Thirty-plus years in the business, more No. 1 singles than any solo artist in history (and second overall only to The Beatles), more writing and production credits on those singles than any other female composer—Mariah Carey is one of the few artists whose songs legitimately bridge the confessional intimacy of singer-songwriters with the mass appeal of pop. Her biggest tracks—from the early, dance- and gospel-influenced “Someday” and “Dreamlover” to the club leanings of “Fantasy” and “Honey” to ballads such as “Forever” and “Always Be My Baby” to the ultimate festive pop song “All I Want for Christmas Is You"—stand like mile markers in the culture. She captures a feeling of sweetness and euphoria that straddles pop, hip-hop, and R&B without slotting neatly into any of them. Meanwhile, her melismatic style—a technique that entails singing a single syllable with a long run of notes—redefined our sense of what pop vocals sound like.