Mariah Carey’s Career-Saving Single Earns Another Major Win

Mariah Carey dominated the Billboard charts throughout the 1990s like few before her ever had, and she mounted something of a career comeback in the mid-2000s. After a few years of relative commercial disappointments, the song that helped relaunch her to the top of the rankings and cemented her status as a true hitmaker once again has earned a new platinum certification — and in doing so, breaks out of a tie.

“We Belong Together” Goes Platinum (Again)

“We Belong Together” has now been certified seven times-platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). The track was previously awarded a six-times platinum plaque in September 2022. In the nearly three years since then, it has shifted another one million equivalent units, combining pure purchases and streaming activity.

“We Belong Together” Vs. “Fantasy”

As it moves up from six- to seven-times platinum, “We Belong Together” breaks its tie with “Fantasy” and now stands alone as Carey’s second most-certified single ever. “Fantasy” dips to third place on Carey’s all-time certified songs ranking.

“All I Want for Christmas Is You” Still Leads

Leading the way in a very distant first place among Carey’s major wins is “All I Want for Christmas Is You.” This past December, that track was advanced to 16-times platinum, meaning it has moved 16 million equivalent units in the U.S. alone.

The holiday smash is currently tied with “God’s Plan” by Drake and “Goosebumps” by Travis Scott as one of the seventh most-certified tunes in American history.

“We Belong Together” Made The Emancipation of Mimi

Carey released “We Belong Together” in March 2005 as the second single from The Emancipation of Mimi, which wouldn’t arrive for another month. By that point, “It’s Like That” — her collaboration with Jermaine Dupri and Fatman Scoop — had already returned her to the top 20 on the Hot 100, but its follow-up would prove to be much bigger.

“We Belong Together” shot straight to No. 1 on the most important songs tally in America, becoming her sixteenth career leader. It held onto the throne for 14 nonconsecutive frames during its lifetime, and the tune effectively put her back on top and reestablished her as a pop superstar.

The Emancipation of Mimi is Back

As “We Belong Together” earns its seventh platinum plaque, The Emancipation of Mimi – the album on which it’s featured – also becomes a bestseller once again, albeit in a different way. Carey recently released a twentieth anniversary edition of the beloved project, and as of the time of writing, it sits at No. 18 on the iTunes Top Albums list as fans rush to purchase the newly reissued collection.