"All I Want For Christmas Is You," Mariah Carey

'Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house

A 90s superstar was stirring, and her five-octave voice sounded nothing like a mouse

The stockings were hung in her mansion with care

In hopes that a holiday number 1 hit would soon be there

The songwriters and producers were nestled all snug in their beds

While visions of future holiday classics danced in their heads

And Tommy Mottola in his Santa hat and Mariah Carey in her winter cap

Had settled on a home video style clip boring enough to make anyone nap

When out in the back there arose such a clatter

Because there were reindeer and snowmobiles and all sorts of holiday matter

Away to the window everyone went, surprised to see not a flash

Because twenty years later, it seems Mariah Carey would be perfectly fine just wearing a sash

"Always Be My Baby," Mariah Carey

No female singer was more popular in the 1990s than Mariah Carey.  Before the twins, Glitter, and an increasingly scarce wardrobe, Carey belted out hit after hit.  The early part of the decade saw Carey stay within the confines of traditional R&B and pop.  “Always Be My Baby,” from 1995’s Daydream, saw Carey start to break away with a more contemporary R&B sound:

Co-produced by Jermaine Dupri, “Always Be My Baby” featured Carey singing on a tire swing at a camp while two young campers sneak out and share a kiss underwater at a nearby lake.  The video’s sweet, innocent plotline hid some of the song’s stalker-esque lyrics:  “You’ll always be a part of me/I’m a part of you indefinitely/Boy don’t you know you can’t escape me.” 

Rewatching the video now, it is easy to remember why Carey became popular in the first place.  Her vocal range and ability was greater and stronger than many of her peers, and she had a knack for incorporating musical trends of the time in a way that was accessible to a mainstream audience. 

As the 90s progressed, Carey leaned more heavily on R&B than pop, becoming the first mainstream artist to feature rappers on many of her songs and remixes. Indeed, many of the rap and hip-hop crossover songs that dominated the late 1990s and 2000s probably wouldn’t have existed without Carey’s help. 

Today, Carey is better known for her celebrity and diva-like behavior than her music.  Carey is reportedly working on the follow-up to her last studio album, 2007’s E=MC².