Mariah Carey albums discography | |
---|---|
Studio albums | 15 |
Compilation albums | 8 |
EPs | 4 |
Soundtrack albums | 2 |
Remix albums | 1 |
American singer Mariah Carey has released fifteen studio albums, two soundtrack albums, eight compilation albums, four extended plays, and one remix album. Carey is one of the best-selling music artists of all-time, having sold over 220 million records globally. [1] She was presented with the Millennium Award at the 2000 World Music Awards for becoming the best-selling female artist of the millennium. [2] [3] According to the RIAA, she is the highest-certified female artist and tenth overall recording artist with shipments of 75 million albums in the US. [4] She is also ranked as the best-selling female artist of the US Nielsen SoundScan era (1991–present) with album sales of 55.5 million. [5]
Carey released her self-titled debut album in June 1990; it was certified nine-time platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), denoting shipments of nine million copies in the United States. Her second album, Emotions , was released a year later and sold eight million copies worldwide. In 1993, Carey released her most successful studio album to date, Music Box , which was certified Diamond in the United States and topped the charts in many countries around the world. [6] [7] Music Box is one of the best-selling albums of all time, with over 28 million copies sold. [8] Carey's her first holiday album and fourth overall studio effort, Merry Christmas , followed in 1994. [9] [10] After Carey's success in Asia with Merry Christmas, Billboard estimated Carey as the all-time best-selling international artist in Japan. [11] The singer's fifth studio album Daydream was released in 1995 and became her second Diamond certified album by the RIAA, with worldwide sales of 20 million copies. [12]
Carey's sixth studio album Butterfly , and the compilation album, #1's , were both certified five-time platinum in the US; the latter remains the best-selling album in Japan by a non-Asian artist, selling 3.25 million copies. [13] While the singer's seventh studio effort Rainbow (1999) received triple platinum certification from RIAA, it was her first album since Merry Christmas to not reach number one in the US. Carey parted from Columbia/Sony Music in 2001 and signed a contract with EMI's Virgin Records worth a reported US$100 million, [14] the largest record contract ever signed. She released her next album, Glitter , which was the soundtrack to the film of same name. The album suffered from poor publicity and became a commercial failure, primarily due to setbacks and delays surrounding its release; ultimately, the album and film would be released on September 11, 2001, a tragic day on which music and movies would be the least of America's concerns. However, in 2018, Mariah Carey fans around the world successfully executed an internet campaign called #JusticeForGlitter; the fan-created petition's goal was to have as many people purchase the album, digitally, as possible. Seventeen years after the failed release of Glitter, and coming from relative obscurity, the album had suddenly reached the #1 spot on the iTunes albums chart, primarily due to the fans' promotions. [15] [16]
Carey signed a new deal in 2002 with Island Records and released her ninth studio album Charmbracelet , which also fell short of Carey's earlier success. The singer then took a three-year break to record new material and introduced a hip-hop inspired album, The Emancipation of Mimi , which became the best-selling album of 2005 in the US. It was certified six-time platinum by the RIAA, sold 10 million copies worldwide. [17] In 2008, Carey released her tenth studio album, E=MC² , which sold over 2.5 million copies worldwide. Her subsequent release, Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel (2009), managed sales of two million units while her second holiday album Merry Christmas II You (2010) shipped over 500,000 copies in the United States. [18] The singer's fourteenth effort, Me. I Am Mariah... The Elusive Chanteuse , was released in May 2014, but experienced meagre sales. [19] [20]
