and fifteen Billboard Music Awards. She is also an inductee of the Songwriters Hall of Fame. As of September 2020, the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) lists Carey as the second-best-selling female artist, with shipments of over 66.5 million units in the US.

Carey has spent 84 weeks at the number-one position on Billboard Hot 100, the greatest number for any artist in US chart history. On that same chart, she has accumulated 19 number-one singles, the most for any solo artist (and second behind the Beatles) and she is also the only artist to have a number-one song in each year of a decade (1990s decade). Carey has also had three songs debut atop the Hot 100 chart with " Fantasy", " One Sweet Day" and " Honey". Carey was also the first female artist to debut at number 1 in the U.S. with "Fantasy". Her hit single " One Sweet Day", which featured Boyz II Men, spent sixteen consecutive weeks at the top of Billboard's Hot 100 chart in 1996, setting the record for the most weeks atop the Hot 100 chart in history until surpassed in 2019 by " Old Town Road". In 2008, Billboard listed "We Belong Together" ninth on The Billboard Hot 100 All-Time Top Songs and second on Top Billboard Hot 100 R&B/Hip-Hop Songs. The song was also declared the most popular song of the 2000s decade by Billboard.

Carey's holiday album Merry Christmas has sold over 15 million copies worldwide, and is the best-selling Christmas album of all time. It also produced the successful single " All I Want for Christmas Is You", which became the only holiday song and ringtone to reach multi-platinum status in the US. In 2018, Carey became the first artist to replace herself at the number 1 spot on Billboard's Top R&B Albums chart with being replaced by Merry Christmas.

In 2009, Carey's cover of Foreigner's song " I Want to Know What Love Is" became the longest-running number-one song in Brazilian singles chart history, spending 27 consecutive weeks at number-one. On November 19, 2010, Billboard magazine named Carey in their "Top 50 R&B/Hip-Hop Artists of the Past 25 Years" chart at number four. In 2012, Carey was ranked second on VH1's list of the "100 Greatest Women in Music." Billboard magazine ranks her at number five on the Billboard Hot 100 All-Time Top Artists, making Carey the second most successful female artist in the history of the Billboard Hot 100 chart. In August 2015, Carey was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Discography

Filmography

Tours and residencies

Headlining tours

Co-headlining tours

Residencies

Written works

References

1. ^ @RIAA (February 25, 2019). "2 #Diamond albums, 7 #multiPlatinum albums, 4 #Platinum albums, 2 #Gold albums. Only ONE @MariahCarey #BlackHistoryMonth" (Tweet) - via Twitter.

2. ^ Gamboa, Glenn (October 22, 2008). "LI Music Hall of Fame recognizes local talent". . New York City / Long Island. Archived from the original on October 14, 2013. Born in Huntington, raised in Greenlawn.

3. ^ Carey, Mariah (November 10, 1999). "Mariah Carey - MTV EMAs Interview". Dublin Airport, Collinstown, Fingal, Ireland. My mother's parents were from Ireland, so

4. ^ Landis, David (May 13, 1991). "'Bathgate' Wait". . R.E.M.'s Out of Time has knocked Mariah Carey off the top of the Billboard album chart after 11 weeks.

5. ^ "Top > Discography > Daydream" (in Japanese). Sony Music Entertainment Japan. June 24, 2015. Archived from the original on December 30, 2018. Over 25 million copies worldwide have been sold so far, and 2.2 million copies have been sold in Japan.

6. ^ "Jermaine Dupri Wins R&B Song Grammy; Virgin Urban Music President Dupri Shares Songwriting Honors With Mariah Carey and So So Def/Virgin Artist Johnta Austin". Business Wire. Berkshire Hathaway. April 16, 2006. Archived from the original on January 3, 2013.

7. ^ "Top 50 Global Best Selling Albums for 2005" (PDF). Bundesverband Musikindustrie. Archived from the original (PDF) on April 10, 2011.

8. ^ Martin, Devin (January 30, 2010). "Mariah Carey Announces 'Angels Advocate' Release Date". The Independent. Archived from the original on February 4, 2010.

9. ^ Stone, Natalie (May 28, 2015). "Mariah Carey Says 'American Idol' "Was the Worst Experience of My Life"". The Hollywood Reporter. When questioned if she would return for the upcoming season 15 American Idol series finale on the radio show, Carey declined: "Hell no! Absolutely not. That was the worst experience of my life."

10. ^ Patten, Dominic (April 8, 2016). "'American Idol' Series Finale Ratings Match Season 15 Debut With Best Result Since 2013 - Update". Deadline Hollywood. Mariah Carey never made an appearance on the American Idol (3.0/10) series finale last night, but a lot of past judges, contestants and it turns out long-absent fans did.

11. ^ "Mariah Carey to Voice Redneck on 'American Dad'". EURweb. August 2, 2013. Archived from the original on August 4, 2013.

12. ^ Platton, Adelle (January 31, 2017). "Mariah Carey Reveals Cover Art for YG-Assisted 'I Don't'". . Archived from the original on February 5, 2017.

13. ^ Dagbovie-Mullins, Sika (January 25, 2013). Crossing Black: Mixed-Race Identity in Modern American Fiction and Culture. Univ. of Tennessee Press. ISBN 9781572339774.

14. ^ Dominguez, Pier (2003). Christina Aguilera: a star is made: the unauthorized biography. Amber Books Publishing. p. 134. ISBN 978-0-9702224-5-9.

15. ^ Elliott, Natalie (February 8, 2012). "Grimes Dishes on Her Less Obvious Influences And Her DIY Tattoos". Prefix. Archived from the original on May 22, 2013.

16. ^ Varga, George (March 20, 2012). "A chat with local 'Idol' Jessica Sanchez". U-T San Diego. MLIM Holdings. Archived from the original on September 5, 2014.

17. Owen Jones,^ "Why Mariah Carey was wrong to play Saudi Arabia ","The Guardian", February 1, 2019.

18. Catherine Philp, ^ " Mariah Carey under fire for performing in Saudi Arabia", "The Times", January 31, 2019. Retrieved on _2019-01-31.

19. Aya Batrawy, ^ "Mariah Carey shakes off boycott calls for her Saudi concert","Associated Press", January 31, 2019.

20. ^ Silverman, Stephen M. (October 13, 1997). "Music Mogul Marries". People. Tommy Mottola ... married his third wife, Mexican soap opera actress Thalia Soldi, in an extravagant, all-star wedding Saturday night [Oct. 11, 1997] at New York's St. Patrick's Cathedral.

21. ^ Ryder, Taryn (August 21, 2014). "Exclusive: Nick Cannon Confirms He and Mariah Carey Are Living Apart". Yahoo Celebrity. Archived from the original on July 24, 2017.

22. ^ Mariah Carey Revisited: The Unauthorized Biography by Chris Nickson

Appleman, Chris (1986). The Science of Vocal Pedagogy: Theory and Application. Bloomington: Indiana University Press. ISBN 978-0-253-35110-4.

Derschowitz, Jessica (October 28, 2010). "Maria Carey: I'm Pregnant". CBS News.

James, Harold (2010). Guinness Rockopedia. Los Angeles: CBS News. ISBN 978-0-85112-072-0.

Lovece, Frank (August 8, 2013). "Mariah Carey Says She was Spit on as a Child on LI". . New York City / Long Island.

McCann, Bob (2010). Encyclopedia of African American Actresses in Film and Television. Jefferson, NC: McFarland and Company. ISBN 978-0-7864-3790-0.

