Think You Have Mariah Figured Out? There's A Whole Lot More To Her

Mariah Carey has long reigned as a pop super-diva – her comfort zone full-blown romantic ballads and hip hop soul grooves. But she's more transgressive than most recognise. Indeed, Carey may have destroyed the '90s adult contemporary R&B genre even as she expanded and transcended it.

Previously known as 'easy listening', adult contemporary (AC) originated as a US radio format in the '60s. It generated myriad offshoots – like AC R&B, basically soul-pop. Inevitably, this crystallised into a genre and then an aesthetic. The style is middle-of-the-road R&B – being more pop (or crossover) than the hip hop-driven urban music. AC R&B is traditional, melodic and vocal-based. It leans towards power ballads, with some dance. Often the listenership is older. Crucially, AC R&B is distinct from the 'quiet storm' idiom epitomised by Luther Vandross, Sade and Toni Braxton with their late-night jazz, R&B and soul jams. Nevertheless, they do interconnect.

The AC R&B movement found its Queen of Queens in Whitney Houston – a wholesome starlet from New Jersey. Houston, who'd sung in church, was signed to Arista Records by industry legend Clive Davis. In 1985, she presented her eponymous debut, its initial single the slow-burning You Give Good Love. Houston was one of the earliest black female artists to secure rotation on MTV. But she achieved iconic status in 1992. Houston portrayed a stylised version of herself in the box office triumph The Bodyguard opposite Kevin Costner and dominated the soundtrack. She flexed her melismatic skills on an implausible rendition of Dolly Parton's I Will Always Love You, which became a mega-hit – and her signature song. The Bodyguard won the Grammy for Album Of The Year. 

In the '90s, Houston was joined by Carey and the French-Canadian Celine Dion – the trio of divas now among the best-selling female artists ever. There were also vocal groups like Philly's Boyz II Men, the AC R&B counterpart to those urban 'bad boys' Jodeci. BIIM topped global charts in 1992 with End Of The Road. Certain songwriters, composers and producers would be attached to AC R&B: the veteran David Foster (who contributed to Dion's English language premiere, Unison), Walter Afanasieff, Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds, and Diane Warren. Many an R&B act relied on Warren to write them surefire pop hits (Aaliyah recorded her The One I Gave My Heart To). And Hollywood latched onto this new mode with its crossover demographics. In 1991 Dion duetted with the quiet storm fave Peabo Bryson on the schmaltzy, Afanasieff-guided theme to Disney's animated movie Beauty And The Beast, receiving an Oscar. But, though AC R&B was a commercial phenomenon, (rock) critics loathed its supposed pretence, sentimentality and slick production. Alas, Houston, Carey and Dion fought for credibility.

In some ways, AC R&B has been problematically gendered, with 'mature' female artists like Mary J Blige, the Queen of Hip Hop Soul, automatically relegated into the niche simply because she's no longer 'buzz' – misogynist ageism rampant. Ironically, Blige enjoyed an early AC R&B hit with Not Gon' Cry off the Babyface-supervised Waiting To Exhale OST, eclipsing Houston. A chastened Madonna switched to soft R&B after the backlash to her Erotica phase, teaming with Babyface for the delicate Take A Bow.

But Carey ruptured the AC R&B genre in 1995. She had the Wu-Tang Clan's Ol' Dirty Bastard rap on a Bad Boy remix of the single Fantasy – to her label's disquiet. The story behind the seminal collab lately went viral when blogger Andrew Baber tweeted extracts from a two-year-old Billboard feature, highlighting ODB's eccentricity. Yet the remix's immediate impact was actually more disruptive. 

In fact, Carey had already tested the boundaries of AC R&B. She was able to exert subtle control over her music as a writer/producer herself. The New Yorker was recruited for Columbia by future husband Tommy Mottola. In 1990, Carey issued her self-titled debut, with Vision Of Love the first of several hits showcasing a five octave-range. She recorded with Houston's producer Narada Michael Walden and his student Afanasieff. (Today, the album sounds dated with its crunchy guitar solos.) Carey branched out on her sophomore, Emotions, connecting with Robert Clivilles and David Cole of the house outfit C+C Music Factory. Next, she gravitated to R&B on Music Box, while tracking the pop Hero with Afanasieff. On 1995's Daydream, the singer embraced hip hop. Carey suggested to her studio cohort, Dave Hall, that they sample the New Wave bop Genius Of Love, by the Talking Heads spin-off Tom Tom Club, for Fantasy. Still, Carey kept her old fanbase onside, soliciting Boyz II Men for One Sweet Day. And, into her retro remakes, she recast Journey's rock ballad Open Arms.