After the poor reception from her fourteenth album, Carey eventually went on to secure a multi-album record deal with Epic in January 2015, a subsidiary of Sony Music Entertainment. [21] She subsequently came out with her sixth compilation album, #1 to Infinity , and a residency deal to perform at The Colosseum at the Caesars Palace hotel in Las Vegas. [22] Her fifteenth studio album, Caution , was released in November 2018 under Epic, and was given much higher praise than her most recent works at the time, but became her lowest-selling album of her career with 80,000 copies sold worldwide. [23] In 2019, Carey released a deluxe version of her first Christmas album featuring an extra disc of remixes, live performances and multiple tracks from her second Christmas album. [24] In mid-2020, to celebrate the 30th anniversary of Carey's debut album, Carey released a compilation album, entitled The Rarities , which featured unreleased songs, B-sides, demos and live performances. [25] A few months later, Carey announced a Christmas special with an accompanying soundtrack, Mariah Carey's Magical Christmas Special . [26] The album featured rerecordings of Carey's Christmas discography along with a variety of musical guests, including Ariana Grande, Snoop Dogg among others. [27]
Title | Album details | Peak chart positions | Sales | Certifications | |||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
US [28] | AUS [29] | CAN [30] | FRA [31] | GER [32] | JPN [33] | NL [34] | NZ [35] | SWI [36] | UK [37] | ||||
Mariah Carey | 1 | 6 | 1 | — | 24 | 13 | 6 | 4 | 15 | 6 |
| ||
Emotions |
| 4 | 8 | 6 | — | 46 | 3 | 9 | 6 | 15 | 4 |
| |
Music Box |
| 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| |
Merry Christmas |
| 3 | 2 | 4 | 44 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 10 | 4 | 32 |
| |
Daydream | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| ||
Butterfly | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 2 |
| ||
Rainbow |
| 2 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 11 | 2 | 8 |
| |
Glitter | 7 | 13 | 4 | 5 | 7 | 1 | 12 | 11 | 10 | 10 |
| ||
Charmbracelet | 3 | 42 | 30 | 12 | 32 | 4 | 30 | — | 9 | 52 |
| ||
The Emancipation of Mimi |
| 1 | 6 | 2 | 4 | 14 | 2 | 8 | 12 | 9 | 7 |
| |
E=MC² |
| 1 | 2 | 1 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 11 | 10 | 5 | 3 | ||
Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel |
| 3 | 6 | 5 | 10 | 27 | 9 | 26 | 25 | 18 | 23 |
| |
Merry Christmas II You |
| 4 | 27 | 14 | 82 | 77 | 24 | 52 | — | — | 101 |
|
|
Me. I Am Mariah... The Elusive Chanteuse | 3 | 5 | 8 | 26 | 27 | 25 | 14 | 11 | 16 | 14 |
| ||
Caution |
| 5 | 15 | 15 | 71 | 67 | 30 | 38 | 40 | 35 | 40 |
| |
"—" denotes releases that did not chart or was not released |
Title | Soundtrack album details | Peak chart positions | |||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
US [28] | CAN [30] | IRE [129] | JPN [33] | SWI [36] | UK Dig. [37] | ||||||||
All I Want for Christmas Is You |
| — | — | — | — | — | |||||||
Mariah Carey's Magical Christmas Special |
| 100 | 99 | 47 | 100 | 37 | 18 | ||||||
"—" denotes releases that did not chart or was not released |
Title | Compilation album details | Peak chart positions | Sales | Certifications | |||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
US [28] | AUS [29] | CAN [30] | FRA [31] | GER [32] | JPN [33] | NL [34] | NZ [35] | SWI [36] | UK [37] | ||||
#1's |
| 4 | 6 | 6 | 2 | 10 | 1 | 15 | 13 | 3 | 10 |
| |
Greatest Hits |
| 52 | 47 | 27 | 3 | 36 | 3 | 37 | 11 | 17 | 7 |
| |
The Ballads |
| 10 | 79 | — | 39 | — | 19 | 5 | 19 | — | 13 |
|
|
Playlist: The Very Best of Mariah Carey |
| — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
The Essential Mariah Carey |
| — | 86 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
#1 to Infinity |
| 29 | 18 | — | 132 | — | 19 | 44 | 25 | 49 | 8 |
|
|
Japan Best |
| — | — | — | — | — | 53 | — | — | — | — | ||
The Rarities |
| 31 | 16 | 80 | 70 | 65 | 24 | 47 | — | 29 | 44 |
| |
"—" denotes releases that did not chart or was not released |
Title | Remix album details | Peak chart positions | Sales | Certifications | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
US [28] | AUS [29] | FRA [31] | JPN [33] | NL [34] | NZ [35] | SWI [36] | UK [37] | ||||
The Remixes | 26 | 78 | 60 | 95 | 99 | 36 | 69 | 35 |
|
|
Title | Extended play details | Peak chart positions | Sales | Certifications | |||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
US [28] | AUS [29] | CAN [30] | FRA [31] | GER [32] | JPN [33] | NL [34] | NZ [35] | SWI [36] | UK [37] | ||||
MTV Unplugged |
| 3 | 7 | 6 | 22 | 30 | 13 | 1 | 1 | 19 | 3 |
| |
Valentines | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
The Live Debut – 1990 |
| — [upper-alpha 51] | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
"—" denotes releases that did not chart or was not released |
Title | Box set details | Notes |
---|---|---|
