Pop diva Mariah Carey has made a successful comeback with 'Charmbracelet', the first on Carey's MonarC imprint via Island Def Jam. Despite her 2001 soundtrack disappointment 'Glitter', Mariah Carey, in fact, has been the best-selling female artist of the past decade.

Mariah Carey was born March 27, 1970 in Huntington, N.Y. to Irish-American mother and African-Venezuelan father. With great influence from her opera singer mother, Carey was determined to be a singer at the age of three. Despite her parents' divorce shortly after, she never lost her dream and was taught the fundamentals of vocal from her mother in her childhood. Carey grew up listening to such R&B and soul legends as Aretha Franklin, Jackson 5 and Stevie Wonder, and spent most of time singing to them on her own. By the time she was a high-school student, she wrote many songs with her friends and often skipped school to sing at local clubs.

Soon after graduating from the high school, she moved to New York in pursuit of a professional singing career. While working at a restaurant, she co-wrote songs with her songwriting partner Ben Margulies and sent demos to record companie. Her first job in music business was a backing vocalist for Brenda K. Starr, who is best known for her 1987 hit 'I Still Believe' (Carey later covered the song on '#1s' saluting her). Starr one day handed Carey's demo tapes to Columbia Records president Tommy Mottola. He was so struck by her talent that he immediately signed a deal with Carey in 1990.

As a warm-up for the highly touted debut, Carey appeared on NBA's opening ceremony and sang 'America Is Beautiful', making a sensation across the U.S. Her debut single 'Vision Of Love' immediately reached No.1 and stayed on the top for four weeks. She scored five consecutive No.1 singles ('Vision Of Love', 'Love Takes Time', 'Someday', 'I Don't Wanna Cry' and 'Emotion') and her self-titled debut album also became a big hit, giving her Best Female Vocalist and Best New Artist at the 1991 Grammy.

Throughout the '90s Carey had hit singles, platinum albums and numerous awards, and turned out to be the best-selling artist ahead of Michael Jackson or Madonna. She continued her success with her sophomore 'Emotions' (1991), 'MTV Unplugged Ep' (1992, including a cover of 'I'll Be There') and 'Music Box' (1993, including her best-known ballad 'Hero' and a cover of Nelson, 'Without You'). She also released her first Christmas album 'Merry Christmas' in 1994, which featured a smash 'All I Want Fot Christmas Is You'. Her 1995 fourth studio set 'Daydream' also went platinum, spawning the chart-topping singles 'Fantasy' and 'One Sweet Day'. The latter cut, in collaboration with Boyz II Men, topped the chart for record 16 weeks. 'Butterfly', released shortly after the divorce with Mottola, marked departure from her previous pop-oriented style, infusing hip-hop and club music drastically. The third cut from the set and her 13th chart-topping hit 'My All' made her the artist who has the most number one singles in US, only behind Elvis Presley and the Beatles. On 1998 she released a greatest hits collection, '#1s'. The set is comprised of her 13 No.1 hits as well as four new tracks including the aforementioned cover of Brenda K. Starr, 'I Still Believe' and a duet with fellow diva Whiney Houston, 'When You Believe'. The latter was written for the soundtrack to the animated feature 'Prince Of Egypt'.

Two years after 1999 'Rainbow', Carey left the Columbia, home to the pop queen for ten years. She signed a multimillion-dollar deal with the Virgin and released the soundtrack 'Glitter' to her starring feature film 'All That Glitters'. Unfortunately, both the film and the soundtrack fell far short of expectations, leaving her mentally exhausted.

She actually needed a rest, as she later confessed. She kept on running over the past 10 years and had no time looking back. Although the Virgin cancelled the multi-album contract with her during her one-year break, she received an offer from the Universal Music Group and formed her own MonarC label, an imprint of Def jam Records.

After one-year hiatus from recording, Mariah Carey returned in late 2002with 'Charmbracelet'. She proved on the album that her stunning vocal and outstanding songwriting are evident as ever. On the first cut from the set, 'Through The Rain', she expresses herself with confidence, "I can make it through the rain/I can stand up once again on my own and I know that I'm strong enough to mend."

In advance of her summer North American tour with Ashanti opening for her, Carey will be coming to Japan to play some arena and stadium dates. Her remix album 'Remixes' and a new expanded edition of 'Charmbracelet' will be released to coincide with the tour. Look for the great pop diva to show her "ever-glittering" talent again.