Mariah Carey is making history…
The 48-year-old Half-Venezuelan American singer has become the first artist to replace herself at No. 1 on Billboard’s Top R&B Albums chart since its inception in 2012.
The diva’s Merry Christmas leaps 4-1 on the ranking dated December 8 and deposes her own LP, Caution, which slips 1-8 in its second week.
Merry Christmas, released in 1994, earned 24,000 equivalent album units in the week ending November 29, according to Nielsen Music, while Caution netted 14,000 units sold.
As MerryChristmas ascends, Carey collects her third leader on the chart, following Me. I Am Mariah…The Elusive Chanteuse, a one-week champ in 2014 and Caution.
In addition to its Top R&B Albums coronation, Merry Christmas also rallies 24-9 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart and 50-19 on the Billboard 200.
Nearly 25 years after its debut, Merry Christmas consistently remains one of the top performing holiday albums each year, with its success largely traceable to “All I Want for Christmas Is You,” virtually a modern standard in the holiday catalog.
“All I Want for Christmas Is You” also makes its annual return to several Billboard charts, including a 29-14 surge on the Billboard Hot 100 and a 30-8 roar on Streaming Songs. The tune also inaugurates this year’s first edition of the seasonal Holiday 100 chart in a familiar spot — No. 1 — for its 31st week overall.