Mariah Carey's Top 40 biggest singles on the Official Chart

Mariah Carey, Mimi, the elusive chanteuse... Mariah Carey has taken on many guises throughout her 30-year career. However, one thing that has remained constant is her unmistakable, otherworldly vocal talents. 

During that time, she's notched up 39 Top 40 hits on the Official Singles Chart, including two Number 1s, totalling more than 8 million combined sales. Her track record when it comes to albums is equally as robust; 6.3 million sales across 13 Top 10s, two of which reached the top spot. Look over Mariah's full Official Chart history.

With her fifteenth studio album Caution out this month, we've dived into the sales and streams behind her singles and albums to reveal her biggest to date. 

Vision Of Love 

After signing to Columbia Records in 1988, Mariah was put to work with some of the world's top producers, including Narada Michael Walden, who co-produced her debut single Vision Of Love. The production of the song was typical of late '80s pop, but the powerhouse vocals were not, leading it to win a Grammy for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance. It places 16th on her UK Top 40 with 198,000 combined sales.  

Emotions 

The sales and overall chart performance of this 1991 single don't quite match the adulation and air time it still gets today. The lead single from the titular album, Emotions proved Mariah could pull off a disco moment as well as the big ballads - and still find space to show off her famous whistle register. The single peaked at 17 in the UK and ranks as her 22nd biggest single, with 137,000 combined sales. 

Without You

Mariah's first UK Number 1 single arrived in 1993 the form of her third single from her third album Music Box. The album itself was more pop-focused that its predecessor (1992's Emotions), and Without You - a cover of the '70s rock band Badfinger's track but performed in the style of Harry Nilsson's 1971 cover - struck a near-perfect balance of radio friendly hooks with a showstopping vocal. It's Mariah's second biggest song in the UK with 548,000 combined sales, split between 490,000 sales and 6 million streams. 

Fantasy

Mariah took greater control of her sound for her fifth album Daydream, which leaned towards R&B and hip-hop. The album's lead single Fantasy - her fourth biggest single in the UK - was remixed to feature Dirty Ol Bastard, marking the first time a major female pop star had collaborated with a rapper. The track topped out at Number 4 on the Official Singles Chart and has shifted 479,000.  

When You Believe 

When Mariah first signed to Columbia, she was their pop female equivalent to rival Madonna and Whitney Houston. Ten years later, Mariah and Whitney teamed up on When You Believe, a song for animated movie The Prince of Egypt. It was the ultimate diva-off - and it didn't disappoint, winning an Oscar for Best Original Song. The track reached Number 4 on the chart in 1998 and places eighth in Mariah's overall chart. 

Against All Odds (Take A Look At Me Now)

It may seem implausible now, but back in 2000, Westlife were almost as big - if not bigger - than Mariah Carey in the UK, with a clean streak of five chart-toppers at this point. Mariah had recorded a cover of the Phil Collins track for her seventh album Rainbow and had minor success with it across Europe, but the addition of Westlife sent it to the top of the Official UK Singles Chart for two weeks. Watching the music video 18 years on, we're still not entirely convinced Mariah knows who Westlife are.

We Belong Together 

Determined not to be put down after years of hefty bashing from critics for 2001's Glitter and 2002's Charmbracelet, Mariah made a glorious return to form in 2005 with The Emancipation of Mimi. The album featured a string of successful singles, but it was big ballad We Belong Together that was the true career re-definer. Peaking at Number 2 in the UK, it's Mariah's fourth biggest single with combined sales of 474,000. 

   

All I Want For Christmas Is You

The ever-expanding legacy of Mariah's festive single is a joy to behold. Originally peaking at Number 2 in the UK in 1994, the introduction of music downloads and later streaming has allowed it to re-enter the chart every year since 2007, returning to its Number 2 peak last year. 

The song reportedly earns her around £376,000 a year in royalties - and that's not including the matching spin-off book, animated movie and "Super Festive!" version with Justin Bieber she's since produced since - not bad for a song she claims to have written in around 15 minutes. To date, All I Want For Christmas Is You has shifted 1.81 million in the UK, split between 1.2 million CD singles/downloads and 61.4 million streams.

