At the top of the year, Mariah Carey was in a longstanding tie with music icon Barbra Streisand for the title of best-selling female album seller in the United States.
As if breaking the tie on her birthday (March 27) wasn’t enough to celebrate, the rest of the year would see the 53-year-old enjoy buoyed digital attention to her timeless catalog – a feat that led the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) to update the figures attached to some of her biggest hits.
The result? She not only extends her album-selling record among females in the U.S. but also gets bumped up the all-time best-selling digital artists’ list as well.
As we reported here, the RIAA took to press Monday (September 26) to announce a slew of certification updates for titles in Carey’s catalog including ‘Emancipation of Mimi’ (7x Platinum) as well as its signature single, ‘We Belong Together’ (6x Platinum). The term “Platinum” denotes sales of 1 million in the US.
On the album sales front, the new plaques push Mimi’s verified Stateside sales to 71 million – making her the first female act in RIAA history to cross the threshold. Now ranked #12 among the best album-sellers in American history, only The Beatles (183 million), Garth Brooks (157 million), Elvis Presley (146.5 million), The Eagles (120 million), Led Zeppelin (112.5 million), Michael Jackson (89 million), Billy Joel (85 million), Elton John (79 million), AC/DC (75 million), Pink Floyd (75 million), and Bruce Springsteen (71 million) have sold more.
Meanwhile, her digital single sales – already the highest among any female artist who debuted before the digital era – now sit at 49.5 million. With just one more Gold certification (500,000 units) or sales update to her already Platinum-certified hits, she will become the first female act of her era to sell 50 million+ digital singles. Among all acts to predate the streaming and digital era, only Jackson (65.5 million) has sold as many or more digital records.
The increased US sales figures help hoist the diva’s worldwide stats right over their previously reported 220 million-sold mark.
The RIAA report comes just a week after news surfaced Mariah is hard at work on a new album, one that will reportedly see her reunite with producer extraordinaire/music exec LA Reid.
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