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© Getty Images
0 / 33 Fotos
Her bedroom secret - Nick Cannon once revealed that his then-wife liked to have her own music playing when they had intimate relations.
© Getty Images
1 / 33 Fotos
Her own Mariah Carey-themed party
- For her 46th birthday, the singer reportedly threw herself a Mariah Carey-themed party, where guests were told to dress up as their favorite version of the diva.
© Getty Images
2 / 33 Fotos
Her daring Dolly Parton Challenge
- She tweeted her entry in the Dolly Parton Challenge putting a photo of her and ex-husband Tommy Mottola as her LinkedIn, her and Nick Cannon with their kids for Facebook, her and then-boyfriend Bryan Tanaka (pictured) for Instagram, and a sexy throwback bikini photo just of herself for Tinder. Only Mariah could pull off a move like that!
© Getty Images
3 / 33 Fotos
Her rocks are always top
- Nick Cannon reportedly gave Mariah Carey a gorgeous diamond ring worth US$2.5 million, but her ex-billionaire fiancé, James Packer, topped the list in 2016 with the blinding 35-carat emerald-cut diamond he gave her, reported to cost $10 million.
© Getty Images
4 / 33 Fotos
She refused the 10-year Challenge
- Stars jumped on this trend, posting photos of their current selves next to images from a decade ago. Instead of that, Carey published two of the exact same photos side by side of herself and her dog, writing, "I don't get this 10 year challenge, time is not something I acknowledge."
© Getty Images
5 / 33 Fotos
"I don't know her"
- Mariah Carey is unsurprisingly the woman behind what has been called "pop's shadiest power move," which involves pretending her rivals don't exist, or that their impact on the world has been so insignificant she hasn't come across it.
© Getty Images
6 / 33 Fotos
Her first rival was no less than J.Lo
- In the early 00s, when asked about her pop rival by paparazzi, Mariah shook her head and innocently answered, "I don't know her," despite the fact that the two had previously had beef over a sample that J.Lo used and that Carey had already bagged.
© Getty Images
7 / 33 Fotos
The Bottle Cap Challenge
- Carey won another viral trend of 2019, which involved creatively removing a bottle cap. She winds up as if she's ready to karate chop the lid, then hits a note so high and full of vibrato, it sends the cap spinning!
© Getty Images
8 / 33 Fotos
Fashionably late
- Released in 1994, 'All I Want for Christmas Is You' is arguably the most popular Christmas classic of modern times, but it only hit no. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 2019, a fashionable quarter-century late to the party.
© Getty Images
9 / 33 Fotos
Spreading her reign over decades
- With her Christmas classic topping the charts at the beginning of 2020 as well, Carey became the first artist ever to top the Billboard charts in four different decades.
© Getty Images
10 / 33 Fotos
She came up with 'Hero' on her way to the bathroom - Tommy Mottola had asked her to write it for Gloria Estefan, and she replied that she "walked out, went to the restroom, came back, and [she] came up with the melody and the lyric—'and then a hero comes along'—at the same time."
© Getty Images
11 / 33 Fotos
That 1992 MTV Unplugged performance
- When critics began accusing Carey of being a studio artist, incapable of delivering the same quality vocals live (especially the whistle), she decided to book an appearance on MTV Unplugged. Her performance of 'Emotions' shut them all down.
© Getty Images
12 / 33 Fotos
Her fandom is dedicated
- Her Lambs are dedicated fans. Their greatest achievement was in 2018, when they took Carey's biggest flop, the 'Glitter' soundtrack which accompanied a very poorly received film, and made it jump to no. 1 on the iTunes charts in a #JusticeforGlitter campaign. Even her flops are hits!
© Getty Images
13 / 33 Fotos
She bathes in milk
- Mariah Carey isn't about to be outdone by Cleopatra. She told The Guardian that she occasionally uses cold milk as a beauty treatment for her body.
© Getty Images
14 / 33 Fotos
Her Twitter bio
- In the spot where people usually write their location, she wrote, "Citizen of the World Dahhhling."
© Getty Images
15 / 33 Fotos
She has the most rumors about her
- Among the most outrageous, in 2009 it was reported she asked to be surrounded by 20 white kittens and 100 white doves as a requirement for her appearance at a Christmas light event. It was also rumored that she would require a new toilet seat and gold taps whenever she stayed in a hotel.