Carey made her boldest album, Butterfly, as a 'fairytale' marriage to Mottola fractured. She worked extensively with hip hop producers – including Puff Daddy, Stevie J and Q-Tip on the single Honey. Most avant was Breakdown with… Bone Thugs-n-Harmony. Above all, a liberated Carey unveiled a fresher, sexier homegirl image. More than Blige, she universalised hip hop soul. But Carey did cut the breathy Latin torch song My All with Afanasieff. Eventually, she left Sony for a lucrative, albeit ill-fated, Virgin deal. Carey's career faltered with 2001's Glitter, a bio-pic accompanied by an '80s-influenced soundtrack that critics unjustly lambasted. Her fortunes were restored in the mid-noughties with The Emancipation Of Mimi – its apex the neo-soul Fly Like A Bird.

Post-Fantasy sensation, AC R&B steadily declined. In 1998, Carey duetted with Houston on the monumental – and exquisitely performed – gospel-pop tune When You Believe, for DreamWorks' The Prince Of Egypt. Inexplicably, the pairing of these vocal innovators under-whelmed consumers and critics. Aspiring AC R&B stars struggled. Those female vocalists set to follow Houston, Carey or Dion never experienced parallel success – from Quincy Jones' Canadian prodigy Tamia to Foster's protege Jordan Hill to Puff Johnson. Houston's rightful heir, Johnson visited Australia in the mid-'90s to promote her sole album, Miracle, home to the sublime Forever More. Tragically, she died from cancer in 2013 at 40.

Regardless, Carey's contemporaries emulated her urban manoeuvres. Houston linked with Rodney "Darkchild" Jerkins, Wyclef Jean and Missy Elliott for 1998's comeback, My Love Is Your Love. Even the conservative Dion duetted with (the now-cancelled!) R Kelly on I'm Your Angel – added to his double-album R. On her last major outing, Loved Me Back To Life, the chanteuse channelled Adele – and covered Daniel Merriweather's song with the Brit, Water And A Flame. Sia penned the LP's title-cut. 

These days AC R&B is primarily associated with reality competition shows like American Idol, The X Factor andThe Voice – a haven for wannabe Whitneys and Mariahs. Television introduced us to Jennifer Hudson, the Brit Leona Lewis and our own Guy Sebastian. All have since moved to reinvent themselves as more urban – or EDM. Meanwhile, the personal trials of soul-pop's once immaculate queens have been exploited, fetishised and mocked in the wider culture. This year Kanye West ignited controversy when he paid a tidy sum to reproduce a 2006 shot of the late Houston's bathroom, strewn with drug paraphernalia, for Pusha-T's DAYTONA artwork. 

In recent years, quiet storm – a precursor to neo-soul – has been afforded a hipster makeover by artists such as Frank Ocean, Jessie Ware and Rhye. Could AC R&B be next? A sincere KiD CuDi collaborated with the hyper-MOR Michael Bolton on Indicud. Ariana Grande, oft-compared to Carey, dipped into soul-pop on Yours Truly, liaising with Babyface. The UK soulstress NAO revives lavish '90s adult balladry on her new concept album, Saturn. Amid the boom of experimental R&B in the Auto-Tune epoch, there's a growing nostalgia for songcraft and big vocals. Oddly, Dion has inspired a (kitsch) cult, going by the fever surrounding July's Australasian tour.

As for Carey, she's settled into a formula of blending pop, hip hop and dance. Trailing Dion, she's held a residency at Las Vegas' Caesars Palace. However, Carey is still appealing to the streets and the clubs. And, with more R&B and hip hop acts exploring interiority (and mental health) in their music, Carey, too, is opening up. In April, the vocalist disclosed that she was diagnosed with bipolar II disorder during 2001's much-publicised breakdown.

Last year Carey blessed a remix of French Montana's Unforgettable (alongside Rae Sremmurd's Swae Lee). The idol, again on Sony's roster, is now plugging her 15th album – and the first since 2014's Me. I Am Mariah... The Elusive Chanteuse. Caution is heavy on urban grooves, with production by Timbaland. The song Giving Me Life has OMG input from both ol' skool rapper Slick Rick and Blood Orange (aka Dev Hynes). Carey performed the lead single With You, a piano beat ballad that California's DJ Mustard helmed, at the American Music Awards. The teaser (and album opener), GTFO is co-produced by Drake's homie Nineteen85 and samples Porter Robinson's glitchy contra-EDM Goodbye To A World. Then A No No is a '90s throwback, flipping Lil' Kim's Crush On You (Remix) with The Notorious BIG and Lil' Cease. Mind, Carey's 'lambs' might be secretly wishing that one sweet day she'll reunite with Afanasieff for some epic nouveau balladry.