Nickson, Chris (1998). Mariah Carey revisited. New York: St. Martin's Griffin. ISBN 978-0-312-19512-0.

Mulholland, Garry (2003). The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Music. UK: Flame Tree Publishing. ISBN 978-1-904041-70-2.

Peckham, Anne (2005). Vocal Workouts for the Contemporary Singer. Boston: Berklee Press. ISBN 978-0-87639-047-4.

Sleeman, Chris (1986). The Science of Vocal Pedagogy: Theory and Application. Bloomington: Indiana University Press. ISBN 978-0-253-35110-4.

Strecker, Erin (May 5, 2015). "Maria Carey to Perform at 2015 Billboard Music Awards". Billboard.

Swaine, Elizabeth, ed. (2003). "'Mariah Carey' in The International Who's Who 2004". London: Europa Publications.

Thompson, Ben (2003). The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Music. UK: Flame Tree Publishing. ISBN 978-1-904041-70-2.

Further reading

External links

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Mariah Carey (; born March 27, 1969 or 1970) is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, and actress. Known for her five-octave vocal range, melismatic singing style, and signature use of the whistle register, she is referred to as the " Songbird Supreme" by Guinness World Records.

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Genre: Latin, Pop

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-She is one of the worlds best selling artists

-She had a voice role in Zootopia

-She made her first album at 13

-she is fluent in several languages

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I give this one a 4/5, because the song is good, I like the beat, and the flute is pretty cool, but it's not my favorite.

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Shakira Isabel Mebarak Ripoll ( shə-KEER-ə, Spanish: ; born 2 February 1977), known mononymously as Shakira, is a Colombian singer and songwriter. Born and raised in Barranquilla, she has been referred to as the " Queen of Latin Music" and has been praised for her musical versatility. She made her recording debut with Sony Music Colombia at the age of 13. Following the commercial failure of her first two albums, (1991) and (1993), she rose to prominence in Hispanic countries with her next albums, Pies Descalzos (1995) and Dónde Están los Ladrones? (1998). She entered the English-language market with her fifth album, Laundry Service (2001), which sold over 13 million copies worldwide. Buoyed by the international success of her singles " Whenever, Wherever" and " Underneath Your Clothes", the album propelled her reputation as a leading crossover artist. Broadcast Music, Inc., described Shakira as a "pioneer" who extended the global reach of Latino singers.

Her success was further solidified with the Spanish albums Fijación Oral, Vol. 1 (2005), (2010), and (2017), all of which topped the Billboard Top Latin Albums chart and were certified diamond (Latin) by the Recording Industry Association of America. Meanwhile, her English albums Oral Fixation, Vol. 2 (2005), (2009), and (2014) were all certified gold, platinum, or multi-platinum in various countries worldwide. Some of her songs have charted at number one in multiple countries, including " Whenever, Wherever", " La Tortura", " Hips Don't Lie", " Beautiful Liar", " Waka Waka (This Time for Africa)", " Loca", " Rabiosa", " Can't Remember to Forget You", " Chantaje", " Me Gusta", " Te Felicito", " Bzrp Music Sessions, Vol. 53", " TQG", and " Copa Vacía". She served as a coach on two seasons of the American singing competition television series (2013-2014).

With a catalog of 145 songs, Shakira has sold over 95 million records, making her one of the best-selling music artists of all time, reported that as of 2023, she is the best-selling female Latin artist of all time. She is credited with opening the doors of the international market for other Latin artists. She has received numerous awards, including three Grammy Awards, fourteen Latin Grammy Awards, five MTV Video Music Awards (including the 2023 Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award), seven Billboard Music Awards, thirty-nine Billboard Latin Music Awards, twenty-one Guinness World Records, and a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. She was named the Top Female Latin Artist of the Decade by Billboard twice (2000s and 2010s). For her philanthropic work with her Barefoot Foundation and her contributions to music she received the Latin Recording Academy Person of the Year and Harvard Foundation Artist of the Year awards in 2011. She was appointed to the President's Advisory Commission on Educational Excellence for Hispanics in the United States in 2011, and Chevalier of the Order of Arts and Letters by the French government in 2012.

Shakira Isabel Mebarak Ripoll was born on 2 February 1977 in Barranquilla, Colombia. She is the only child of William Mebarak Chadid and Nidia Ripoll Torrado. She is of Spanish and Lebanese descent. Her father William was born in New York City to a family from Lebanon. When he was five, his family moved to Colombia. Her mother's side has two Spanish surnames, Ripoll and Torrado, the former of which is Catalan and originates from four brothers who immigrated from Catalonia to coastal Colombia in the 19th century. She has also stated that she has distant Italian roots through an ancestor with the surname "Pisciotti". She was raised Catholic and attended Catholic schools. She has eight older half-siblings from her father's previous marriage. Shakira spent much of her youth in Barranquilla, a city located on the northern Caribbean coast of Colombia.

Shakira wrote her first poem, titled "La rosa de cristal" ('The Crystal Rose'), when she was only four years old. As she was growing up, she was fascinated watching her father writing stories on a typewriter, and asked for one as a Christmas gift. She got that typewriter at age seven, and has continued writing poetry since then. These poems eventually evolved into songs. When Shakira was two years old, her older half-brother was killed, at the age of nineteen, in a motorcycle accident; six years later, at age eight, Shakira wrote her first song, titled "Tus gafas oscuras" ('Your dark glasses'), which was inspired by her father, who for years wore dark glasses to hide his grief.

When Shakira was four, her father took her to a local Middle Eastern restaurant, where Shakira first heard the doumbek, a traditional drum used in Middle-Eastern music and which typically accompanied belly dancing. She started dancing on the table, and the experience made her realize that she wanted to be a performer. She enjoyed singing for schoolmates and teachers (and even the nuns) at her Catholic school, but in second grade, she was rejected for the school choir because her vibrato was too strong. The music teacher told her that she sounded "like a goat". At school, she was often sent out of the class because of her hyperactivity. She says she had also been known as "the belly dancer girl", as she would demonstrate every Friday at school a number she had learned. "That's how I discovered my passion for live performance," she says. To instill gratitude in Shakira for her upbringing, her father took her to a local park to see orphans who lived there. The images stayed with her, and she said to herself: "One day I'm going to help these kids when I become a famous artist."

Between the ages of ten and thirteen, Shakira was invited to various events in Barranquilla and gained some recognition in the area. It was at this approximate time that she met local theater producer Monica Ariza, who was impressed with her and as a result tried to help her career. During a flight from Barranquilla to Bogotá, Ariza convinced Sony Colombia executive Ciro Vargas to hold an audition for Shakira in a hotel lobby. Vargas held Shakira in high regard and, returning to the Sony office, gave the cassette to a song and artist director. However, the director was not overly excited and thought Shakira was something of "a lost cause". Undaunted and still convinced that Shakira had talent, Vargas set up an audition in Bogotá. He arranged for Sony Colombia executives to arrive at the audition, with the idea of surprising them with Shakira's performance. She performed three songs for the executives and impressed them enough for her to be signed to record three albums.

