Mariah Carey - Merry Christmas II You

Among pop divas, few are bigger than Mariah Carey. The five-octave singer is the best-selling female artist of all time, with more than 200 million albums and singles sold worldwide. She’s the only artist to have scored a number one hit in every year of the 1990s, including such Mariah favorites as “Vision of Love,” “Emotions,” “Fantasy” and “Heartbreaker.” In fact, the Grammy-winning singer and songwriter boasts more chart-topping hits than any other solo artist in U.S. history.

For all her chart domination, Carey has experienced personal and professional disappointment. In 1997, she divorced record executive Tommy Mottola, who Carey described as intimidating and controlling (she’s now happily married to actor-rapper Nick Cannon, with whom she’s expecting her first baby). Her record sales also suffered a setback with Glitter and Charmbracelet. But Carey recovered strongly with 2005’s The Emancipation of Mimi and has never looked back.

One of the diva’s most successful albums was her seasonal collection Merry Christmas, featuring the now-classic “All I Want for Christmas is You.” Now, 16 years later, Carey has once again donned her Santa suit to serve up some more tasty Yuletide fare. Along with traditional nuggets like “The First Noel,” featuring Carey’s opera-singing mother, Patricia Carey, Merry Christmas II You includes such new numbers as the thumping, uptempo “Oh Santa,” the r&b track “When Christmas Comes” and an “extra festive” version of “All I Want for Christmas is You.” Throughout, Carey’s voice is stunning, executing her trademark sounds: gorgeous glissandos and marvelous melismas. Cool yule.