The Making of Mariah

With a raw stripped down sound, Carey showed off her vocal chops and put naysayers, who claimed she was just a studio artist, to rest with her 1992 performance on MTV Unplugged. She performed several hits from the Mariah Carey album but it was a last minute addition—a cover of the Jackson 5’s 1970 chart topping single “Ill Be There”—that scored her both critical acclaim and an unexpected hit. Sony released the track as an EP and it went on to sell 3 million copies.

(Photo: Courtesy MTV Networks)