1990-1995: Beginnings

Shakira's debut album, , was recorded with Sony Music Colombia in 1990 when she was only 13 years old. The songs are a collection made by her since she was eight, mixed pop-rock ballads and disco uptempo songs with electronic accompaniment. The album was released in June 1991 and featured "Magia" and three other singles. Though it fared well on Colombian radio and gave the young Shakira much exposure, the album did not fare well commercially, as only 1,200 copies were sold worldwide. After the poor performance of Magia, Shakira's label urged her to return to the studio to release a follow-up record. Though she was little known outside of her native Colombia at the time, Shakira was invited to perform at Chile's Viña del Mar International Song Festival in February 1993. The festival gave aspiring Latin American singers a chance to perform their songs, and the winner was then chosen by a panel of judges. Shakira performed the ballad "Eres" ("You Are") and won the trophy for third place. One of the judges who voted for her to win was the then 20-year-old Ricky Martin, whose initial prominence had come from his membership in Menudo.

Shakira's second studio album, titled , was released in March, but Shakira was not pleased with the final result, mainly taking issue with the production. The album was better received than Magia had been, though it was also considered a commercial failure due to Shakira's refusal to advertise or promote it. Shakira then decided to take a hiatus from recording so that she could graduate from high school. In the same year, Shakira starred in the Colombian TV series The Oasis, loosely based on the Armero tragedy in 1985. Since then, the albums have been pulled from release and are not considered official Shakira albums but rather promotional albums.

1995-2000: Latin breakthrough

Shakira originally recorded the song " ¿Dónde Estás Corazón?" (later released on her album Pies Descalzos) for the compilation album Nuestro Rock in 1994, released exclusively in Colombia. The song was an instant success on radio stations in Colombia and Sony decided to finance her third record, by giving her the last chance due to previous commercial failures.

Shakira returned to recording music under Sony Music along with Columbia Records in 1995 with Luis F. Ochoa, using musical influences from a number of countries and an Alanis Morissette-oriented persona which affected two of her next albums. These recordings spawned her third studio album, and her international debut album, titled Pies Descalzos. Recording for the album began in February 1995, after the success of her single "¿Dónde Estás Corazón?".

The album, Pies Descalzos, was released in October 1995 in Latin American countries and in February 1996 in the US. It reached number five on the U.S. Billboard Top Latin Albums chart. The album spawned six hit singles, " Estoy Aquí", which reached number two on the U.S. Latin chart, " ¿Dónde Estás Corazón?" which reached number five on the U.S. Latin chart, " Pies Descalzos, Sueños Blancos" which reached number 11 on the U.S. Latin chart, " Un Poco de Amor" which reached number six on the U.S. Latin chart, " Antología" which reached number 15 on the U.S. Latin chart, and " Se Quiere, Se Mata" which reached number eight on the U.S. Latin chart. In August 1996, RIAA certified the album platinum status.

In March 1996, Shakira went on to her first international tour, named simply the Tour Pies Descalzos. The tour consisted of 20 shows and ended in 1997. Also in that year, Shakira received three Billboard Latin Music Awards for Album of the Year for Pies Descalzos, Video of the Year for "Estoy Aqui", and Best New Artist. Pies Descalzos later sold over 5 million copies, prompting the release of a remix album, simply titled The Remixes. The Remixes also included Portuguese versions of some of her well-known songs, which were recorded as a result of her success in the Brazilian market, where Pies Descalzos sold nearly one million copies.

Her fourth studio album was titled Dónde Están los Ladrones? Produced by Shakira with Emilio Estefan, Jr. as the executive producer it was released in September 1998. The album, inspired by an incident in an airport in which a suitcase filled with her written lyrics was stolen, became a bigger hit than Pies Descalzos. The album has reached a peak position of number 131 on the U.S. Billboard 200 and held the top spot on the U.S. Latin Albums chart for 11 weeks. It has since sold over 7 million copies worldwide and 1.5 million copies in the U.S. alone, making it one of the best selling Spanish albums in the U.S. Eight singles were taken from the album including " Ciega, Sordomuda", " Moscas En La Casa", " No Creo", " Inevitable", " Tú", " Si Te Vas", " Octavo día", and " Ojos Así".

Shakira also received her first Grammy Award nomination in 1999 for the Grammy Award for Best Latin Rock or Alternative Album. Shakira's first live album, MTV Unplugged, was recorded in New York City on 12 August 1999. Highly acclaimed by American critics, it is rated as one of her best-ever live performances. In March 2000, Shakira embarked on her Tour Anfibio, a two-month tour of Latin America and the United States. In August 2000, she won an MTV Video Music Award in the category of People's Choice - Favorite International Artist for "Ojos Así". In September 2000, Shakira performed "Ojos Así" at the inaugural ceremony of the Latin Grammy Awards, where she was nominated in five categories: Album of the Year and Best Pop Vocal Album for MTV Unplugged, Best Female Rock Vocal Performance for "Octavo Día", Best Female Pop Vocal Performance and Best Short Form Music Video for the video for "Ojos Así".

2001-2004: English transition with Laundry Service

Upon the success of Dónde Están los Ladrones? and MTV Unplugged, Shakira began working on an English crossover album. She learned English with the help of Gloria Estefan. She worked for over a year on new material for the album. " Whenever, Wherever", called " Suerte" in Spanish-speaking countries, was released as the first and lead single from her first English album and fifth studio album throughout the period between August 2001 and February 2002. The song took heavy influence from Andean music, including the charango and panpipes in its instrumentation. It became an international success by reaching number one in most countries. It was also her first success in the U.S., reaching number six on the Hot 100.

Shakira's fifth studio album and first English language album, titled Laundry Service in English-speaking countries and Servicio De Lavanderia in Latin America and Spain, was released on 13 November 2001. The album debuted at number three on the U.S. Billboard 200 chart, selling over 200,000 records in its first week. The album was later certified triple platinum by the RIAA in June 2004 as well. It helped to establish Shakira's musical presence in the mainstream North American market. Seven singles were taken from the album such as "Whenever, Wherever"/"Suerte", " Underneath Your Clothes", " Objection (Tango)"/" Te Aviso, Te Anuncio (Tango)", " The One", " Te Dejo Madrid", " Que Me Quedes Tú", and " Poem to a Horse".

Because the album was created for the English-language market, the rock, and Spanish dance-influenced album gained mild critical success, with some critics claiming that her English skills were too weak for her to write songs for it; Rolling Stone, for one, stated that "she sounds downright silly" or "Shakira's magic is lost in translation". A similar view was expressed by Elizabeth Mendez Berry in : "While her Spanish-language albums sparkled with elegant wordplay, this record is rife with cliches, both musically and lyrically. [...] For Anglophone Latin lovers, Shakira's lyrics are best left to the imagination." Despite this fact, the album became the best-selling album of 2002, selling more than 13 million copies worldwide. and became the most successful album of her career to date. The album earned her the title of the biggest Latin female crossover artist in the world. Around this time, Shakira also released four songs for Pepsi for her promotion in the English markets: "Ask for More", "Pide Más", "Knock on My Door", and "Pídeme el Sol". In Chicago Tribune, journalist Joshua Klein defined her international ascent "as multilateral, multicultural and cooperative as they come."

In 2002, at Aerosmith's MTV Icon in April 2002, Shakira performed " Dude (Looks Like a Lady)". She also joined Cher, Whitney Houston, Celine Dion, Mary J. Blige, Anastacia, and the Dixie Chicks for VH1 Divas Live Las Vegas. In August, she performed "Objection (Tango)" at the 2002 MTV Video Music Awards, and won the International Viewer's Choice Award with "Whenever, Wherever". She also won the Latin Grammy Award for the category of Best Short Form Music Video for the Spanish version of the video. In October, she won five MTV Video Music Awards Latin America for Best Female Artist, Best Pop Artist, Best Artist - North (Region), Video of the Year (for "Suerte"), and Artist of the Year. In November, she embarked on the Tour of the Mongoose with 61 shows occurring by May 2003. The tour was also her first worldwide tour, as legs were played in North America, South America, Europe, and Asia. Shakira's label, Sony BMG, also released her Spanish greatest-hits compilation, Grandes Éxitos. A DVD and 10-track live album, titled Live & Off the Record, was also released in 2004, commemorating the Tour of the Mongoose.

