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 

©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

©2018 Official Charts Company. All rights reserved.

Article image: Sarah McColgan