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She\u2019s been belting out hits and cinematic music videos for 35 years, but Mariah Carey had never won an MTV Video Music Award<\/a> until Sunday.<\/p>\n With air kisses and a deep bow, Ariana Grande presented the singer with MTV\u2019s career achievement recognition, the Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award.<\/p>\n \u201cThank you, MTV for giving me the Vanguard Award. I can\u2019t believe I\u2019m getting my first VMA tonight,\u201d Carey said. \u201cI just have one question. What in the Sam Hill were you waiting for?\u201d<\/p>\n Carey had a point. Following her first No. 1 single, \u201cVision of Love,\u201d in 1990, she went on to release 18 other songs that rose to the top of the Billboard Hot 100 – more than any other solo artist in history.<\/p>\n Prior to her acceptance speech, Carey performed a mix of some of those familiar songs, including \u201cDreamlover,\u201d \u201cHeartbreaker,\u201d \u201cObsessed,\u201d \u201cLike That\u201d and \u201cWe Belong Together.\u201d Lit in glowy soft light and dressed in a gold sequins body suit and boots, surrounded by mostly male dancers, Carey delivered her diva best.<\/p>\n \u201cBeing here brings back amazing memories,\u201d Carey said, before recalling a moment at the 1998 MTV VMAs<\/a>. \u201cWhitney Houston and I opened the show with a faux standoff.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt was a moment,\u201d Carey said with a laugh. \u201cAfter all this time, I\u2019ve learned that music evolves, videos evolve but the fun, that is eternal.\u201d<\/p>\n Carey\u2019s upcoming 16th studio album, \u201cHere for It All,\u201d is set for release on Sept. 26.<\/p>\n