2005-2007: Fijación Oral, Volumen Uno and Oral Fixation, Volume Two

Shakira's sixth studio album, Fijación Oral, Volumen Uno, was released in June 2005. The lead single from the album, " La Tortura", reached the top 40 on the Hot 100. The song also featured the Spanish balladeer Alejandro Sanz. Shakira; Sanz and Daddy Yankee (" Gasolina") were the first artists to perform Spanish language songs at the 2005 MTV Video Music Awards. The album was extremely well received. It debuted at number four on the Billboard 200 chart, selling 157,000 copies in its first week. It has since sold over two million copies in the U.S., earning an 11× Platinum (Latin field) certification from the RIAA. Due to its first-week sales, the album became the highest debut ever for a Spanish-language album. After only a day of release in Latin America, the album earned certifications. In Venezuela, it earned a Platinum certification, in Colombia, a triple Platinum certification, while in Mexico demand exceeded shipments and the album was unavailable after only one day of release. Four other singles were also released from the album: " No", " Día de Enero", " La Pared", and " Las de la Intuición". Fijación Oral, Vol. 1 has since sold over four million copies worldwide. On 8 February 2006, Shakira won her second Grammy Award with the win of Best Latin Rock/Alternative Album for Fijación Oral, Vol. 1. She received four Latin Grammy Awards in November 2006, winning the awards for Record of the Year, Song of the Year for "La Tortura", Album of the Year and Best Pop Vocal Album for Fijación Oral, Vol. 1.

The lead single for Shakira's seventh album, Oral Fixation, Vol. 2, " Don't Bother", failed to achieve chart success in the U.S. by missing the top 40 on the Hot 100. It did, however, reach the top 20 in most countries worldwide. Shakira's second English studio album and seventh studio album, Oral Fixation, Vol. 2, was released on 29 November 2005. The album debuted at number five on the Billboard 200, selling 128,000 copies in its first week. The album has gone on to sell 1.8 million records in the U.S., and over eight million copies worldwide.

Despite the commercial failure of the album's lead single in the U.S., it went on to spawn two more singles. " Hips Don't Lie", which featured Wyclef Jean, was released as the album's second single in February 2006. It would become Shakira's first number-one single on the Billboard Hot 100, in addition to reaching number one in over 55 countries. Shakira and Wyclef Jean also recorded a Bamboo version of the song to serve as the closing ceremony song of the 2006 FIFA World Cup. Shakira later released the third and final single from the album, " Illegal", which featured Carlos Santana, in November 2006. She then embarked on the Oral Fixation Tour, which began in June 2006. The tour consisted of 125 shows between June 2006 and July 2007 and visited six continents. In February 2007, Shakira performed for the first time at the 49th Grammy Awards and earned the nomination for Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals for "Hips Don't Lie" with Wyclef Jean. Shakira released her third live album Oral Fixation Tour in November 2007.

In late 2006, Shakira and Alejandro Sanz collaborated for the duet " Te lo Agradezco, Pero No", which is featured on Sanz's album El Tren de los Momentos. The song was a top ten hit in Latin America, and topped the Billboard Hot Latin Tracks chart. Shakira also collaborated with Miguel Bosé on the duet " Si Tú No Vuelves", which was released in Bosé's album . In early 2007, Shakira worked with American R&B singer Beyoncé for the track " Beautiful Liar", which was released as the second single from the deluxe edition of Beyoncé's album . In April 2007, the single jumped 91 positions, from 94 to three, on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, setting the record for the largest upward movement in the history of the chart at the time. It was also number one on the official UK Singles Chart. The song earned them a Grammy Award nomination for Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals. Shakira was also featured on Annie Lennox's song " Sing", from the album Songs of Mass Destruction, which also features other 23 other female singers. In late 2007, Shakira and Wyclef Jean recorded their second duet, "King and Queen". The song was featured on Wyclef Jean's 2007 album Carnival Vol. II: Memoirs of an Immigrant.

Shakira wrote the lyrics, and jointly composed the music, for two new songs that are featured in the movie Love in the Time of Cholera, based on the acclaimed novel written by Colombian author Gabriel García Márquez. García Márquez himself asked Shakira to write the songs. The songs that Shakira provided for the soundtrack were "Pienso en ti", a song from Shakira's breakthrough album Pies Descalzos, " Hay Amores", and " Despedida". "Despedida" was nominated for Best Original Song at the 65th Golden Globe Awards.

In early 2008, Forbes named Shakira the fourth top-earning female artist in the music industry. Then, in July of that year, Shakira signed a $300 million contract with Live Nation, which was to remain in effect for ten years. The touring group also doubles as a record label which promotes, but does not control, the music its artists release. Shakira's contract with Epic Records called for three more albums as well - one in English, one in Spanish, and a compilation, but the touring and other rights of the Live Nation deal were confirmed to begin immediately.

In January 2009, Shakira performed at the Lincoln Memorial " We Are One" festivities in honor of the inauguration of President Barack Obama. She performed " Higher Ground" with Stevie Wonder and Usher. In June 2009, Shakira was featured on Mercedes Sosa's album Cantora on their cover of Silvio Rodríguez's song "La Maza".

In July 2009 Shakira released " She Wolf" as the lead single from an upcoming album with the same title. The single was a commercial success, receiving certifications in 17 countries. Shakira released her eighth studio album in October 2009 internationally and on 23 November 2009 in the U.S. The album received mainly positive reviews from critics, and was included in AllMusic's year-end "Favorite Albums," "Favorite Latin Albums," and "Favorite Pop Albums" lists. She Wolf reached number one on the charts of Argentina, Ireland, Italy, Mexico and Switzerland. It also charted inside the top five in Spain, Germany, and the United Kingdom. It debuted at number fifteen on the Billboard 200. She Wolf was certified double-platinum in Colombia and Mexico, platinum in Italy and Spain, and gold in numerous countries including France and the United Kingdom. The album sold 2 million copies worldwide, becoming one of Shakira's least successful studio albums to date in terms of sales. Four singles were released off the album, including "She Wolf", " Did It Again", " Give It Up to Me", and " Gypsy". " Good Stuff" was released as the sole promotional single off the album.

In May, Shakira collaborated with the South African group Freshlyground to create the official song of the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa. " Waka Waka (This Time for Africa)", which is based on a traditional Cameroonian soldiers' Fang song titled " Zangalewa" by the group Zangalewa or Golden Sounds. The single later reached the top 20 in Europe, South America and Africa and the top 40 in the U.S. and was performed by Shakira at the World Cup kick-off and closing. It became the biggest-selling World Cup song of all time.

In October 2010, Shakira released her ninth studio album, titled . The album received critical acclaim and was included in AllMusic's "Favorite Albums of 2010" and "Favorite Latin Albums of 2010" year-end lists. At the 2011 Latin Grammy Awards ceremony, Sale el Sol was nominated for " Album of the Year" and " Best Female Pop Vocal Album", winning the award in the latter category. Commercially the album was a success throughout Europe and Latin America, Sale el Sol peaked atop the charts of countries Belgium, Croatia, France, Mexico, Portugal, and Spain. In the United States, it debuted at number seven on the US Billboard 200 chart marking the highest debut for a Latin album for the year and was Shakira's fifth album to peak at number one. According to Billboard, 35% of its first-week sales were credited to strong digital sales. The album also peaked at number one on both the Top Latin Albums and Latin Pop Albums charts, achieving strong digital sales in the region. The lead single, " Loca", was number one in many countries. The album was also promoted through the release of " Sale el Sol", " Rabiosa", " Antes de las Seis", and " Addicted to You" as singles. The album had sold over 1 million copies worldwide in 6 weeks, and over 4 million since its release.