© Getty Images
16 / 33 Fotos
She set records for others to break
- She was the first star to have their first five singles top the US charts.
© Getty Images
17 / 33 Fotos
She's broken the internet
- Carey's infamous New Year's Eve performance was every diva's nightmare, and yet like any good diva, she broke the internet.
© Getty Images
18 / 33 Fotos
Her princess wedding dress
- At 19, she had snuck into a high-up party and handed her tape to Sony boss Tommy Mottola. He spent two weeks after trying to find her. Two years later, they had put out her first album, and three years after that they were married.
© Getty Images
19 / 33 Fotos
When asked what music she likes most... - She told a Guardian reporter, "Silence!" She was, of course, joking.
© Getty Images
20 / 33 Fotos
Real recognizes real
- She clarified that "Stevie Wonder is my favorite artist of all time, and Aretha Franklin is one of my favorite singers ever. I love Prince, Michael Jackson."
© Getty Images
21 / 33 Fotos
The moment she made it - She told V Magazine she realized she made it when she first heard her song on the radio. "It flipped me out. I couldn't believe it. I lived through that experience; I wouldn't trade it."
© Getty Images
22 / 33 Fotos
Color-coded diet
- One of this diva's strangest habits allegedly includes eating purple foods only for three days of the week.
© Getty Images
23 / 33 Fotos
She ensures her team also gets the diva treatment
- One chef who has worked with Carey revealed she had to go to local food markets for the best ingredients everywhere they traveled, once even getting specific clams from a Tokyo fish market so Carey could cook spaghetti with clams for her entourage.
© Getty Images
24 / 33 Fotos
She got paid $18 million for her TV stint
- Carey appeared as a judge on 'American Idol' and made quite a pretty penny for it, despite describing it as the worst experience of her life. Would you complain about US$18 million?
© Getty Images
25 / 33 Fotos
Divas have diva enemies
- Mariah Carey and Nicki Minaj famously butt heads, even on-air of 'American Idol.' They never patched things up, but announced their departure from the show on the same day. Carey later claimed, "It was like hell, going to work every day in hell with satan."
© Getty Images
26 / 33 Fotos
She opened up about her mental illness
- In 2018, the star spoke about having been diagnosed with bipolar disorder 17 years prior.
© Getty Images
27 / 33 Fotos
It started after her 2001 appearance on MTV's 'TRL'
- In 2001, Carey made an impromptu appearance on 'Total Request Live,' where she showed up uninvited on the live show with an ice-cream cart, and removed her top, claiming this was her therapy. Soon after this, she announced she'd had a breakdown.
© Getty Images
28 / 33 Fotos
She has spoken on biracial issues
- A 1990 Playboy article hailed Carey as a "white girl who can sing," to which she took offense. Her mother is a white Irish-American, but her father is African American and Afro-Venezuelan, and he was reportedly upset by those comments.
© Getty Images
29 / 33 Fotos
She has spoken on biracial issues
- Carey describes having something of an identity crisis as she was growing up, as she rarely felt accepted, and never felt like she fit in because she was never white or black enough.
© Getty Images
30 / 33 Fotos
Her diva demeanor comes from a poor background
- Talking to Pitchfork about her album 'Caution,' Carey revealed that she didn't grow up with a lot of money, and school was hard because she had so little but her mother chose to live in predominantly white, wealthier areas—where people were terrified to see who her father was.
© Getty Images
31 / 33 Fotos
On her diva status
- She told Pitchfork, "I mean, look, it's part of me. If you're gonna get dressed up and do a show, why not just have fun and go there?"
© Getty Images
32 / 33 Fotos
© Getty Images
0 / 33 Fotos
Her bedroom secret - Nick Cannon once revealed that his then-wife liked to have her own music playing when they had intimate relations.
© Getty Images
1 / 33 Fotos
Her own Mariah Carey-themed party
- For her 46th birthday, the singer reportedly threw herself a Mariah Carey-themed party, where guests were told to dress up as their favorite version of the diva.
