During an interview with Rob Markman in 2018, Mariah said “I did background vocals for my mom's friend's song — who's now passed away — but that was my first paying background job. When I was like twelve or fourteen I started demos for people, as a demo singer — demo singing is an art.”
On Mariah's memoir, The Meaning Of Mariah Carey, she mentions that “by the time I was fourteen or fifteen, I was writing songs and recording background vocals and jingles for local businesses. I was doing background vocals for these young Wayne's World type of guys.” Unfortunately, no recording from this era has ever surfaced.