know that Mariah Carey and Nicki Minaj have been engaged in a bitter feud since the start of this season of American Idol. Yet, the latter and her fans somehow got the idea that she had done enough throughout her short career to match the legacy of Carey.
Minaj recently matched Carey’s 44 entries on the Billboard Hot 100 but is that enough to draw parallels between her and her foe? This is where I step in with my trust archive of music history facts to bring a fresh perspective to the ongoing debate. Check out the breakdown of Carey and Minaj’s chart achievements below:
Billboard Hot 100 Entries
Since bursting onto the music scene with her debut single, “Vision of Love”, in 1990, Carey has scored 44 Hot 100 hits. Minaj has already matched that feat in just over 3 years but there is a very important distinction between their accomplishments.
Carey landed 42 of her 44 songs on the Hot 100 as a lead artist whereas Minaj was only the main act on 17 of her hits (she was merely featured on 27 additional chart entries). Still, both women’s numbers seem quite basic when compared to Aretha Franklin’s 73 Hot 100 hits (the most among solo female artists), Lil Wayne’s 115 (the most among solo male artists) and the Glee cast’s 206 (the most among all acts).
Billboard Hot 100 Top 10 Hits
Minaj has thus far logged a total of 9 top 10 hits on the Hot 100 since landing her first chart entry in 2010. That is quite impressive but how does that figure compare to Carey’s total? The latter has placed 27 top 10 hits on the lineup, which ranks her in 5th place among artists with the most such titles.
Additionally, Carey clocked 11 consecutive Hot 100 top 10 singles from her “Vision of Love” debut in 1990 until her streak was broken by “Anytime You Need a Friend”, which peaked at #12, in 1994. By the way Madonna still leads all artists with 38 top 10 hits and the Ancient One does not share power.
Billboard Hot 100 #1 Songs
This is where the scales really tip in favour of Carey. To date, she has scored 18 #1 singles on the Hot 100, which is more than any solo act in the 54-year history of the chart and second only to The Beatles’ 20. Minaj, on the other hand, never topped the Hot 100.
In fact, Minaj’s highest-ranking singles are the #3 “Super Bass” and Britney Spears’ “Till the World Ends (The Femme Fatale Remix)”. So, her ratio of Hot 100 entries, top 10 songs and #1 hits is currently 44: 9: 0. Conversely, Carey’s ratio is 44: 27: 18.
Since Minaj doesn’t have a #1 song on the Hot 100, let’s take a quick look at some of Carey’s other achievements atop the chart:
Carey was the first female artist to debut at #1 with “Fantasy” in September 1995.
Carey is the only artist to score consecutive #1 debuts – “Fantasy” and “One Sweet Day”.
Carey is the only artist to land 3 #1 debuts – “Fantasy”, “One Sweet Day” and “Honey”.
Carey is ranked as the most successful debut artist in history as her first 5 singles all reached #1 – “Vision of Love”, “Someday”, “Love Takes Time”, “I Don’t Wanna Cry” and “Emotions”.
Carey is the only solo artist to place 2 songs #1 for 10 weeks or longer – “One Sweet Day” (16) and “We Belong Together” (14).
Carey is tied with Elvis Presley for spending the most cumulative weeks at #1 (79).
Billboard 200 #1 Albums
Both of Minaj’s studio albums – Pink Friday and Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded – topped the Billboard 200, which represents an incredibly rare accomplishment for a Hip-Hop act. Still, that’s not very impressive when compared to Carey’s 6 #1 albums on the lineup, although given the length of Carey’s career – 23 years and counting – it would be unfair to draw a parallel between the 2 women on this basis.
Biggest-Selling Album (US)
Minaj’s best-selling album is her platinum Pink Friday debut, which has sold over 1.80 million copies in the US since being released in November 2010. Carey’s top-performing set is 1995′s diamond-certifed Daydream, which has sold 7.61 million copies according to Nielsen SoundScan.
Of course, album sales were healthier during the 1990s so let’s judge Carey most recent non-Holiday album, Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel. That set has sold 550K copies since September 2009. Far from the blockbuster figures of Carey’s youth and definitely not on par with Minaj’s sales.
Most Successful Collaboration
As a lead artist, Minaj’s most successful collaboration has been “Moment 4 Life”, which peaked at #13 on the Hot 100 while as a guest act, Minaj reached #3 on Britney Spears’ “Till the World Ends (The Femme Fatale Remix)”. Also, her biggest-selling collaborative single is Trey Songz’s triple platinum “Bottoms Up”.
Carey’s most successful collaboration, on the other hand, dwarfs everything put forward by Minaj. “One Sweet Day” – a joint effort with Boyz II Men – was #1 the Hot 100 for 16 consecutive weeks, which is longer that any song in the history of the chart. Additionally, the track was named at the Billboard Song of the Decade during the 1990s and has sold over 2.33 million physical singles in the US alone.
So, what have we learned? Despite her current success, Minaj’s achievements are easily overshadowed by those of Carey. Yet, that’s the case with almost any artist when compared to a true chart giant. Before we go, let’s remember happier days when Carey and Minaj joined forces for “Up Out My Face”: HERE
(The Lava Lizard)
No comments:
Post a Comment