Sunday 30 July 2006

Please say something about Mariah

Hi Fred. I wrote some weeks ago, but didn't get an answer. As my question is not-so-spectacular, I can understand why you skipped it, but I would really appreciate a quick answer. I asked about Mariah Carey's recent chart success: What were the highest Hot 100 positions of "Say Somethin' " and "Fly Like a Bird"? They both seem to be quite successful on certain R&B charts, but I didn't see either song enter the top 50 portion of the Hot 100.

What does this mean? Was Mariah's 2005 comeback just an "accident" and has the public turned away again? Thank you very much for a short reply. Sincerely yours, Holger R. Heinrich, Berlin

Dear Holger. The volume of mail received by Chart Beat Chat is so great that it's not possible to answer every question in the column. Sometimes even worthy missives are passed over; I do my best to select e-mails that are of the most general interest to post here.

It's also not possible to reply to every e-mail. If I did, writing Chart Beat Chat would become a full-time job. So, sometimes readers who send in worthy questions don't receive answers. I wish it were possible to reply to everyone, but it isn't. Please be assured I do read every e-mail, except for the obvious spam.

One of the types of questions I usually resist answering is to simply provide chart positions, for a couple of reasons. First, if I did that in this column, I would receive hundreds of such requests. And second, if that's what Chart Beat Chat becomes - simply a place to find out how high a single or album went - this would become a rather dull column.

Having made you wade through this long reply, I think you deserve an answer, so I'll make an exception this time - but this is not an invitation for other requests for chart positions. Our research department can handle those requests for a nominal fee.

On the Hot 100, "Say Somethin' " peaked at No. 79 in May. Mariah Carey's three previous singles all charted in the top two positions. "We Belong Together" spent 14 weeks at No. 1, "Shake It Off" peaked at No. 2 and "Don't Forget About Us" had a two-week reign.

"Fly Like a Bird" didn't chart on the Hot 100, but it did top the Adult R&B chart for two weeks, where it became Carey's second biggest hit, runner-up to "We Belong Together" (which ruled for eight weeks). I don't think it means the Mariah comeback is over. I do think it means "The Emancipation of Mimi" is exhausted when it comes to releasing singles and we'll have to wait for something new to bring Carey back to the top of the charts.

(Billboard's Chart Beat Chat)



COMMENTS
There are not yet comments to this article.

Only registrated members can post a comment.
© MCArchives 1998-2024 (26 years!)
NEWS
MESSAGEBOARD