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BILLBOARD ARTISTS COMPARED
October 11, 1997
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Mariah Carey ultimately breaks the three-way tie for female artist with
the most No. 1 singles. "Honey" is Mariah's twelfth No. 1 single, placing
her in a tie with The Supremes for fourth among all artists. If
"Butterfly," the second single from her fifth stuido album, hits No. 1,
Mariah will tie Michael Jackson's record of thirteen No. 1 singles.
Mariah's amazing record of No. 1 hits, including three No. 1 debuts, is no
doubt due in part to agressive marketing and deeply discounted prices on
her last four singles.
Mariah Carey also scores her fourth No. 1 album with "Butterfly,"
exceeding the tallies of Janet Jackson and Madonna. Mariah's single week
at the top of the album's chart was enough for her to set a new record
for most week's at No. 1 (not including soundtracks). However, Barbara
Streisand still holds the record for most No. 1 albums with seven. This
total could grow to eight when her forthcoming album, "Higher Ground," is
released this fall. Barabara Streisand also now ties Madonna for most
mulit-Platinum albums by a female artist as her live concert set
goes Double Platinum.
While Janet Jackson's first radio offering from "The Velvet Rope" will not
be released as a commercial single, we can expect a new single from her in
the coming months. If Janet scores another Gold single, she will further
eclipse Madonna's total unless Warner Borthers applies for a
long-overdue Gold certification for "You Must Love Me." Of course, with
"Honey" Mariah Carey increases her lead over the other divas for most
Platinum singles. She now has six Platinum singles, two of which are
double Platinum, for a total of eight million in singles sales, exceeding
Whitney's prior record of seven million.
Comparative Analysis: Female Solo Artists
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Chart/Arist Madonna Whitney Houston Mariah Carey Janet Jackson
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Hot 100 Singles
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Top 100 38 24/27# ->15/17 22/24
Top 40** 35 23/24 ->15/17 20/22
Top 20 34* 21/22 ->15/17 20/22
Top 10 30* 18/19 ->14/16 19/21
Top 5 23* 16 ->14/16 17/18
Top 2 16* 11 ->12/14 11
No. 1 singles 11 11 ->11/12* 7
Weeks at No. 1 28 31 ->41/57* 21
Platinum certs. 4 7 -> 8* 3/4
Multi-platinum 1 1 -> 2* 0
Platinum Singles 3 4 -> 6* 3/4
Gold Singles 16 15/16 ->10/12 16/17*
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Top 200 Albums
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Top 200 10/12+^ 3/6 -> 7 6
Top 100 10/12 3/6 -> 7 5
Top 40 10/12 3/6 -> 7 4
Top 20 10/12 3/6 -> 7 4
Top 10 9/11 3/6 -> 7 4
Top 5 7/8 3/6 -> 7 4
Top 2 6/7 2/4 -> 4 3
No. 1** 3 2/4 -> 4 3
Weeks at No. 1 14 25/50 ->26* 12
Platinum certs. 39/42* 25/50 37 19
Multi-platinum 9/10* 3/6 6 4
Platinum Albums 10/12 3/6 6 4
Gold Albums 10/12 3/6 6 4
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NOTES: Double-sided singles are counted only once for the purposes of
the listing above (below they are counted twice).
* female solo artist with record (including duets but not soundtracks)
** Aretha Franklin holds the record for most Top 40 singles by a female
artist with 44 (see below). Barbara Steisand holds the record for
most No. 1 albums by a female artist with 7. Streisand also ties
Madonna as the female artist with the most multi-Platinum albums.
# second number includes duets
+ second number includes soundtracks containing three or more tracks by
the artist that also constitute the majority of Top 40 hits (if any)
from the album
^ "Music from the Motion Picture Evita" charted in the Billboard 200 but
is not included in this listing becuase it substantially duplicates the
original two-disc set
-> new entry since last update
-- correction since last update
Records: Madonna and All Artists
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Artists With The Most No. 1 Singles:
1. The Beatles (20)
2. Elvis Presley (18)
3. Michael Jackson (13)
4. The Supremes (12)
->4. Mariah Carey (12)
6. Whitney Houston (11)
Madonna (11)
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Artists With the Most Top 10 Singles:
1. Elvis Presley (38)
2. The Beatles (34)
3. Madonna (30)
4. Stevie Wonder (28)
5. Michael Jackson (27)
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Female Solo Artists with the Most Top 40 Singles:
1. Aretha Franklin (44)
2. Connie Francis (35)
2. Madonna (35)
4. Dionne Warwick (31)
5. Brenda Lee (29)
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Artists with the Most Top 40 Singles:
1. Elvis Presley (114)
2. Elton John (56)
3. The Beatles (52)
4. Stevie Wonder (46)
5. Aretha Franklin (44)
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Top Selling Albums by Female Solo Artists
1. Alanis Morisette / "Jagged Little Pill" (15 million)
2. Whitney Houston / "Whitney Houston" (12 million)
3. Carole King / "Tapestry" (10 million)
4. Madonna / "Like A Virgin" (9 million)
4. Whitney Houston / "Whitney" (9 million)
4. Mariah Carey / "Music Box" (9 million)
4. Mariah Carey / "Daydream" (9 million)
4. Shania Twain / "The Woman In Me" (9 million)
4. Celine Dion / "Falling Into You" (9 million)
NOTE: For the purposes of this list, "The Bodyguard" (sales of 16
million) is not included although its sales were driven primarily by the
five Whitney Houston cuts.
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Top Selling Albums
1. Michael Jackson / "Thriller" (25 million)
1. The Eagles / "Greatest Hits Vol. 1" (24 million)
3. Fleetwood Mac / "Rumours" (17 million)
4. Led Zepplin IV (16 million)
4. "The Bodyguard" Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (16 million)
4. Boston / Boston (16 million)
Editor's Notes
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Editorial by Ed Sadtler. Information compiled by Alex Snell, Ed Sadtler,
Andrew Nestler, Zheng Wang, and other members of the Madonna list and
posted for informational purposes only.
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