American Idol: How Many Albums Mariah Carey Has Sold In Her Career
Mariah Carey had a rough time as a judge on American Idol, but her long-lasting career proves that she doesn't need to appear on TV in order to stay relevant in the public eye. Mariah started her career in 1989, when she was just 20 years old. Since the very beginning, she has proven herself to be a powerhouse vocalist and a sharp songwriter, crafting and performing several smash hits over the course of her career that now spans three decades. From "Visions Of Love" to "A No No", Mariah has set up the blueprint for an entire generation of female singers.
At the start of her career, Mariah Carey became the first artist in history to have her five first singles reach the #1 spot on the Billboard Hot 100 charts. As the years went by and Mariah kept releasing powerful songs, she's gone on to have 19 #1 songs on Billboard. To this date, Mariah holds the record for most #1 songs by a solo artist and by a female artist. Her Christmas anthem, "All I Want For Christmas Is You", also set a new record for most weeks spent in the #1 spot on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.
There is a very clear reason why Mariah Carey was approached to become a judge on American Idol season 12: not that many people understand what it means to be an idol as she does. Mariah is one of the best-selling artists in history, having sold a total of 200 million albums during her career. To put that into perspective, Mariah has sold as many albums as artists such as Queen, Whitney Houston, Eminem, Celine Dion, AC/DC, Taylor Swift, and the Rolling Stones. With so many album sales, it isn't surprising that Mariah's net worth is estimated to be around $320 million (via Celebrity Net Worth).
Mariah Carey is not only one of the highest-paid judges in the history of American Idol, but she is also a best-selling artist. Her albums successful albums of all time are 1993's Music Box (28 million copies), 1995's Daydream (20 million copies), 1990's Mariah Carey (15 million copies), and 1994's Merry Christmas (15 million copies). Alas, she also has several other albums that will never be forgotten by the fans, such as 1991's Emotions (8 million copies), 1997's Butterfly (10 million copies), and 2005's The Emancipation Of Mimi (10 million copies).
It is unlikely that Mariah will ever come back as a judge on American Idol, but she did agree to appear as an advisor on The Voice in recent years. Overall, Mariah is now mostly focusing on releasing original music that she's passionate about and putting together TV specials that the fans will be watching and re-watching for years to come.
American Idol season 19 airs Sundays & Mondays at 8 pm ET/PT on ABC.
Sources: Celebrity Net Worth