An uproar of praise accompanied Mariah Carey's 1990 musical debut. Her first single, "Vision of Love," immediately established her as a major talent and showcased her trademark vocal sound: a masterful, multi-octave range, acrobatic phrasing, ornamented vocal trills, and uncanny, piercing notes in her upper vocal register. It was a sound that was clearly influenced by soul music tradition, yet one that Carey made uniquely her own. Unlike many popular singers, she wrote or co-wrote much of her music. Because of her beautiful and visually striking appearance, she gained additional popularity as a sex symbol, appearing continually—often seductively or even scantily dressed—in national magazines. She found great success year after year, following her debut, and was, for nearly a decade, America's most popular musician.

Further Reading:

Whitburn, Joel. The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits. New York, Billboard Publications, 1996.