Mariah Carey Breaks Elvis' Record Thanks To "Touch My Body"

LOS ANGELES — With her 18th chart-topper "Touch My Body," Mariah Carey has passed Elvis Presley for the most No. 1 singles on the Billboard singles chart, and is now second only to the Beatles. But while the diva was in full celebration mode after learning of her latest milestone, she was also quick to put her accomplishment in perspective.

"I really can never put myself in the category of people who have not only revolutionized music but also changed the world," Carey told The Associated Press on Tuesday via phone from London. "That's a completely different era and time ... I'm just feeling really happy and grateful."

Carey's single is the new No. 1 single on Billboard's Hot 100 singles chart: The song also is No. 1 on the trade magazine's digital download chart thanks to a precedent-setting 286,000 downloads in its debut week. She had been tied with Presley with 17 No. 1 singles; the Beatles are the all-time leaders with 20. (Madonna also beat a Presley record this week, surpassing the King for the most top 10 hits with her 37th for her hit "4 Minutes.")

Carey said being in such company was gratifying not only because of her personal success, but what it meant for women and minorities.

"For me, in my mind the accomplishment is just that much sweeter," she said. "In terms of my ethnicity, always feeling like an outsider, always feeling different ... for me it's about saying, 'Thank you Lord, for giving me the faith to believe in myself when other people had written me off.'"

"Touch My Body" is the first single off of Carey's upcoming album "EMC2," due out April 16. It is the follow-up to her Grammy-winning disc "The Emancipation of Mimi," released in 2005, that year's best-selling album with five million copies sold; it marked a huge comeback for the multiplatinum superstar after personal and professional setbacks.

Like that album, Carey said "EMC2" continues her sense of freedom and rebirth: "It's like emancipation of Mariah Carey to the second power and beyond."

Carey, 38, said this is the most enjoyable point of her nearly two-decade old career, and that's her priority these days, not trying to set sales records or even making pop history.

"I've gone through enough of my life worrying about that kind if thing," said Carey.

"I want to encourage anyone else out there who feels like maybe they can't overcome an obstacle, I feel like I'm living proof ... never lose your faith," she added. "I'm seriously a grateful individual right now."

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http://www.mariahcarey.com

http://www.billboard.com

Comments

[WilliePilgrim]

She is one magnetic personality, hypnotic singer and her charisma ooozes into my limbic system..grrrrr. Thanks for the day dreams, Mariah. I mean it.

[tombollocks]

For the love of Dog! Elvis was and is overrated, but.......Mariah Carey?!?! Damn......what awful taste people have.

[scottyboi84]

I just love her....and I'm glad to see the world giving her some recognition for her hard work, she deserves it. We share the same birthday, and I don't think that's a coincidence. Her music has meant so much to me over my life. I am 24, and since I was 5, she has been there with a tune in my ear that resonates with whatever happens to be going on in my life at the time. i saw her in concert for the first time for the Adventures of Mimi tour, and I am psyched for her inevitable return to the touring arena. You go girl, and seriously, I would love to hang out with her on our birthday, I feel like we'd have so much in common, besides her celebrity, as I am no celebrity. But, I would love the chance to meet such an inspirational person to so many.

[situationcritical]

I believe she tied Elvis. On second hearing, "Touch My Body" is a cute song. I'm no big Mariah fan, but come on, you gotta give her props.

[Grulg]

She didn't do any such thing. Billboard always seems bound and determined to under-mine Elvis chart records. Here is what Joel Whitburn-you know the archivist who puts out all those Billboard top 40 chart book histories sez about Elvis:

40 top tenners-not 37.

18 #1's-not 17. No one outside of Billboards Whackpack considers 'Don't Be Cruel' and 'Hound Dog' to be one and the same. Sorry guys.

114 top 40 hits. Mariah erm....well maybe a third of that??

And then there's Cashbox's tally of 20 for the man-they also include 'In the Ghetto' and 'Burning Love' for him, and 'Return to Sender' as well. Don't those strike you as being #1's, jest a mite? Yeah me too.

Anyways, back to yer show.

[cocopuffed]

I don't care for Mariah's music either, but that's a classy comment she made about her comparison to Elvis... she certainly is humble about it... and, for my money, she's the best looking woman on the face of the earth. Mariah, mmmm, drool, mmm

[Condi]

And not one of them is memorable.

[sarasotajeff]

fan or not, you just kind of sound mean (and working at it) with that comment.

I wouldn't buy this woman's record with YOUR money, but how can you discount her completely when she's had the success and longevity she has had?