@article{article_1646436, title={The Semiotics of Faith and Empowerment in Mariah Carey’s Lyrics}, journal={IDEAS: Journal of English Literary Studies}, volume={5}, pages={93–105}, year={2025}, DOI={10.62352/ideas.1646436}, author={Rudy, Rudy and İndriyanto, Kristiawan and Nanta Adhitya, Galant}, keywords={Mariah Carey, Popüler müzik, Göstergebilim, Güçlenme, İnanç ve dayanıklılık}, abstract={This study argues that Mariah Carey’s lyrics construct a symbolic narrative of empowerment through themes of perseverance, faith, and self-definition. Using Roland Barthes’s semiotic theory, it analyzes how recurring motifs—such as prayer, divine support, and emotional endurance—function as signifiers that produce cultural meaning. The analysis focuses on eleven purposively selected songs, including “Hero,” “Make It Happen,” and “Through the Rain.” These songs link personal struggle to spiritual resilience, forming a lyrical mythology in which hardship is reinterpreted as a path to inner strength. Carey’s lyrics consistently link personal struggle to spiritual resilience, transforming hardship into a source of inner strength. Her religious language and autobiographical references encode a belief system where individual vulnerability becomes transformative power. Rather than merely expressing emotion, these songs construct a framework that helps listeners reinterpret adversity and rebuild confidence. The semiotic analysis reveals three key patterns: spiritual metaphors that universalize personal experience, narrative structures that reframe suffering as growth, and linguistic choices that position the listener as an empowered agent. This research contributes to popular music semiotics while demonstrating how lyrical symbolism shapes contemporary narratives of identity and emotional resilience.}, number={2}, publisher={İngiliz Dili ve Edebiyatı Araştırmaları Derneği / English Language and Literature Research Association of Turkey}