Mariah Carey

Mariah Carey Sets Career Record With Number 1 Billboard Debut

Mariah Carey

R&B superstar Mariah Carey takes a massive leap as her new disc E=MC² enters this weeks Billboard pop album chart at #1, with first week Soundscan sales of 463,000 units. E=MC² also debuts #1 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop albums chart and #1 on the Top Digital albums chart (Mariah's first-ever #1 digital album debut with over 50,000 scanned!). E=MC² also represents the biggest first week debut of Mariah’s career."Mariah's an inspiration, the true definition of a star," said Antonio ‘L.A.’ Reid, Chairman, Island Def Jam Music Group. "She continues to amaze us with every incredible new album she creates. Now Mariah has added another plateau of success to what has become her virtually unapproachable track record on charts around the world. She proves beyond a doubt that with talent, ambition, and sheer force of will, all things are possible." Mariah reached an historic career achievement earlier this month when “Touch My Body” became her 18th #1 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 – surpassing one of the most enduring chart records in Billboard history, Elvis Presley’s 17 #1’s. “Touch My Body”’s two weeks at the top marked Mariah’s 78th and 79th cumulative career weeks at #1, which tied Elvis’ long-standing all-time high of 79 weeks at #1, as calculated in Billboard. At the same time, Mariah is now positioned as the only active recording artist in the 50 years of the Hot 100 (which began in 1958) with the potential to surpass the Beatles’ all-time high of 20 #1 hits. Carey’s latest single “Bye Bye” impacted across-the-board at Pop, Rhythmic, and Urban radio formats on Monday, April 21 and is #1 most added across the board. The 11th studio album of her career, E=MC² follows-up The Emancipation Of Mimi, Mariah’s worldwide 10 million selling #1 album, which generated three Grammy awards (including Best Contemporary R&B Album), two #1 singles, and countless more honors during its 18-month stay on the charts. Released April 12, 2005, Mimi was an industry phenomenon for the mega-platinum award-winning superstar. Soundscan’s biggest-selling album of the year, it brought total sales of Mariah’s albums, singles and videos to over 160 million worldwide, making her the top-selling female recording artist in history.