12s |
|
|
Mariah Carey / Emotions / Music Box |
| |
MTV Unplugged / Daydream / Butterfly |
| |
Music Box / Rainbow |
|
|
Daydream / Butterfly |
|
|
Music Box / Butterfly |
|
|
E=MC2 Adventure Box |
| |
3CD Collector's Set |
| |
Daydream / Mariah Carey |
|
|
Emotions / Rainbow / Butterfly |
|
|
Charmbracelet / The Emancipation of Mimi / E=MC2 |
|
|
Charmbracelet / The Emancipation of Mimi |
|
|
E=MC2 / Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel |
|
|
Mariah Carey is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and actress. An influential figure in popular music, she is known for her five-octave vocal range, melismatic singing style, and signature use of the whistle register. Carey is also credited with influencing vocal styles, merging hip-hop with pop through her collaborations, popularizing remixes, and helping break down racial barriers for multiracial Americans in popular culture. Referred to as the "Songbird Supreme" by Guinness World Records, she was ranked as the fifth greatest singer of all time by Rolling Stone in 2023, and has been dubbed the "Queen of Christmas" for the enduring popularity of her Christmas music, particularly the 1994 song "All I Want for Christmas Is You", which is the best-selling holiday song by a female artist.
Mariah Carey is the debut studio album by American R&B singer Mariah Carey, released on June 12, 1990, by Columbia Records. Its music incorporates a range of contemporary genres with a mix of slow ballads and up-tempo tracks. Originally, Carey wrote four songs with Ben Margulies, which solely constituted her demo tape. After Carey was signed to Columbia, all four songs, after being altered and partially re-recorded, made the final cut for the album. Aside from Margulies, Carey worked with a range of professional writers and producers, all of whom were hired by Columbia CEO, Tommy Mottola. Mariah Carey featured production and writing from Rhett Lawrence, Ric Wake and Narada Michael Walden, all of whom were top record producers at the time. Together with Carey, they conceived the album and reconstructed her original demo tape.
The Emancipation of Mimi is the tenth studio album by American R&B singer Mariah Carey, released through Island Records on April 12, 2005. The album was considered Carey's "comeback album" by critics and became her highest-selling release in the US in a decade. In composing the album, Carey collaborated with many songwriters and producers throughout 2004, including Jermaine Dupri, Snoop Dogg, Kanye West, Twista, Nelly, Pharrell Williams, and James "Big Jim" Wright, many of whom appeared as featured guests on select tracks.
Butterfly is the sixth studio album by American singer-songwriter Mariah Carey, released on September 10, 1997, by Columbia Records. The album contains both hip-hop and urban adult contemporary sounds, as well as some softer and more contemporary melodies. Throughout the project, Carey worked with Walter Afanasieff, with whom she had written and produced most of the material from her previous albums. She also worked with many famed hip-hop producers and rappers, such as Sean "Puffy" Combs, Q-Tip, Missy Elliott and the Trackmasters. With the latter acts producing most of the album, Butterfly deviated from the adult contemporary sound of Carey's previous albums.
Daydream is the fifth studio album by American singer-songwriter Mariah Carey, released on September 26, 1995, by Columbia Records. The follow-up to her internationally successful studio album Music Box (1993), and the holiday album Merry Christmas (1994), Daydream differed from her previous releases by leaning increasingly towards urban music. Throughout the project, Carey collaborated with Walter Afanasieff, with whom she wrote and produced most of her previous albums. With Daydream, Carey took more control over the musical direction as well as the album's composition. Carey considered the album to be the beginning of her musical and vocal transition, a change that would become more evident in her sixth studio album Butterfly (1997). During the album's production, Carey endured many creative differences with her label and then-husband Tommy Mottola. On Daydream, Carey collaborated with Jermaine Dupri, Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds, and R&B group Boyz II Men. With Afanasieff's assistance and the addition of a few contemporary producers, she was able to make a subtle transition into the contemporary R&B market, after previously only pursuing pop, adult contemporary and traditional R&B music.
