Way Back When: Mariah Carey's First Live Performance on The Arsineo Hall Show! [VIDEO]

Before she became Mariah Carey the Diva, she was a just another gifted singer trying to achieve superstardom with the release of the critically acclaimed debut album, Mariah Carey, in 1990. Check out her first live performance on The Arsineo Hall Show after the break!

Now this is the Mariah Carey that I grew up on right here. Back when she was really sanging! Mariah Carey at this time was a relatively unknown singer, had just released her debut album, Mariah Carey. Her performance on The Arsineo Hall Show was her first publicized live performance and opened many doors for the 5-octave ranged singer. Folks were pleasantly surprised to hear the soulful voice coming out of this tiny white (although later confirmed bi-racial) beauty. Her album was received rather weakly until her performance at the 33rd Grammy Awards that introduced her to the world. After this performance, her album topped the Billboard 200 charts for eleven consecutive weeks and went on to sell over 9 million albums. "Vision of Love" became a #1 record in addition to other hits, "Love Takes Time", "I Don't Wanna Cry", and "Someday". Mariah Carey is noted as the best selling album of 1991 and also garnered Carey two Grammys including Best New Artist.

For those of you who weren't born yet, The Arsineo Hall Show, was THE ISH back in the day! I used to beg my parents to let me stay up past my bedtime to see who would be performing that night. What made the show so popular other than it's performances and interviews with some of the hottest stars and controversial public figures, was that it was a successful late night show with a black man as its host. It competed with The Tonight Show and other late night programming and earned numerous awards. It only lasted for five years, but was definitely a staple in urban youth music and culture and exposing audiences all over the world to many artists. Mariah Carey never forgot Arsineo Hall for granting her her big break and appeared numerous times there throughout her career. Mariah Carey has a career that has spanned 22 years and has influenced artists such as Christina Aguilera, Beyonce, Leona Lewis, Britney Spears, and a host of others.