Believe it or not, there was a time when Mariah Carey was a star-on-the-rise.

ET sat down with the now-legendary diva back in June of 1990, when she was just 20 years old.

“One person recognized me the other day, which was pretty surprising,” Mariah told ET.

That anonymity would soon fade. Just days after releasing her self-titled debut album, Mariah was back and hard at work in the studio, chasing her dream of being a superstar.

Flashback: Mariah Carey's 'All I Want for Christmas Is You' Turns 20!

“My earliest memory is wanting to sing,” said Mariah. “I just want to continue writing and hopefully growing within myself as an artist, and hopefully have some success and continue to do what I'm doing.”

With such an impressive vocal range, her golden pipes were often compared to the likes of Whitney Houston.

“I think that when someone's up-and-coming they like to compare with someone that's already established so that they know how to categorize you,” Mariah said. “But soon they won't have to compare me to other people and they'll just know me as a songwriter and a singer.”

Check out this video for more from Mariah Carey on her rise to fame.