American singer Mariah Carey has released 88 official singles, 22 promotional singles, and has made 30 guest appearances. Her self-titled debut album in 1990 yielded four number-one singles on the Billboard Hot 100, the first being "Vision of Love", a song credited with revolutionizing the usage of distinguished vocal stylings, predominantly the practice of melisma, and effectively influencing virtually every female R&B performer since the 1990s. Subsequent singles "Emotions" (1991) and Carey's cover of the Jackson 5 track "I'll Be There" (1992) continued the singer's streak of US number-one singles, with the latter becoming her fourth chart-topper in Canada and first in the Netherlands. With the release of Carey's third studio album, Music Box (1993), the singer's international popularity surged upon release of "Hero" and the album's third single, her cover of Harry Nilsson's "Without You", which became the singer's first number-one single in several countries across Europe.
"All I Want for Christmas Is You" is a song by American singer Mariah Carey from her fourth studio album and first holiday album, Merry Christmas (1994). Written and produced by Carey and Walter Afanasieff, the song was released as the lead single from the album on October 29, 1994, by Columbia Records. The track is an uptempo love song that includes bell chimes, backing vocals, and synthesizers. It has received critical acclaim, with The New Yorker describing it as "one of the few worthy modern additions to the holiday canon". The song has become a Christmas standard, with a significant rise in popularity every December.
The Remixes is the first remix album by American singer and songwriter Mariah Carey, released on June 25, 2003, by Columbia Records. It is primarily a collection of remixes of some of Carey's songs: disc one is compiled of club mixes, while disc two contains Carey's hip hop collaborations and remixes.
#1's is the first greatest hits album by American singer-songwriter Mariah Carey, released by Columbia Records on November 17, 1998. The album contained Carey's then thirteen number-one singles on the Billboard Hot 100, as well as four new songs. In Japan, the album also included her popular single, "All I Want for Christmas Is You", which was Carey's biggest selling single there.
"Fantasy" is a song by the American singer-songwriter Mariah Carey. It was released on August 23, 1995, by Columbia Records as the lead single from her fifth album, Daydream (1995). The track was written and produced by Carey and Dave Hall. It samples Tom Tom Club's 1981 song "Genius of Love". The lyrics describe a woman who is in love with a man, and how every time she sees him she starts fantasizing about an impossible relationship with him. The remix for the song features rap verses from Ol' Dirty Bastard, something Carey arranged to assist in her crossover into the hip-hop market and credited for introducing R&B and hip hop collaboration into mainstream pop culture, and for popularizing rap as a featuring act.
Music Box is the third studio album by American singer-songwriter Mariah Carey. It was released by Columbia Records on August 31, 1993. The album comprises ballads primarily written by Carey and Walter Afanasieff, with whom she had previously worked on Emotions (1991), and a few urban dance tracks. During the course of the album's development, Carey wanted to broaden her audience, choosing a more pop/R&B oriented sound. During this time frame, she experimented with different musical instruments, leading the album's sound away from her more contemporary previous two efforts.
Rainbow is the seventh studio album by American R&B singer Mariah Carey, released on November 2, 1999, by Columbia Records. The album followed the same pattern as Carey's previous two albums, Daydream (1995) and Butterfly (1997), in which she began her transition into the urban adult contemporary market. Rainbow contains a mix of hip hop-influenced R&B tracks, as well as a variety of ballads. Carey produced the album with David Foster and Diane Warren, who, as well as Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis, replaced Walter Afanasieff, the main balladeer Carey worked with throughout the 1990s. As a result of her separation from her husband, Tommy Mottola, Carey had more control over the musical style of this album, so she collaborated with several hip-hop artists such as Jay-Z, Snoop Dogg, Master P and Mystikal as well as female rappers Da Brat and Missy Elliott. Other collaborations include the pop and R&B acts Joe, Usher and boyband 98 Degrees.
