Mariah Carey's voice spans more than five octaves, from alto to notes that are beyond soprano. That's special, as most singers are trained within a three-octave range. She was discovered when she was just 18 by Tommy Mottola, then-president of Columbia Records, and released her first album in 1990. It produced four No.1 singles. Mariah was a hit.
But by 2001, Mariah's world was cracking. She had split from her first husband, Mottola, and from Columbia Records. Mariah also made a surprise appearance on the MTV show "Total Request Live," where she passed out free popsicles from an ice-cream cart while stripping off an oversized T-shirt. She explained that her surprise appearance was her "therapy" and repeatedly told screaming fans and host Carson Daly, "You like this."
Whether Mariah's appearance was a publicity stunt or a sign of her instability, there's no disputing that, after her MTV performance and subsequent messages left on her Web site, Mariah was later hospitalized for a "physical and emotional collapse." After two weeks in psychiatric care, she was released from the hospital.