In December 1988, Carey accompanied Starr to a CBS record executives' gala, where she handed her demo tape to the head of Columbia Records, Tommy Mottola. After listening to the tape during the ride home, he immediately requested the driver turn around. Carey had already left the event, and in what has been described as a modern-day Cinderella story, he spent the next two weeks in search of her. Another record label expressed interest, and a bidding war ensued. Mottola signed Carey to Columbia and enlisted the talents of top producers Ric Wake, Narada Michael Walden and Rhett Lawrence. Columbia marketed Carey as the main female artist on their roster, competing with Arista's Whitney Houston and Madonna of Sire Records. Columbia spent upwards of $1 million promoting Carey's debut studio album, "Mariah Carey". After a slow start, the album eventually topped the "Billboard" 200 for eleven consecutive weeks, after Carey's exposure at the 33rd Annual Grammy Awards, where she won the award for Best New Artist, and Best Female Pop Vocal Performance for her single "Vision of Love." The album's singles "Vision of Love", "Love Takes Time", "Someday", and "I Don't Wanna Cry" all topped the US "Billboard" Hot 100. "Mariah Carey" was the best-selling album in the United States in 1991, and achieved worldwide sales of 15 million copies.