Mariah Carey Charts 18th Number 1
With “Touch My Body” Mimi Inches Closer to Breaking Beatles' Record
Mariah Carey lands new single "Touch My Body" at the top of the Hot 100 this week placing her behind only the Beatles as the artist with the most US number one hits
Mariah Carey’s “Touch My Body” marks her 18th number one single. The first cut from her new album, E=MC2, replaces “Bleeding Love” at the top of the Billboard hot 100 and in doing so, the 37-year-old Grammy winner becomes the artist with the most number one singles in America behind the Beatles.
With “Touch My Body” Carey also breaks the tie she has held with Elvis Presley for the artist with the second largest amount of number one singles.
Mariah Carey Best Selling Female of All Time
A few weeks back it seemed the single had peeked outside the top ten but with a surge of energy fueled by digital downloads, the track rebounds 15-1 to give Carey her 18th number one single in the United States.
Only the Beatles have had more number one singles on the Hot 100, 20 in total. With a new album on the horizon, Carey could tie or even break their record.
Such an achievement confirms Carey’s status as the one of the best selling female artists of all time. “It's not like I sit around thinking about that type of stuff while I'm creating something,” Carey told Billboard magazine. But she continued on to admit that she recorded her latest album E=MC2, with potential singles in mind, “because people like that".
Mariah vs Madonna
Both Mariah Carey and Madonna have new albums in April. Carey may distance herself from the tie she has held with Elvis for the last 3 years but she still faces some competition from Madonna who releases Hard Candy April 29.
While previous albums Confessions on a Dancefloor and American Life failed to produce any number one hits for Madonna, Mariah Carey also began the decade with a duo of duds in the form of Glitter and Charmbracelet before striking gold once more with The Emancipation of Mimi.
If Madonna scores a number one hit with “4 Minutes” or any subsequent single from her new album she’ll tie with Michael Jackson in the number 4 slot of artists with the most number one singles.
Since the other members of this exclusive list either no longer record or don’t have any projects on the horizon, Madonna and Mariah Carey are the only artists with a chance of besting the Beatles, with Carey holding a very large head start.
The Top 5 Artists with the Most Number 1 Hits
- The Beatles (20)
- Mariah Carey (18)
- Elvis Presley (17)
- Michael Jackson (13)
- Madonna (12) tie
- The Surpremes (12) tie
The new Mariah Carey album, E=MC2, her first since her 2005 Grammy-winning The Emancipation of Mimi hits retail April 15 via Island Def Jam.
Additional Sources
Billboard.com, Reuters
