Tour news: At last, Mariah Carey heads to NZ

Singer Mariah Carey.

She may no longer be at the absolute height of her stellar career, but she's still the female artist with the most number one singles in the world.

However, Mariah Carey has never been to New Zealand before, so the announcement that she'll be performing in Auckland in November is still a gosh-darn big deal.

The 44-year-old will be gracing the stage at Vector Arena on Thursday November 13 as part of her Elusive Chanteuse Show World Tour, having released her 14th album Me. I am Mariah ... The Elusive Chanteuse in May.

The promoters are promising a set list that mixes her "biggest hits, fan-favourite album cuts, and never-before-performed selections from Me. I Am Mariah."

Apparently Carey is going through a very productive songwriting phase at present and is hoping to keep the show spontaneous.

"I can't stop writing songs, so don't be surprised if you hear a brand new song that I just wrote the night before the show in your city."

There will be several presales available, but tickets officially go on sale at 9am on Tuesday September 30 through livenation.co.nz.

In celebration, here are a few key Mariah Carey facts ...

• She has sold 220 million albums sold to date, across 14 different releases. Her biggest seller was 1993's Music Box.

• She has 18 Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 singles (and full writing credits on 17 of them) including Fantasy, Always Be My Baby, Hero, Touch My Body, One Sweet Day, and We Belong Together (more than any solo artist in history). The only act with more is The Beatles.

• She has a five-octave vocal range (including the whistle register), and for several years had the Guinness World Record for the highest note ever sung by a human, which she earned in 2003 after she sang a G7# note during a live rendition of The Star-Spangled Banner. Watch it below ...

• She has had more than one million views of her music videos on Vevo.

• She shocked her mother, a mezzo-soprano New York opera singer, by singing operatically at 2 and had her first voice lessons at 4. Her father was an aeronautical engineer.

• She's been married twice, and has 3-year-old twins Monroe and Moroccan with Nick Cannon.

• She insured her legs for $1 billion in 2006, after she singed a contract with Gillette's Legs of a Goddess campaign. They are her favourite feature.

• Her album titles include Emotions, Daydream, Butterfly, Rainbow, Glitter, Charmbracelet, and Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel.

• She has appeared in nine films, including acclaimed performances in 2009's Precious, and 2013's The Butler. She also won a Razzie Award for her performance in Glitter, a semi-autobiographical film, which was unfortunately released on September 11, 2001, and was widely slated.

• She actually has one of the less demanding international pop star riders, although she does have a penchant for all things butterfly shaped.

• She lives in New York, and is estimated to be worth around US$500 million.

- TimeOut