Still "together"
Hello Fred. Mariah Carey continues to be the chart phenomenon of the year, as this week she sets a new chart [record]. With "We Belong Together" in its 13th week on top of the Hot 100, she now has the longest running No. 1 single of the decade (surpassing Eminem's "Lose Yourself" and Usher's "Yeah!" with 12 weeks each).
While her run could certainly be surpassed by the end of 2009, as of now she is the only artist in Hot 100 history to have the longest running No. 1 hit of two different decades. "One Sweet Day", with Boyz II Men, was of course the longest running chart-topper of the '90s with 16 weeks on top.
With "Shake It Off" looking more and more like the next No. 1 single, I'm sure Mariah will continue to pop up in Chart Beat for some time to come. Thanks for the great column. Eric Colley, Lake Mary, Fla. Dear Eric. Every once in a while there is an artist who generates chart news for weeks at a time. Elton John did it at the end of 1997 when his tribute single to Princess Diana, "Candle in the Wind 1997", was No. 1 for 14 weeks. Usher seemed to make chart news every week in 2004 and Ray Charles garnered a lot of posthumous ink last year.
Now it's Mariah Carey's turn to make a lot of chart news. The ongoing success of "We Belong Together" and the rise of "Shake It Off" have given me a lot to write about, and so has the success of her album, "The Emancipation of Mimi".
If "We Belong Togeher" is No. 1 for a 14th week, or if Mariah replaces herself at No. 1 with "Shake It Off", that will create even more Chart Beat fodder. (Billboard's Chart Beat)
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