Mariah Carey has opened up about her genuine perspective on the significance of Billboard’s charts.
In an “Over/Under” segment with Pitchfork released on August 14, Mimi assessed whether the song and album rankings—platforms she’s long excelled on—are overrated or underrated. “They’re incredibly important to me,” she confessed at the outset.
“I’d argue they’re underrated,” Carey elaborated. “Not everyone follows them, so some album tracks go unnoticed even though they deserve attention. Then there’s my perennial holiday hit, ‘All I Want for Christmas Is You’—that one speaks for itself.”
Carey holds the record for the most Hot 100 No. 1 singles by a solo artist with 19, trailing only The Beatles’ 20. She’s the sole performer to earn a chart-topping hit in each of four consecutive decades, and remains the only artist with a No. 1 single on the Hot 100 in three different decades.
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Every December, Carey’s timeless “All I Want for Christmas Is You” resurfaces atop Billboard’s holiday charts, logging 18 weeks at No. 1 since its 1994 debut. Reflecting on her record-breaking milestones, she called her achievements “astonishing.”
“Having 19 No. 1 hits and being just one shy of The Beatles… it’s almost unbelievable,” she remarked. “It’s hard to fully grasp.”
In the same Pitchfork conversation, Carey candidly described Love Island as “ugh,” gushed over Labrador puppies as “immeasurably sweet,” and quipped, “I think the Grammys are overrated… but we still love them.”
Watch the full interview above to hear her thoughts on the Billboard charts and more.
