Most US No.1 singles by a solo artist

Mariah Carey (USA) has topped the US Billboard Hot 100 singles chart on 19 different occasions. Her first No.1 was “Vision of Love” on 4 August 1990, and her 19th chart champ was “All I Want for Christmas Is You” on 21 December 2019.

Twenty-nine years 153 days (from 4 August 1990 to 4 January 2020 – ‘All I Want…’s third and final week at No.1) separate Mariah’s first and most recent trips to the summit (the longest-ever span of Hot 100 No.1s), with 11 years 267 days (from 12 April 2008 to 4 January 2020) between her 18th (“Touch My Body”) and 19th (“All I Want for Christmas Is You”) No.1s on the Hot 100.

Originally released in 1994, “All I Want…” was ineligible to chart on the Hot 100 back then as no physical copies of the track were commercially available. The song first made the countdown on 8 January 2000, spending a week at No.83. In 2012, when streaming was factored into chart placings, “All I Want…” made the first of its annual pilgrimage to the Hot 100 during the festive season. It reached the Top 10 for the first time (No.9) on 30 December 2017 and rose to a new peak of No.3 on 5 January 2019, which was matched on 14 December 2019 before its climb to the top.

Remarkably, the track is the first Christmas-themed No.1 on the Hot 100 since “The Chipmunk Song” spent the first of four weeks at No.1 on 22 December 1958. Mariah, therefore, now shares the record for the highest-charting holiday (Christmas/New Year) song on the Hot 100 with The Chipmunks and David Seville.

With “All I Want…”, Carey extended her lead over Elvis Presley (17) for the most US No.1s by a solo artist, and is just one behind The Beatles (20) for the most chart-toppers overall.

Mariah’s 19 US No.1s: “Vision of Love” (4 weeks in 1990); “Love Takes Time” (3 weeks in 1990); “Someday” (2 weeks in 1991); “I Don’t Wanna Cry” (2 weeks in 1991); “Emotions” (3 weeks in 1991); “I’ll Be There” (feat. Trey Lorenz; 2 weeks in 1992); “Dreamlover” (8 weeks in 1993); “Hero” (4 weeks in 1993-94); “Fantasy” (8 weeks in 1995); “One Sweet Day” (feat. Boyz II Men; 16 weeks in 1995-96); “Always Be My Baby” (2 weeks in 1996); “Honey” (3 weeks in 1997); “My All” (1 week in 1998); “Heartbreaker” (feat. Jay-Z; 2 weeks in 1999); “Thank God I Found You” (feat. Joe & 98 Degrees; 1 week in 2000); “We Belong Together” (14 non-consecutive weeks in 2005); “Don’t Forget About Us” (2 weeks in 2005-06); “Touch My Body” (2 weeks in 2008); “All I Want for Christmas Is You” (3 weeks in 2019-20). Total weeks at No.1: 82 (a US chart record).