© Getty Images
2 / 33 Fotos
Her daring Dolly Parton Challenge
- She tweeted her entry in the Dolly Parton Challenge putting a photo of her and ex-husband Tommy Mottola as her LinkedIn, her and Nick Cannon with their kids for Facebook, her and then-boyfriend Bryan Tanaka (pictured) for Instagram, and a sexy throwback bikini photo just of herself for Tinder. Only Mariah could pull off a move like that!
© Getty Images
3 / 33 Fotos
Her rocks are always top
- Nick Cannon reportedly gave Mariah Carey a gorgeous diamond ring worth US$2.5 million, but her ex-billionaire fiancé, James Packer, topped the list in 2016 with the blinding 35-carat emerald-cut diamond he gave her, reported to cost $10 million.
© Getty Images
4 / 33 Fotos
She refused the 10-year Challenge
- Stars jumped on this trend, posting photos of their current selves next to images from a decade ago. Instead of that, Carey published two of the exact same photos side by side of herself and her dog, writing, "I don't get this 10 year challenge, time is not something I acknowledge."
© Getty Images
5 / 33 Fotos
"I don't know her"
- Mariah Carey is unsurprisingly the woman behind what has been called "pop's shadiest power move," which involves pretending her rivals don't exist, or that their impact on the world has been so insignificant she hasn't come across it.
© Getty Images
6 / 33 Fotos
Her first rival was no less than J.Lo
- In the early 00s, when asked about her pop rival by paparazzi, Mariah shook her head and innocently answered, "I don't know her," despite the fact that the two had previously had beef over a sample that J.Lo used and that Carey had already bagged.
© Getty Images
7 / 33 Fotos
The Bottle Cap Challenge
- Carey won another viral trend of 2019, which involved creatively removing a bottle cap. She winds up as if she's ready to karate chop the lid, then hits a note so high and full of vibrato, it sends the cap spinning!
© Getty Images
8 / 33 Fotos
Fashionably late
- Released in 1994, 'All I Want for Christmas Is You' is arguably the most popular Christmas classic of modern times, but it only hit no. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 2019, a fashionable quarter-century late to the party.
© Getty Images
9 / 33 Fotos
Spreading her reign over decades
- With her Christmas classic topping the charts at the beginning of 2020 as well, Carey became the first artist ever to top the Billboard charts in four different decades.
© Getty Images
10 / 33 Fotos
She came up with 'Hero' on her way to the bathroom - Tommy Mottola had asked her to write it for Gloria Estefan, and she replied that she "walked out, went to the restroom, came back, and [she] came up with the melody and the lyric—'and then a hero comes along'—at the same time."
© Getty Images
11 / 33 Fotos
That 1992 MTV Unplugged performance
- When critics began accusing Carey of being a studio artist, incapable of delivering the same quality vocals live (especially the whistle), she decided to book an appearance on MTV Unplugged. Her performance of 'Emotions' shut them all down.
© Getty Images
12 / 33 Fotos
Her fandom is dedicated
- Her Lambs are dedicated fans. Their greatest achievement was in 2018, when they took Carey's biggest flop, the 'Glitter' soundtrack which accompanied a very poorly received film, and made it jump to no. 1 on the iTunes charts in a #JusticeforGlitter campaign. Even her flops are hits!
© Getty Images
13 / 33 Fotos
She bathes in milk
- Mariah Carey isn't about to be outdone by Cleopatra. She told The Guardian that she occasionally uses cold milk as a beauty treatment for her body.
© Getty Images
14 / 33 Fotos
Her Twitter bio
- In the spot where people usually write their location, she wrote, "Citizen of the World Dahhhling."
© Getty Images
15 / 33 Fotos
She has the most rumors about her
- Among the most outrageous, in 2009 it was reported she asked to be surrounded by 20 white kittens and 100 white doves as a requirement for her appearance at a Christmas light event. It was also rumored that she would require a new toilet seat and gold taps whenever she stayed in a hotel.
© Getty Images
16 / 33 Fotos
She set records for others to break
- She was the first star to have their first five singles top the US charts.
© Getty Images
17 / 33 Fotos
She's broken the internet
- Carey's infamous New Year's Eve performance was every diva's nightmare, and yet like any good diva, she broke the internet.
© Getty Images
18 / 33 Fotos
Her princess wedding dress
- At 19, she had snuck into a high-up party and handed her tape to Sony boss Tommy Mottola. He spent two weeks after trying to find her. Two years later, they had put out her first album, and three years after that they were married.
