What a month of April for Mariah Carey! First, she released her ninth studio album titled E=MC² on April 8th which immediately rose to the top of the charts. Then she had her songs performed on American Idol where she was a mentor and performer on April 15th and 16th. To top it all off, she went and got married to Nick Cannon on April 30th after they eloped to the Bahamas.

Here is a link to some articles regarding Mariah Carey and Nick Cannon's surprising engagement and nuptials.

Many people do not realize the level of success that Carey has reached during her career. She has recorded eighteen #1 singles over the years which is the most for any solo artist of any time. That includes more than Elvis Presley, Michael Jackson or Madonna which is pretty amazing. She currently ranks #16 on the list of best-selling recording artists of all time with almost 62 million albums sold in the U.S. She ranks above superstars including U2, Whitney Houston, Michael Jackson, Prince, Bon Jovi and Celine Dion. She ranks #3 among females only trailing Barbra Streisand and slightly behind Madonna. Here is a link to the current Recording Industry Association of America list.

Carey was impressively included on Time Magazine's "List of 100 Most Influential People" published in May 2008. Here is a link to another article which tells you 20 things you didn't know about Mariah Carey in case you are interested in finding out a little more.

Though her 2001 movie Glitter ended up becoming the punch line to many jokes and she has overcome some personal problems, Mariah Carey has an incredibly remarkable career. I have always been a fan, but most of my favorites are from the earlier part of her career. With that being said, here is OLD SCHOOL'S TOP 10 MARIAH CAREY SONGS:
Honorable Mention: "All I Want For Christmas Is You" (1994) from Merry Christmas [link to video] - I love Christmas music and her album from '94 is fantastic. I will definitely publish a Top 10 List of holiday music later this year. It is hard to compare a Christmas song to non-seasonal music, so that is why I will just list this one as an honorable mention.

10. "Hero" (1993) from Music Box

9. "I Don't Wanna Cry" (1991) from Mariah Carey

8. "Love Takes Time" (1990) from Mariah Carey

7. "Anytime You Need a Friend" (1993) from Music Box

6. "Without You" (1993) from Music Box

5. "Can't Let Go" (1992) from Emotions [link to video]

4. "Always Be My Baby" (1996) from Daydream [link to video]

3. "Vision of Love" (1990) from Mariah Carey [link to video] - This was her first #1 single from her debut album

2. "I'll Be There (Live)" (1992) from MTV Unplugged [link to video] - This duet with Trey Lorenz was a cover of the Jackson 5 hit

1. "One Sweet Day" (1995) from Daydream [link to video] - This was a duet with the amazing Boyz II Men and remained at #1 for a record 16 straight weeks. It ranked #2 on my Best Duets of All Time List.

There is my list. It includes video links for six of the eleven songs. Of those top 10 songs, seven of them hit #1 on the Billboard Chars (with one peaking at #2, one peaking at #3 and another only reaching #12). Just remember, there were 11 other #1 songs that did not make my list.

That wraps up another issue of Kickin' it Old School. Thanks, as always, for reading. Peace and much love.

Check this out: Would you know which way to go if you saw this road sign ahead?  In case you can't read it, the words between the speed limit and the crazy arrows reads "Good Luck."

Quote of the day: "Greatness consists in trying to be great. There is no other way." -Albert Camus

Download this: "One Sweet Day" by Mariah Carey & Boyz II Men - ‘Nuff said