Merry Christmas is the fourth studio album by American singer-songwriter Mariah Carey, and her first Christmas album. Released by Columbia Records on October 28, 1994, at the peak of the initial stretch of Carey's career, between Music Box (1993) and Daydream (1995), the album features cover versions of popular Christmas songs in addition to original material. Carey worked with Walter Afanasieff, with whom she wrote all of the original tracks, as well as producing Carey's interpretations of the covered material. Three singles were released from the album, of which "All I Want for Christmas Is You" went on to become one of the best-selling singles of all time and the best-selling Christmas ringtone in the United States.
MTV Unplugged is a live EP by American singer-songwriter Mariah Carey, released in the United States on June 2, 1992, by Columbia Records. Following the success of Carey's previous two albums and the growing critical commentary on her lack of concert tours and unsubstantial televised performances, Sony organized a live performance show at the Kaufman Astoria Studios, New York on March 16, 1992. The show, titled MTV Unplugged, originally aired on MTV to help promote Carey's second album Emotions, as well as help shun critics who deemed Carey a possible studio artist. However, after its success, the show was released to the public as an EP, with an accompanying VHS titled MTV Unplugged +3.
"Christmas, Why Can't I Find You?" is a song written by Mariah Carey, James Horner and Will Jennings for the movie How the Grinch Stole Christmas in 2000. In the film, it is first sung by Taylor Momsen, who played Cindy Lou Who.
"Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)" is a pop song originally sung by Darlene Love and included on the 1963 seasonal compilation album, A Christmas Gift for You from Phil Spector. The song was written by Ellie Greenwich, Jeff Barry, and Phil Spector.
The Ballads is the third compilation album by American singer and songwriter Mariah Carey. The album features some of Carey's top selling ballads over the course of her career. It was released internationally in late 2008, and in North America in January 2010.
Merry Christmas II You is the thirteenth studio album and second Christmas album by American singer-songwriter Mariah Carey. It was released by Island Records on November 2, 2010. Recording began in April 2010 and continued while Carey became pregnant. She was the executive producer of Merry Christmas II You and worked with various record producers, including Bryan-Michael Cox, Jermaine Dupri, Randy Jackson, James Poyser, Marc Shaiman, James "Big Jim" Wright and Johnny "Sev" Severin of RedOne. The album features Carey's mother Patricia Carey as a guest vocalist on "O Come All Ye Faithful" / "Hallelujah Chorus". The album serves as a sequel to her fourth studio album Merry Christmas (1994). It is composed of original songs and covers, ballads and uptempo tracks, incorporating R&B, soul, and house music in its composition.
"Oh Santa!" is a song by American singer and songwriter Mariah Carey from her second Christmas album and thirteenth studio album, Merry Christmas II You (2010). Carey wrote and produced the song in collaboration with Jermaine Dupri and Bryan-Michael Cox. It was released as the lead single from the album on October 1, 2010 by Island Def Jam Records. It is an up-tempo R&B song about Carey making a plea for Santa Claus to bring back her partner in time for the Christmas holidays. It received a positive response from music critics, with many praising its composition and style.
#1 to Infinity is the sixth greatest hits album by American singer-songwriter and producer Mariah Carey. It was released by Sony Music on May 15, 2015. It features Carey's then eighteen US number-one singles on the Billboard Hot 100. A new recording called "Infinity" was released as the only single on April 27, 2015. In January 2015, the singer announced that she had signed a residency deal to perform at The Colosseum at the Caesars Palace hotel in Las Vegas in May and July 2015, and would perform all of her number ones. As a result, she decided to re-release her first compilation, 1998's #1's, with an updated list of subsequent chart toppers. Carey promoted the album with her #1 to Infinity residency and with live performances at the Billboard Music Awards, Jimmy Kimmel Live! and Live! with Kelly and Michael.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)It has sold 15 million copies worldwide and over 900,000 copies in Japan.
A masterpiece showing 8 million copies worldwide and more than 1 million copies in Japan
Mariah Carey albums, 'Music Box,' which has done 600,000 copies, and 'Merry Christmas,' which did 200,000 units.
...2.3 million copies sold in Japan.
(album "Merry Christmas" ... [has cumulative sales] of 2.8 million)
Mariah Carey's Merry Christmas continues to be a strong seller in the 2000s with 311,000 sales since the turn of the century
Over 25 million copies worldwide have been sold so far, and 2.2 million copies have been sold in Japan.
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