Mariah Carey (album) - Critical Reception

Critical Reception

The album received generally positive reviews from music critics. Bill Lamb from About.com commended Carey's five-octave vocal range, calling it "a new treat to pop music." Additionally, he outed "Vision of Love" as one of Carey's best songs," and aside from what he described as "a few weak songs" he felt Mariah Carey was "a powerful debut album." Finishing his review for the album, Lamb wrote "It is simply one of the most stunning debut releases ever by a pop recording artist." Ashley S. Battel from Allmusic called the album "extremely impressive" and described the songs as "smooth-sounding ballads and uplifting dance/R&B cuts." Battel concluded her review with "With this collection of songs acting as a springboard for future successes, Carey establishes a strong standard of comparison for other breakthrough artists of this genre." Many critics expressed how Mariah Carey was one of the most impressive debuts of the year, praising its songs, lyrics and Carey's voice and songwriting.

Billboard gave the album a very positive review calling it an "impressive debut," and writing "Carey convincingly seizes many opportunities to display her incredible vocal range on such memorable tracks as the popular 'Vision of Love.'" Rolling Stone gave the album praise writing "Carey debuted with an album of uplifting dance pop and R&B ballads, each song's composition co-credited to Carey and each providing an opportunity to unleash her wide vocal range." American critic Robert Christgau gave the album a mixed review, writing, "She gets too political in her brave, young, idealistic attack on 'war, destitution and sorrow': 'Couldn't we accept each other/Can't we make ourselves aware.' Elsewhere she sticks to what she doesn't know—love.' While reviewing the album positively, Bill Lamb expressed how some of the albums tracks were noticeably weak, writing "a few weak songs pull down the overall album." Lamb's other concern was the albums "somewhat formulaic mix of uptempo tracks and ballads," which he felt caused the album to lose some of its authenticity.

Mariah Carey was nominated for the 1991 Grammy Award for Album of the Year, while "Vision of Love" received nominations in the categories of Song of the Year, Record of the Year and Best Female Pop Vocal Performance. Carey won for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance and also received the award for Best New Artist.