Mariah Carey on Billboard award: I don’t think of myself as an icon

Mariah Carey

While she has built herself a formidable career and broke all sorts of records as a singer-songwriter, Mariah Carey also had her fair share of “drama” in her 30 years in the music industry.

“All the ups and downs of my career—we have all seen them. We all make mistakes. There have been a few memes,” jested the pop star as she accepted the Icon Award at the recent Billboard Music Awards, where she also performed a medley of some of her well-loved hits, including “Always Be My Baby” and “We Belong Together.”

Breakdown

In her early 30s, Mariah, now 49, suffered from a string of personal and professional troubles that eventually led to a physical and emotional breakdown.

More recently, the singer got a lot of flak for her occasional vocal mishaps. Last year, she revealed that she has bipolar disorder.

But through it all, music and her fiercely loyal fans have been her “saving grace.”

“They have lifted me out of the depths of hell and brought me back with their devotion and love,” she said. “I want to thank everyone who has been with me on this journey, through the highs and lows, through the struggles.”

Billboard records

Mariah holds numerous Billboard records, among them having 18 No. 1 songs, the most of any solo artist; she has the longest, cumulative reign at No. 1 at 79 weeks; and she had managed to score a No. 1 hit for 11 consecutive years, making her the sole artist to reach the top spot in every year of a decade (1990s).

“Icon? I really don’t think of myself in that way. I started making music out of a necessity—to survive and to express myself,” she said.

“I wanted to create something so I could feel worthy of existing. And if I have learned anything … anything at all in this life, it’s that truly all things are possible with God,” the R&B artist added.

‘Standing tall’

She also dedicated the award to everyone who keeps “believing” and “standing tall” amid adversity.

“And to anyone who has ever told me that a song I wrote helped save his life, I thank you because you saved mine … I will be eternally grateful,” the singer said. —ALLAN POLICARPIO