The Cinderella Diva

Cayla Mounce

Mrs. Hannaford

English IIIB

February 21, 2011

The Cinderella Diva

"If you see me just as a princess then you misunderstand who I am and what I have been through," states Mariah Carey. People only see Mariah us the successful woman she has become, but no one really knows the girl she once was. She is an inspiration to young girls for her intriguing story of only growing up with her mother and brother to support her, how she began her career, and all of her accomplishments she has made.

Looking at Mariah you couldn't even imagine that her family was torn apart. When Mariah was 3 years old her parents divorced. It's not plain to see but Mariah is Irish-American, half Venezuelan and half African American and this is what had torn her family apart. As a multiracial family, Mariah and her family were always dealing with racial slurs, hostility and even violence. The strain of it all tore the two parents apart. It's not easy for any kid to grow up with only one parent to support her. The kids usually end up being trouble makers, but that wasn't Mariah's case at all. By the time she was in junior high, she had begun to write her own lyrics. In high school Mariah had the nickname "Mirage" because she was hardly ever in class trying to crack into the music industry. Mariah had stars in her eyes and an astounding voice backing up those dreams, but talent doesn't always equal superstardom.

Mariah had a few other things going for her, though. She was able to grab a gig working as a backup singer for Brenda K. Starr, who was so impressed with Mariah's voice that she volunteered to pass along her demo tape. Starr passed it to Tommy Mottola, a musical mastermind, the man behind Sony Music and Columbia Records. Her first #1 hit song was "Vision of Love". . Mariah has co-written all but one of her number one hits, and has co-produced almost all of her chart-topping singles. Mariah's range of songs includes pop, soul, R&B, hip-hop and gospel. She is the only artist to have had a number one single for every year of the 1990's. "Heartbreaker," the first single from her album "Rainbow", made music history on September 29, 1999, when it became her 14th number one single on the Billboard Hot 100 Singles chart, something only accomplished by the Beatles and Elvis Presley. Who knew this girl who grew up with almost nothing now had everything.