Mariah Carey's Top 40 biggest singles on the Official Chart 

POS	TITLE	ARTIST	PEAK	YEAR
1	ALL I WANT FOR CHRISTMAS IS YOU	MARIAH CAREY	2	1994
2	WITHOUT YOU	MARIAH CAREY	1	1994
3	FANTASY	MARIAH CAREY	4	1995
4	WE BELONG TOGETHER	MARIAH CAREY	2	2005
5	AGAINST ALL ODDS	MARIAH CAREY FT WESTLIFE	1	2000
6	HERO	MARIAH CAREY	7	1993
7	ALWAYS BE MY BABY	MARIAH CAREY	3	1996
8	WHEN YOU BELIEVE	MARIAH CAREY & WHITNEY HOUSTON	4	1998
9	ONE SWEET DAY	MARIAH CAREY & BOYZ II MEN	6	1995
10	ENDLESS LOVE	LUTHER VANDROSS & MARIAH CAREY	3	1994
11	HEARTBREAKER	MARIAH CAREY	5	1999
12	BEAUTIFUL	MARIAH CAREY FT MIGUEL	22	2013
13	HONEY	MARIAH CAREY	3	1997
14	I'LL BE THERE	MARIAH CAREY	2	1992
15	MY ALL	MARIAH CAREY	4	1998
16	VISION OF LOVE	MARIAH CAREY	9	1990
17	TOUCH MY BODY	MARIAH CAREY	5	2008
18	DREAMLOVER	MARIAH CAREY	9	1993
19	I KNOW WHAT YOU WANT	BUSTA RHYMES & MARIAH CAREY	3	2003
20	IT'S LIKE THAT	MARIAH CAREY	4	2005
21	GET YOUR NUMBER/SHAKE IT OFF	MARIAH CAREY	9	2005
22	EMOTIONS	MARIAH CAREY	17	1991
23	ANYTIME YOU NEED A FRIEND	MARIAH CAREY	8	1994
24	OPEN ARMS	MARIAH CAREY	4	1996
25	THANK GOD I FOUND YOU	MARIAH CAREY	10	2000
26	I STILL BELIEVE	MARIAH CAREY	16	1999
27	BUTTERFLY	MARIAH CAREY	22	1997
28	OBSESSED	MARIAH CAREY	52	2009
29	THROUGH THE RAIN	MARIAH CAREY	8	2002
30	CAN'T LET GO	MARIAH CAREY	20	1992
31	BYE BYE	MARIAH CAREY	30	2008
32	I WANT TO KNOW WHAT LOVE IS	MARIAH CAREY	19	2009
33	DON'T FORGET ABOUT US	MARIAH CAREY	11	2005
34	LOVE TAKES TIME	MARIAH CAREY	37	1990
35	ALL I WANT FOR CHRISTMAS IS YOU	JUSTIN BIEBER & MARIAH CAREY	N/A	2011
36	LOVERBOY	MARIAH CAREY	12	2001
37	MAKE IT HAPPEN	MARIAH CAREY	17	1992
38	SOMEDAY	MARIAH CAREY	38	1991
39	SAY SOMETHIN'	MARIAH CAREY FT SNOOP DOGG	27	2006
40	BOY (I NEED YOU)	MARIAH CAREY FT CAM'RON	17	2002

©2018 Official Charts Company. All rights reserved.

Listen to Mariah's Official Top 40 singles on Spotify and Deezer

When it comes to albums, 1993's Music Box - her first Number 1 - is leader of the pack, with an impressive 1.18 million combined sales, while two retrospectives, 2001's Greatest Hits (809k) and 1998's #1s (768k) at 2 and 3. 

The Emancipation Of Mimi is her next biggest studio album (671k), and Daydream completes the Top 5 with sales of 649k. 

Mariah Carey's Top 10 biggest albums on the Official Chart

POS	TITLE	ARTIST	PEAK	YEAR
1	MUSIC BOX	MARIAH CAREY	1	1993
2	GREATEST HITS	MARIAH CAREY	7	2001
3	NO 1'S	MARIAH CAREY	10	1998
4	THE EMANCIPATION OF MIMI	MARIAH CAREY	7	2005
5	DAYDREAM	MARIAH CAREY	1	1995
6	MERRY CHRISTMAS	MARIAH CAREY	32	1994
7	BUTTERFLY	MARIAH CAREY	2	1997
8	RAINBOW	MARIAH CAREY	8	1999
9	THE BALLADS	MARIAH CAREY	13	2008
10	MARIAH CAREY	MARIAH CAREY	6	1990

©2018 Official Charts Company. All rights reserved.

Article image: Sarah McColgan