Mariah Carey (born March 27, 1969 or 1970) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and record producer. Referred to as the "Songbird Supreme" by Guinness World Records, she is noted for her five-octave vocal range, melismatic singing style, and signature use of the whistle register.
She rose to fame in 1990 after signing to Columbia Records and releasing her eponymous debut album, which topped the U.S. Billboard 200 for eleven consecutive weeks. Soon after, Carey became the only artist ever to have their first five singles reach number one on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart, from "Vision of Love" to "Emotions".
Brenda Lee on Hitting No. 1 With ‘Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree,’ After Record-Breaking 65-Year Climb: ‘You Can’t Keep a Good Song Down’
variety.comChris Willman Senior Music Writer and Chief Music Critic It’s hard to quite think of someone who was as big a veritable child star as Brenda Lee was in the late ’50s and early ’60s a “late bloomer.” Nor can “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree” really be considered an underdog song, after its accrual of quintuple-platinum sales over the decades.
And yet it’s spent the last several years peaking at No. 2 each December, after spending most of its lifetime not annually charting at all.
Now it’s finally No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, 65 years after its release. The previous record-holder for the longest climb to the top?
Mariah Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas Is You,” which took a mere 25 years to accomplish what took “Rockin'” nearly three times as long.
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