Mariah Carey wins her first ever MTV VMA award and accepts the Vanguard Award with special performance

Mariah Carey is officially back, baby!

The iconic American singer, 56, won her very first MTV VMA award at the star-studded event in New York on Sunday.

It was in fact, a huge night for the star, who is making a music comeback.

Carey hit the stage to sing a medley of some of her most-beloved hits when she accepted the Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award from fellow artist Ariana Grande, and beforehand, won the VMA award for her new single, Type Dangerous, for best R&B; which was her first moon person trophy.

Watch the video above.

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The Grammy-winning singer, known for hits including Emotions, Fantasy and All I Want For Christmas Is You, playfully scolded MTV for only winning her first VMA at this stage of her career.

"Thank you so much MTV for giving me the Vanguard Award," she said to cheers from the crowd.

"I can't believe I'm getting my first VMA tonight, I just have one question, what in the Sam Hill were you waiting for?"

She added: "I'm kidding, I love you MTV, this is amazing."

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"Being here brings back amazing memories, like when I present LL Cool J his Vanguard Award or when Whitney Houston and I opened the show..." she added.

"Thank you MTV for playing my videos and to my fans, the Lambily [her fan base name], I love you all so much."

Grande, 32, who has drawn comparisons to Carey throughout her own career thanks to her vocals, called Carey a "queen" as she introduced her before her Vanguard performance.

"She's given us an anthem for every single occasion. As a vocalist, there's only one queen and that's Mariah," Grande said.

Carey performed some of her iconic tracks including Honey and Heartbreaker when she hit the stage.

Carey's new album, called Here For It All, drops later this month.

It was announced just a few months ago that Carey is coming to Australia for some shows.

She is headlining the nationwide Fridayz Live tour; which will also see the likes of Pitbull and Wiz Khalifa hit the stage next month.

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