Happy Birthday, Mariah Carey

Happy Birthday, Mariah Carey

Mariah Carey celebrates her 42nd birthday today, we've got the perfect present.

Here's a look back at the most notable chart records that Carey has set since she first graced a Billboard survey the week of June 2, 1990, when "Vision of Love" debuted on the Billboard Hot 100 and R&B/Hip-Hop Songs.

(We'd have gotten her a card, but it would've been too tough to list all her accomplishments on one).


With 18 Hot 100 leaders, Carey has totaled the most No. 1s by a female artist. Among all acts, she trails only the Beatles (20) for the most No. 1 songs in the chart's 53-year history.

Here is a listing of Carey's Hot 100 toppers:

1990, "Vision of Love" (four weeks at No. 1)
1990, "Love Takes Time" (three)
1991, "Someday" (two)
1991, "I Don't Wanna Cry" (two)
1991, "Emotions" (three)
1992, "I'll Be There" (two)

1993, "Dreamlover" (eight)
1993, "Hero" (four)
1995, "Fantasy" (eight)
1995, "One Sweet Day," with Boyz II Men (16)
1996, "Always Be My Baby" (two)
1997, "Honey" (three)
1998, "My All" (one)
1999, "Heartbreaker," featuring Jay-Z (two)
2000, "Thank God I Found You," featuring Joe & 98 Degrees (one)
2005, "We Belong Together" (14)
2005, "Don't Forget About Us" (two)
2008, "Touch My Body" (two)


Carey remains the only artist to send her first five Hot 100 entries to No. 1. She bested the mark of four consecutive career-opening leaders set by the Jackson 5 in 1970. The group's fourth No. 1, "I'll Be There," became Carey's sixth 22 years later.

Carey and the quintet were linked from the start: their second No. 1, "ABC," vaulted 14-6 on the  Hot 100 the week after her birth.

With 16 weeks at No. 1, "One Sweet Day" holds the record for most weeks spent atop the Hot 100. Carey also ties for second-place with 14 weeks on top for "We Belong Together." (Boyz II Men, co-credited on "Day," boast a 14-week No. 1 of their own, 1994's "I'll Make Love to You".)


Carey has spent a record 79 weeks total atop the Hot 100. The Beatles are second with 59 cumulative frames in charge.

Considering the lengthy dominations of "Day" and "Together," it's not surprising that Carey claimed the top song of the '90s and '00s, respectively, when Billboard compiled the top titles of each decade.

Carey additionally earned the esteemed honor as Billboard's top artist of the '90s.


The superstar ranks as the best-selling female album artist dating to the advent of Nielsen SoundScan data in 1991. At 53.7 million, she trails only Garth Brooks (68.6 million) and the Beatles (63.5) among all artists.

Among women, Carey places ahead of Celine Dion (51.6), Shania Twain (34.1), Britney Spears (32.5) and Reba McEntire (30).


Carey is an artist for all seasons, as her 1994 carol "All I Want for Christmas Is You" is the most-downloaded holiday song, according to SoundScan. The song has sold 2.1 million downloads. No other seasonal track has passed even 1 million in digital sales.