Mariah Carey to receive BMI Icon honor at BMI Urban Awards

Mariah Carey is set to receive another honor in September. The singer will be named a BMI Icon at the annual BMI Urban Awards.

Broadcast Music, Inc. announced that the singer, who has written most of her hit singles herself, will receive the award on Friday, Sept. 7 at the Saban Theatre in Beverly Hills.

Carey is being honored for her stunning career, which started in the 1990s. She has notched 30 BMI Urban and Pop Award-winning songs in her career, including tracks like “Fantasy,” “Hero,” “Vision of Love,” “We Belong Together” and “All I Want For Christmas Is You.” She is only second to the Beatles with 18 Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 singles and has sold over 200 million albums.

The Los Angeles Times reports that BMI honors one artist a year for their “unique and indelible influence on generations of music makers.”

Past artists who have earned the BMI Icon honor include the Jackson 5, the Bee Gees, James Brown, Little Richard and Dolly Parton.

BMI represents over 500,000 songwriters, music publishers and composers, notes The AP.

There have been several reports in the past week that Carey is in talks to join Fox’s American Idol as a judge. The show lost both Jennifer Lopez and Steven Tyler last week.