Mariah Carey's highly anticipated third studio album, Music Box, released by Columbia Records on August 31, 1993, built on the already extraordinary musical and commercial successes of her debut (Mariah Carey, 1990) and its follow-up (Emotions, 1991), giving the world a transcendent masterpiece filled with hits while solidifying the singer/songwriter/performer/artist's international status as an iconic pop culture superstar and musical visionary.