In August 2011, Shakira was featured in an episode of Dora the Explorer, and a song off the episode titled "Todos Juntos" by Dora featuring Shakira was released with a music video. In September, Shakira embarked on The Sun Comes Out World Tour, in support of her two most recent albums. The tour visited countries in North America, Europe, South America, Asia, and Africa with 107 shows in all. The tour was met with positive reactions from critics, who praised Shakira's stage presence and energy during her performances. In December 2011 Shakira released her fourth live album Live from Paris. The live album was promoted with the release of " Je L'Aime à Mourir" as a single.

On 9 November 2011, Shakira was honored as Latin Recording Academy Person of the Year and performed a cover of Joe Arroyo's song "En Barranquilla Me Quedo" at the Mandalay Bay Events Center as a tribute to the singer, who had died earlier that year. In 2010 Shakira collaborated with rapper Pitbull for the song " Get It Started", which was slated to be the lead single from Pitbull's 2012 album, Global Warming. The single was released on 28 June 2012. She was also signed to Roc Nation under management purposes for her upcoming studio album. In January 2013, Ivete Sangalo released a single titled " Dançando" featuring Shakira off her album Real Fantasia.

On 17 September 2012, it was announced that Shakira and Usher would replace Christina Aguilera and CeeLo Green as coaches, for the fourth season of the U.S. TV show , alongside Adam Levine and Blake Shelton in March 2013. Shakira did not participate in the fifth season in September 2013 announcing that she would focus on her new album in the fall and would eventually return for the show's sixth season in February 2014.

Shakira originally planned to release her new album in 2012, but due to her pregnancy, plans to release the single and video were postponed. In December 2013, it was announced that Shakira's new single had been delayed until January 2014. Shakira's self-titled tenth studio album was later released on 25 March 2014. Commercially the album debuted at number two on the US Billboard 200 chart with first-week sales of 85,000 copies. By doing so, Shakira became the singer's highest-charting album on the chart, although it also achieved her lowest first-week sales figure (for an English-language album). The album spawned three singles. After releasing the first two singles from the album, " Can't Remember to Forget You" and " Empire". RCA chose " Dare (La La La)" as third single. The song " Medicine" was released as a promotional single off the album. The World Cup version was officially released on 27 May to impact radio stations, and features Brazilian musician Carlinhos Brown. On 13 July 2014, Shakira performed "La La La (Brazil 2014)" with Carlinhos Brown at the 2014 FIFA World Cup closing ceremony at the Maracanã Stadium. This performance became her third consecutive appearance at the FIFA World Cup.

2016-2020: El Dorado and Super Bowl LIV

Shakira starred as a voice actress in the 2016 animated movie Zootopia, voicing a character named Gazelle and singing a song titled " Try Everything". She began work on her eleventh studio album at the beginning of 2016. In May 2016, she collaborated with Colombian singer Carlos Vives on the track " La Bicicleta", which went to win the Latin Grammy Award for Record of the Year and Song of the Year. On 28 October 2016, Shakira released the single " Chantaje" with Colombian singer Maluma; though the song was a track from the upcoming eleventh studio album, it was not intended to be the lead single. The song became Shakira's most-viewed YouTube video, with over 2.1 billion views as of 1 June 2018. On 7 April 2017, Shakira released the song " Me Enamoré" as the second official single taken from her eleventh studio album which was released on 26 May 2017. She also released the song " Perro Fiel" featuring Nicky Jam as a promotional single for the album on 25 May 2017. Its official release as the third single took place on 15 September 2017, the same date its music video, which was filmed in Barcelona on 27 July 2017, was released. Before being released as a single, "Perro Fiel" was already certified as gold in Spain for selling over 20,000 copies on 30 August 2017.

In January 2018, Shakira won her third Grammy Award for Best Latin Pop Album for El Dorado, making her the only female Latin artist to do so. She then released " Trap", the fourth single off the album and her second collaboration with Maluma.

The El Dorado World Tour was announced on 27 June 2017, through Shakira's official Twitter account, and was slated to be sponsored by Rakuten. Other announced partners of the tour were Live Nation Entertainment's Global Touring Division (which had previously collaborated with Shakira on her The Sun Comes Out World Tour) and Citi, which the press release named as, respectively, the producer and the credit card for the North American leg of the tour.

The tour, it was announced, would begin on 8 November, in Cologne, Germany. But due to voice-strain related problems the singer experienced during her tour rehearsals, the date was cancelled one day before the original tour schedule, and it was announced that it would be rescheduled for a later date. On 9 November, for the same reason, she also announced the postponements to later dates, to be determined and announced, for both shows in Paris, as well as the following ones in Antwerp and Amsterdam. On 14 November, Shakira made an announcement, through her social networks, in which she revealed that she had suffered a haemorrhage on her right vocal cord in late October, at her last series of rehearsals, and that she thus needed to rest her voice for some time to recover; this forced the postponement of the tour's entire European itinerary to 2018.

The Latin American dates were expected to be announced later, when the tour resumed. There were plans to bring the tour, when it did resume, to countries such as the Dominican Republic. In addition, a journalist from the Brazilian edition of the Portuguese newspaper announced, on his Twitter account, that the Colombian singer would visit Brazil the following March. However, according to the same newspaper, due to Shakira's hiatus to recover from her vocal-cord haemorrhage, the Latin American dates were also postponed to the second half of 2018. Eventually, Shakira did recover fully from the haemorrhage she had suffered and resumed her tour, performing in Hamburg, Germany on 3 June 2018.

In January 2018 she announced the dates for her El Dorado World Tour. She began the first leg of her tour in Europe, starting in Hamburg, Germany on 3 June. In the same month, she released a collaboration with Maluma titled " Clandestino" as a standalone single The European leg of the tour ended in Barcelona, Spain on 7 July. She then spent a short time in Asia on 11 and 13 July, after which she went to North America. She started her time there on 3 August in Chicago and finished in San Francisco on 7 September. Her tour dates for Latin America started in Mexico City on 11 October. On the same month, Shakira was featured on a remix of Camilo and Pedro Capó's single " Tutu". The El Dorado World Tour finished in Bogotá, Colombia on 3 November, and on the same day " Nada" was released as the fifth and final single off El Dorado. She released her fifth live album Shakira in Concert: El Dorado World Tour in November 2019. ranked her among the world's highest-paid women in music in 2019, at number 10. In January 2020, she released " Me Gusta", a collaboration with Anuel AA.

In February 2020, she and Jennifer Lopez performed for the Super Bowl LIV halftime show. According to , the halftime show had a viewership of 103 million people. On YouTube, it became the most viewed halftime show at that point in time. Shakira appeared in two television specials performing her songs during the COVID-19 pandemic, including Global Goal: Unite for Our Future (with " Sale el Sol") and The Disney Family Singalong: Volume II (with " Try Everything").

