Is Mariah Carey one of the greatest pop artists of all time? asked Ken Levine in Huffingtonpost.com. For most music fans, that’s a laughable proposition, yet “Touch My Body,” the latest single from her album E=MC2, marks 18 no. 1 songs for the pop diva—second only to the Beatles. This means that the woman who gave us Glitter now has more chart-topping hits than Elvis Presley. Not surprisingly, the song that put the nail in the coffin includes such cringe-worthy lyrics as “I’ll hug you tighter than my favorite jeans.”
But as Elvis himself said, 50 million—or in Carey’s case, 61.5 million—fans can’t be wrong, said Jody Rosen in Slate.com. Considering that Carey made her debut less than 20 years ago, she deserves a little respect from all “the haters.” Her voice—“that cyclonic force capable of hurtling unnumbered octaves, shattering crystalware, and inducing musicogenic epileptic seizures in Japanese women”—has influenced countless contemporary pop singers, for good or ill. All this tells us is that no. 1 hits are no longer a signifier of true cultural influence, said Mario Tarradell in The Dallas Morning News. Carey’s recent success is a product of the collapsing music industry and the rise of digital downloads. As one of a dwindling number of big-name acts, she has less competition. Still, if she surpasses the Beatles’ record of 20 no. 1s, I’ll shed a tear.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
5 immersive books to read this April for a brief escapeThe Week Recommends A dystopian tale takes us to the library, a journalist's ode to her refugee parents and more
-
'The winners and losers of AI may not be where we expect'Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
Shingles vaccine cuts dementia risk, study findsSpeed Read Getting vaccinated appears to significantly reduce the chances of developing Alzheimer's and other forms of dementia
