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Born in Long Island, NY, as the daughter of a former opera singer and vocal coach -- and named after the song "They Call the Wind Mariah" from the popular Lerner and Loewe musical Paint Your Wagon - Mariah began singing at the age of four, and was writing her own songs by the time she was attending Oldfield Middle School. She moved to New York City, the day after graduating from high school. Honing her songwriting skills and lending her vocals to several local acts, she first garnered industry attention when singing backup for Brenda K. Starr, who gave Mariah's demo tape to Sony Music Entertainment chief Tommy Mottola at a party. As legend has it, Mottola played the demo on his ride home and ordered his driver to immediately return to the party so that he could meet the young singer. Soon afterwards, Mottola signed Mariah to a Columbia Records contract.