2021-present: Upcoming twelfth studio album and Dancing with Myself

In January 2021, Shakira sold her catalog of 145 songs to Hipgnosis Songs Fund. The company did not disclose the financial details of the sale. On 16 July 2021, Shakira released a single titled " Don't Wait Up". In December 2020, she was featured on Black Eyed Peas' single " Girl Like Me". On 21 April 2022, she released the song " Te Felicito" with singer Rauw Alejandro, as the lead single from her upcoming twelfth studio album. In June 2022, Shakira and Black Eyed Peas released their second collaboration titled " Don't You Worry" featuring David Guetta. In October 2022 Shakira released a collaboration with Ozuna titled " Monotonía".

Shakira confirmed in May 2022 that work on her upcoming album was finished and it would be an electronic infused album with hints of urban and rock music. She was honored by the Ivors Academy in the United Kingdom with the Ivor Novello Awards' Special Award for Songwriting celebrating her songwriting in both English and Spanish and paving the way for Latin artists. By the end of that month, the dance reality competition show, Dancing with Myself, on which Shakira served as an executive producer and co-creator, - along with Liza Koshy and Nick Jonas - premiered on NBC.

On 11 January 2023, Shakira released the single " Shakira: Bzrp Music Sessions, Vol. 53", a collaboration with Argentine DJ Bizarrap. The single reached record-breaking success on Spotify and YouTube. On February 24, 2023, Shakira was featured on Karol G's single ″ TQG″ which became Shakira's highest debuting single on the Hot 100, at number 7, whilst also debuting at number 1 on the Billboard Global 200, becoming both her and Karol G's first number one.

On her music, Shakira has said that, "my music, I think, is a fusion of many different elements. And I'm always experimenting. So I try not to limit myself, or put myself in a category, or... be the architect of my own jail." Shakira has frequently stated she is inspired by oriental music and Indian music, which influenced many of her earlier works. She has also been influenced by her Arab heritage, which was a major inspiration for her breakthrough world hit " Ojos Así". She told Portuguese TV, "Many of my movements belong to Arab culture." She also cites her parents as having been major contributors to her musical style. She is also strongly influenced by Andean music and South American folk music, using her native instrumentation for her Latin dance-pop songs.

Her earlier Spanish albums, including Pies Descalzos and Dónde Están los Ladrones? were a mix of folk music and Latin rock. Her cross-over English album,Laundry Service and later albums were influenced by pop rock and pop Latino. "Laundry Service" is primarily a pop rock album, but also draws influences from a variety of musical genres. The singer credited this to her mixed ethnicity, saying: "I am a fusion. That's my persona. I'm a fusion between black and white, between pop and rock, between cultures - between my Lebanese father and my mother's Spanish blood, the Colombian folklore and Arab dance I love and American music."

The Arabian and Middle Eastern music elements that exerted a high influence on Dónde Están los Ladrones? are also present in Laundry Service, most prominently on "Eyes Like Yours"/"Ojos Así". Musical styles from different South American countries surface on the album. Tango, a style of fast-paced ballroom dance that originated in Argentina, is evident on "Objection (Tango)", which also combines elements of rock and roll. The uptempo track features a guitar solo and a bridge in which Shakira delivers rap-like vocals.

She Wolf is primarily an electropop album that combines influences from the musical styles of various countries and regions, like Africa, Colombia, India, and the Middle East. Shakira termed the album as a "sonic experimental trip", and said that she researched folk music from different countries in order to "combine electronics with world sounds, tambourines, clarinets, oriental and Hindu music, dancehall, etc." Her 2010 album, , is a return to her beginnings containing ballads, rock songs, and Latin dance songs like " Loca". In 2017, Deutsche Welle's journalist Kate Müser commented on Shakira's "globalized sound": "[her] Latin beats, spiced with Middle Eastern and other world elements and made comfortably familiar by being churned through the pop machine, make you feel like a citizen of the world."

Influences

Led Zeppelin, Shakira's biggest influence early in her career

As a child, Shakira was influenced by rock music, listening heavily to rock bands like Led Zeppelin, the Beatles, Nirvana, the Police and U2, while her other influences included Gloria Estefan, Madonna, Sheryl Crow, Alanis Morissette, Marc Anthony, Meredith Brooks, and the Cure. She cited Depeche Mode's " Enjoy the Silence" as the song that first sparked her passion for pop music.

Shakira is well known for her dancing in her music videos and concerts. Her distinctive dancing style is said to combine Latin dancing with Middle Eastern belly dancing, which is derived from her Lebanese heritage, and her hip shaking is mentioned in songs, such as Fifth Harmony's "Brave Honest Beautiful". She is noted for usually employing minimal production, usually taking the stage with minimal makeup and natural hair, and without background dancers in her performances, preferring to focus on her vocals, dance moves, and stage presence. She often performs barefoot, a form of dance she learned as a young teen to overcome her shyness. She also mentioned in an MTV interview that she learned how to belly dance by trying to flip a coin with her belly.

Legacy and impact

Shakira is the first artist of the rock en español generation to become a star in the U.S. So for her, crossing over meant a linguistic, but not stylistic, switch. This allowed her to preserve a creative continuity regardless of language.

Shakira is a prominent figure in Latin music, commonly hailed as the 'Queen of Latin Music' for her successful crossover to the global market. The New York Times called her the "Titan of Latin Pop" for her unique and leading position in Latin music, saying: "Even as a new generation of Spanish-speaking artists are crossing over into American music's mainstream, Shakira's output stands alone". A similar comparative perspective was made by The Independent, who named Shakira an "International Phenom" for her global appeal and sales statistics, further elaborating with "To put her in perspective, other Latin exports such as Ricky Martin and Jennifer Lopez are mere minnows next to Shakira, both selling half the number of records she does". has deemed Shakira as "crossover phenom" for her unmatched success of crossover and one of the world's most powerful Latinas. Forbes further listed Shakira as one of the world's most powerful female celebrities. AllMusic's biographer Steve Huey described her as a "Wildly inventive diva who created a cross-cultural pop sound rooted in her native Colombia but encompassing nearly every territory in the world. [...] she wrote or co-wrote nearly all of her own material, and in the process gained a reputation as one of Latin music's most ambitiously poetic lyricists." Her unprecedented crossover has inspired other Latin American artists to attempt crossing over, one example is Mexican pop star Paulina Rubio, having saying "there's no question that Shakira opened doors in this country for artists like Rubio to succeed". Similarly, credits Shakira to have paved the way for other Latin artists to crossover, naming names like Maluma and J Balvin. After the crossover, her global and mainstream presence became big enough for Time magazine to call Shakira a "pop legend". She was marked as "one of the most influential artists of the 21st century" by . Throughout her career, Shakira has earned several titles, including "The Crossover Queen" by The Economist, "The Queen of World Cup" by , and "Latin America's Pop Queen" by . Billboard has also noted that Shakira's music videos have "redefined the role of dancing in music videos", while listing her as the best Latin female music video artist of all time. The Middle Eastern newspaper El Correo del Golfo credits Shakira with "having opened the way" for several Hispanic singers today.

The authors of Reggaeton, published by Duke University Press, credited Shakira for popularizing the genre in North America, Europe, and Asia, while the Public Broadcasting Service called her one of the three "most successful artists of the so-called Golden Age of Latin Music which reshaped America's cultural landscape for the twenty-first century". Alongside her impact on Latin and mainstream pop culture, Shakira has also impacted popular culture in the Arab World due to her popularity in the region. In a publication titled Popular Culture in the Arab World: Arts, Politics, and the Media, author Andrew Hammond credits Shakira for impacting and shifting the images of Arab pop stars such as Moroccan Samira Said and Lebanese Nawal Al Zoghbi, saying "[they] have shifted their image and sound in attempt to follow in her (Shakira's) footsteps".

