Mariah Carey is one of the most successful recording artists in recent history with more chart-topping singles than any other solo artist in Billboard history. You'd think she'd have a truck full of Grammys too, but the recording academy has actually been fairly stingy to her over the years. She has only won 5 awards out of 34 nominations, and only one of those was in the general field. Can she finally win Album of the Year in 2020 for "Caution"?
Carey's general field victory came in 1991 when she claimed Best New Artist. That year she also won Best Female Pop Vocal Performance for "Vision of Love", but she lost her other three general field bids: Record and Song of the Year for "Vision" and Album of the Year for her self-titled debut.
It was a long wait before Carey won again. She didn't claim a single other prize until 2006 when she won Best Female R&B Performance and Best R&B Song for "We Belong Together", and Best Contemporary R&B Album for "The Emancipation of Mimi". But again she was shut out in the general field, losing Record and Song for "We Belong" and Album for "Mimi".
That's all the Grammys Carey has ever won. Every other year she has been nominated, she has been shut out. She lost her two nominations in 1992, two in 1993, one in 1994, two in 1995, six in 1996, three in 1998, one apiece in 2000 and 2001, two in 2007 and lastly one in 2009.
Carey has earned a total of three bids for Album of the Year ("Mariah Carey", "Daydream" and "Mimi"), three for Record of the Yer ("Vision of Love", "One Sweet Day", "We Belong Together") and two for Song of the Year ("Vision" and "We Belong"). Could she finally prevail in one or more of those races?
The powerhouse vocalist hasn't been nominated in a decade. Her record sales aren't what they used to be, but her latest album "Caution", which she released last fall, may be the best reviewed of her career. It scored 82 on MetaCritic based on nine reviews, all of them positive. That's by far the highest score for any album she has released since MetaCritic has been tracking critic reviews (going back to her "Glitter" soundtrack in 2001). And with eight available slots in the general field categories, the recording academy may feel inclined to save room for the overdue veteran.
But it's a crowded field. There are more than 70 contenders in our Album of the Year predictions, and the eligibility year isn't over until August 31, so proceed with "Caution".
(Goldderby)
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