© Getty Images
19 / 33 Fotos
When asked what music she likes most... - She told a Guardian reporter, "Silence!" She was, of course, joking.
© Getty Images
20 / 33 Fotos
Real recognizes real
- She clarified that "Stevie Wonder is my favorite artist of all time, and Aretha Franklin is one of my favorite singers ever. I love Prince, Michael Jackson."
© Getty Images
21 / 33 Fotos
The moment she made it - She told V Magazine she realized she made it when she first heard her song on the radio. "It flipped me out. I couldn't believe it. I lived through that experience; I wouldn't trade it."
© Getty Images
22 / 33 Fotos
Color-coded diet
- One of this diva's strangest habits allegedly includes eating purple foods only for three days of the week.
© Getty Images
23 / 33 Fotos
She ensures her team also gets the diva treatment
- One chef who has worked with Carey revealed she had to go to local food markets for the best ingredients everywhere they traveled, once even getting specific clams from a Tokyo fish market so Carey could cook spaghetti with clams for her entourage.
© Getty Images
24 / 33 Fotos
She got paid $18 million for her TV stint
- Carey appeared as a judge on 'American Idol' and made quite a pretty penny for it, despite describing it as the worst experience of her life. Would you complain about US$18 million?
© Getty Images
25 / 33 Fotos
Divas have diva enemies
- Mariah Carey and Nicki Minaj famously butt heads, even on-air of 'American Idol.' They never patched things up, but announced their departure from the show on the same day. Carey later claimed, "It was like hell, going to work every day in hell with satan."
© Getty Images
26 / 33 Fotos
She opened up about her mental illness
- In 2018, the star spoke about having been diagnosed with bipolar disorder 17 years prior.
© Getty Images
27 / 33 Fotos
It started after her 2001 appearance on MTV's 'TRL'
- In 2001, Carey made an impromptu appearance on 'Total Request Live,' where she showed up uninvited on the live show with an ice-cream cart, and removed her top, claiming this was her therapy. Soon after this, she announced she'd had a breakdown.
© Getty Images
28 / 33 Fotos
She has spoken on biracial issues
- A 1990 Playboy article hailed Carey as a "white girl who can sing," to which she took offense. Her mother is a white Irish-American, but her father is African American and Afro-Venezuelan, and he was reportedly upset by those comments.
© Getty Images
29 / 33 Fotos
She has spoken on biracial issues
- Carey describes having something of an identity crisis as she was growing up, as she rarely felt accepted, and never felt like she fit in because she was never white or black enough.
© Getty Images
30 / 33 Fotos
Her diva demeanor comes from a poor background
- Talking to Pitchfork about her album 'Caution,' Carey revealed that she didn't grow up with a lot of money, and school was hard because she had so little but her mother chose to live in predominantly white, wealthier areas—where people were terrified to see who her father was.
© Getty Images
31 / 33 Fotos
On her diva status
- She told Pitchfork, "I mean, look, it's part of me. If you're gonna get dressed up and do a show, why not just have fun and go there?"
© Getty Images
32 / 33 Fotos
Mariah Carey's most iconic moments
Heartbroken, the singer has announced her mother and sister died on the same day
© Getty Images
Pop singer Mariah Carey has revealed that her mother, Patricia, and her sister, Alison, both passed away on the same day.
“My heart is broken that I’ve lost my mother this past weekend,” the Grammy winner said. “Sadly, in a tragic turn of events, my sister lost her life on the same day." In her 2020 memoir, 'The Meaning of Mariah Carey', the singer described her complicated relationships with her mother and sister. She wrote about frequent discussions with her mother and accused her sister of placing her in dangerous situations during her childhood.
Mariah Carey is arguably the most famous diva in the music business, and she has been for decades—because divas don't just fade into the background. With a vocal range said to span up to seven octaves, giving us that unbelievable whistle register, her elevated status is quite justified. She's given the world 15 studio albums, some of the most intense and brilliant shade, dreams bigger than some of us could ever imagine, and a degree of luxury that we should all aspire to. But she's so much more than a diva, and in fact some of her greatest diva moments have been pulling the curtain back on what it's like behind the dazzle and diamonds.
Intrigued? Click through to celebrate her most iconic moments.
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