In 1999 Shakira's MTV Unplugged became the program's first episode to be broadcast entirely in Spanish. The concert is also noted to be the first time a Latin pop act attempted an Unplugged, as well as the first Latina solo act to do so. In 2001 Shakira's " Whenever Wherever" music video was aired on MTV with both the English and Spanish versions. According to a spokesman for the channel, this is noted as "the first time that U.S. MTV has aired a Spanish-language video". Following Daddy Yankee's "Gasolina" by five months, " La Tortura" was one of the first full Spanish-language music videos to air on MTV without an English version. In 2005, Sanz and Shakira performed "La Tortura" at the MTV Video Music Awards. In 2006 " Hips Don't Lie" was selected as one of the greatest songs by 21st century female artists by National Public Radio, ranked at number 65. " Waka Waka (This Time for Africa)" was named by Billboard the best and most commercially successful World Cup song. Published by the US Bureau of International Information Programs, the journal Global Issues (2006) cited Shakira as an example of a celebrity "in today's globalized world" who "made it big by sharing the uniqueness of their talent and culture with the global community". In 2020, The New Zealand Herald found Shakira's longevity in the industry "particularly impressive given her ability to breach the lines of crossover, a feat not many artists have been able to achieve". A similar remark was made by magazine, when writing about Shakira's longevity and her being one of the few pre-digital era artists to successfully crack the digital-streaming era of music, penning "[Shakira] is a titan in the digital era of music where she devours billions of streams with her catalog".

In 2010, Google revealed that Shakira was the most searched female entertainer of the year. In 2020, Shakira was the most Googled musician of the year.

In December 2021 Shakira was named by Kiss FM as one of the most influential female artists of the 21st century highlighting her achievements in the international market.

Shakira has even received the admiration of intellectuals and writers such as Nobel Prize winner Gabriel García Márquez who has said "No one of any age can sing or dance with the innocent sensuality Shakira seems to have invented". Márquez wrote an essay exalting Shakira's "phenomenal musical talent", and "extraordinary maturity".

The newspaper El Correo del Golfo wrote that Shakira was the greatest exponent of Middle Eastern music in the West, citing her interest in Arabic music and dance.

Her influence has transcended the boundaries of pop culture, that she has become a socio-political influencer, and was named as one of the "World's Greatest Leaders" of 2017 by . The Guardian has written an extensive article about Shakira's impact on Colombia's social change, specifically in education, and her ability to discuss this issue with world leaders like Barack Obama, and Gordon Brown. Similarly The Independent has described Shakira as a "living proof that pop and politics mix" further noting that through her efforts and influence she is able to have "the ears of the global political elite".

In 2006, a six-tonne (6.6-short-ton), 5-metre-tall (16 ft) statue of Shakira was installed in her hometown Barranquilla in a park near Estadio Metropolitano Roberto Meléndez.

In July 2018 Shakira visited Tannourine in Lebanon which is the village of her paternal grandmother. During her visit, she visited the Cedars Reserve in Tannourine where a square in the forest was named after her. The square holds the name "Shakira Isabelle Mebarak".

Achievements

Shakira has received numerous awards and recognition for her work. She is the recipient of three Grammy Awards and fifteen Latin Grammy Awards- the most for a female artist. Shakira has sold more than 75 million records worldwide, making her one of world's best-selling music artists. By the time she released Laundry Service in 2001, she have already sold 10 million albums in Latin America according to Billboard. Three of her albums are among the best-selling Latin albums in the United States: Fijación Oral, Vol. 1 (8th), Dónde Están los Ladrones? (9th) and Pies Descalzos (23rd); she is the female artist with the highest number of best-selling Latin albums in the country. Fijación Oral, Vol. 1 became the best-selling Latin pop album and the second best-selling Latin album overall of the 2000s in the U.S. Dónde Están los Ladrones? is also one of the best-selling albums in Argentina, Chile, Colombia and Mexico; as well as Pies Descalzos is one of the best-selling albums in Brazil and Colombia.

Nielsen Broadcast Data Systems said that " Hips Don't Lie" was the most-played pop song in a single week in American radio history, being played 9,637 times in one week. This song makes Shakira the first artist in the history of the Billboard charts to reach the number-one spots on both the Top 40 Mainstream and a Latin chart in the same week. Additionally, she became the only artist from South America to reach the number-one spot on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100, the Australian ARIA chart, and the UK Singles Chart. Shakira is the female artist with most top-ten hits on the Billboard's Hot Latin Songs chart (35). Her song " La Tortura" at one time held the chart's record for most weeks appearing at number-one, with a total of 25 non-consecutive weeks (this record is currently held by the Luis Fonsi song " Despacito" with 56 weeks). She is also the act with most number-one songs on the Latin Digital Song Sales chart (16) and the female artist with most number-one hits on the Latin Airplay chart (21).

Nokia stated in 2010, that there were more Shakira music downloads in the prior year than for any other Latino artist in the last five years, and topped the Top 10 Latino downloads. In 2010, she was ranked number five on the 'Online Video's Most Viral Artists of 2010' with 404,118,932 views. In 2011, Shakira was honored at the Latin Grammys as Latin Recording Academy Person of the Year, and by the Harvard Foundation as Cultural Rhythms Artist of the Year. She also received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame located at 6270 Hollywood Blvd. Originally, she was to be given a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2004, but she turned the offer down. In 2012, she received the honor of Chevalier De L'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres. In 2014, Shakira became the first musical act to perform three times at the FIFA World Cup. In the same year, Aleiodes shakirae, a new species of parasitic wasp was named after her because it causes its host to "shake and wiggle". ranked Shakira on their list of " Top 100 World's Most Powerful Women" at number 40 in 2012, at 52 in 2013, and at 58 in 2014. In 2015 recognized Shakira as one of the most influential people on social media. Shakira and Argentine president Cristina Fernández de Kirchner were the only Latin influencers named on the list. More so, Time noted that Shakira has an "unparalleled platform" on social media where she promotes her philanthropy. In 2008, Shakira was named as the Honorary Chair of the Global Campaign for Education Global Action Week.

In 2018, Spotify included Shakira in the list of the top 10 most streamed female artists of the decade on the platform, making her the highest streamed Latin artist. In 2020, Shakira became the first female artist to have 4 songs from different decades to have over 100 million streams on Spotify, also marking her as the only artist with Spanish songs, the only Latin artist, and third overall after Michael Jackson and Eminem to achieve this milestone. In the same year, she broke the Vevo Certified Awards record, and set it at 37, becoming the artist with the most videos with over 100 million views. She is now worth $300 million.

Other ventures

Shakira has ventured into many other businesses and industries. She acted in the Colombian telenovela El Oasis in 1994, playing the character of Luisa Maria.

Shakira began her own beauty line, " S by Shakira", with parent company Puig, in 2010. Among the first perfumes it released included "S by Shakira" and "S by Shakira Eau Florale", along with lotions and body sprays. As of 2019, she has released 30 fragrances, not counting deluxe editions. On 17 September 2015, she was featured as a playable bird in the game Angry Birds POP! for a limited time, and also in a special tournament in the game Angry Birds Friends after a few weeks. On 15 October 2015, Love Rocks starring Shakira was the first video game that featured the pop star.

On 14 August 2015, at Disney's D23 Expo, it was announced that Shakira would play a character in the Disney animated movie in it, she would give voice to Gazelle, the biggest pop star in Zootopia. Shakira also contributed an original song to the film, titled " Try Everything", which was written and composed by Sia and Stargate. It opened to a record-breaking box office success in several countries and earned a worldwide gross of over $1 billion, making it the fourth highest-grossing film of 2016 and the 43rd highest-grossing film of all time.

In December 2021, it was announced that Shakira would be an executive producer for Dancing with Myself, an NBC dance competition series.

Philanthropy, humanitarian work and politics

Shakira, Alejandro Sanz and Juan Carlos I, The King of Spain, during the Ibero-American Summit of El Salvador

In 1997, Shakira founded the Pies Descalzos Foundation, a Colombian charity with special schools for poor children all around Colombia. It was funded by Shakira and other international groups and individuals. The name of the foundation was taken from Shakira's third studio album, Pies Descalzos, which she released in 1995. The foundation's main focus is on aid through education, and the organization has five schools across Colombia that provide education and meals for 4,000 children. On 27 April 2014 Shakira was honored with the Hero Award at the Radio Disney Music Awards for her Fundación Pies Descalzos work.

In 2005, Shakira became a founding member of Latin America in Solidarity Action, a coalition of artists and business leaders seeking to promote integrated early childhood public policies. In 2008, she served as the Honorary Chair of the Global Campaign for Education Global Action Week. Later, in 2010, she collaborated with the World Bank and the Barefoot Foundation to establish an initiative that distributes educational and developmental programs for children across Latin America.

Shakira is a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador and is one of their global representatives. On 3 April 2006, Shakira was honored at a UN ceremony for creating the Pies Descalzos Foundation. In March 2010, she was awarded a medal by the UN International Labour Organization in recognition of being, as UN Labour Chief Juan Somavía put it, a "true ambassador for children and young people, for quality education and social justice". In November 2010, after performing as the opening act of the MTV European Music Awards, the Colombian singer also received the MTV Free Your Mind award for her continuing dedication to improve access to education for all children around the world.

In the Spanish edition of the magazine , Shakira directed a few words to Sarkozy, "We are all gypsies". In the interview she made her viewpoint very clear: "What is happening now to them (the gypsies) will happen to our children and our children's children. We must turn to our citizens to act for the fundamental rights of human beings and condemn all that seems to us indictable", she declared.

In February 2011, the FC Barcelona Foundation and Pies descalzos reached an agreement for children's education through sport. Shakira was honored at the Latin Grammys as the Latin Recording Academy Person of the Year on 9 November 2011, for her philanthropy and contributions to Latin Music. Also in 2011, she was appointed by President Barack Obama to the President's Advisory Commission on Educational Excellence for Hispanics. The World Literacy Foundation announced Shakira as the recipient of the 2020 Global Literacy Award for "her significant contribution to the improvement of literacy for disadvantaged children around the world".

On 2 November 2018, during a visit to her birthplace, Barranquilla, for the construction of a school through her Barefoot Foundation (Pies Descalzos Foundation), Shakira spoke about the educational policies of the government under Ivan Duque (President of Colombia, 2018-2022). Speaking against the government's intentions to reduce the national education budget from 13% to 7%, she said, "This is unacceptable. It shows that instead of progressing forward we are moving backward. We need to invest more in education and we need to build more schools in places where there are none." She also talked about social inequality and unschooling. In 2020, Shakira was appointed by Prince William, Duke of Cambridge as a voters' council member for the Earthshot prize which provides 50 environmental pioneers with the funds needed to further their work in tackling major problems impacting the environment. In May 2020, Shakira donated more than 50,000 face masks and ten respirators to combat the COVID-19 pandemic in her hometown of Barranquilla. During the 2021 Colombian protests, Shakira condemned the violence and asked President Iván Duque Márquez to "immediately stop the human rights violations" and "restitute the value of human life above any political interest".

Personal life

Shakira began a relationship with Argentine lawyer Antonio de la Rúa in 2000. In a 2009 interview, Shakira stated their relationship already worked as a married couple, and that "they don't need papers for that".

After 10 years together, Shakira and de la Rúa separated in August 2010 in what she described as "a mutual decision to take time apart from our romantic relationship". She wrote that the couple "view this period of separation as temporary", with de la Rúa overseeing Shakira's "business and career interests as he has always done". As first reported in September 2012, de la Rúa sued Shakira in April 2013, asking for $100 million he believed he was owed after Shakira suddenly terminated her business partnership with him in October 2011. His lawsuit was dismissed by a Los Angeles County Superior Court judge in August 2013.

Shakira entered a relationship with the Spanish football player Gerard Piqué in 2011. Piqué, who is exactly ten years her junior, and Shakira met in spring 2010 after he appeared in the music video for Shakira's song " Waka Waka (This Time for Africa)", the official song of the 2010 FIFA World Cup. Shakira gave birth to the couple's first son, Milan, on 22 January 2013 in Barcelona, where the family took residence. Shakira gave birth to their second son, Sasha, on 29 January 2015. listed Shakira and Piqué in their list of "World's Most Powerful Couples". In June 2022, the couple confirmed in a joint statement that they were separating after being together for 11 years.

In 2020, Shakira announced her completion of an ancient philosophy course through the University of Pennsylvania, describing it as an impractical hobby of hers.

Tax controversy

In November 2017, Shakira was named in the Paradise Papers. It was revealed that she was the sole shareholder of a Malta-based company which was being used to transfer $30 million in music rights. Her attorneys insisted that her use of the company was entirely legal.

In 2018, due at least in part to information revealed in the Paradise Papers, Spanish authorities began an investigation into Shakira's finances. Prosecutors argued that she did not pay taxes in Spain between 2012 and 2014, during which time she was living in Spain with Piqué and their family, while Shakira argued that she maintained her primary residence in the Bahamas during that period and otherwise was touring internationally. In July 2021, a Spanish judge ruled that there was "evidence of criminality" sufficient for Shakira to be brought to trial on charges of tax fraud.

In 2021, the Pandora Papers showed that Shakira submitted applications for three offshore companies in 2019. Her representatives told LaSexta that this paperwork was not filed for purposes of establishing new companies but as part of the process of dissolving existing companies. They further claimed that the companies had no income or activities and that Spanish authorities had been made aware of their existence.

In July 2022, after not reaching a deal with the Spanish Prosecution Ministry, the singer decided to go to trial to prove her innocence. The prosecutor asked the judge for an eight-year prison sentence over six alleged tax fraud crimes. On 27 September 2022, a Spanish judge from Esplugues de Llobregat approved the tax fraud trial after prosecutors accused her of failing to pay 14.5 million euros ($13.9 million) in taxes. Shakira claims she has already paid all she owed plus 3 million euros ($2.8 million) as interest. A trial date was set for November 2023 after the presiding Barcelona judge, Ana Duro, received the necessary qualifying papers from both parties.

On 20 November 2023, at the start of the trial, Shakira settled the case by paying a €7.5m fine. In a statement she cited her well-being and its influence on her children as being factors in her decision.

Discography

Filmography

Television

References

Further reading

External links

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Shakira Isabel Mebarak Ripoll ( shə-KEER-ə , Spanish: ; born 2 February 1977), known mononymously as Shakira, is a Colombian singer and songwriter. Born and raised in Barranquilla, she has been referred to as the " Queen of Latin Music" and has been praised for her musical versatility.

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My favorite song out of all of them was Gabriela by KATSEYE, because I really liked the way the bass sounded, and the vocals were very good too. Also it's one of my favorite songs already hehe.