We Belong Together: Mariah & Madonna Eject Elvis

Wed., Apr. 2, 2008 10:21 AM PDT by David Jenison

It's not a good day to be King.

Mariah Carey and Madonna have both made chart history at Elvis Presley's expense. For decades, Elvis owned the record for most No. 1 singles by a solo artist and most Top 10 hits in the 50-year history of Billboard's Hot 100, but on Wednesday the King lost two of his prized jewels.

Carey passed Presley as "Touch My Body," the lead single from her new E=MC2, leapt 14 spots, giving the singer her 18th No. 1.

Carey, who has been dominating the Hot 100 since her 1990 debut, tied Presley's mark with back-to-back chart-toppers "We Belong Together" and "Don't Forget About Us" from her 2005 comeback album The Emancipation of Mimi. She now only trails the Beatles, who notched 20 No. 1s (in just seven years), but the milestone is well within her reach.

"Touch My Body," which rocketed to the top after becoming available as a retail single, also set a new digital sales record, with 286,000 downloads in its debut. That tops Rihanna's previous record of 277,000 first-week downloads for "Umbrella." (Flo Rida still holds the all-around record, selling 470,000 digital copies of "Low" in a nondebuting week in early January.) Mariah's hit also benefited from a radio audience that exceeded 115 million.

Fortunately for Elvis aficionados, the King still has an edge in the most total weeks at No. 1. His hits reigned a total of 80 weeks during his three-decade career, though Mariah is closing in fast at 78 weeks.

Meanwhile, the King of Rock 'n' Roll was usurped by the Queen of Pop in the area of Top 10 singles. In 2005, the pop singer scored her 36th Top 10 hit with "Hung Up," tying Elvis' record, but her new "4 Minutes" jumped 65 spots to No. 3 this week, giving her sole possession of the record books with 37. A duet with Justin Timberlake, "4 Minutes," also benefited from a huge sales week, moving 217,000 digital copies.

Fittingly, Mariah and Madonna combined to set another milestone. Both singles entered the digital charts selling more than 200,000 digital copies apiece, the first time two singles have accomplished this feat.

Since launching her recording career in 1992, Madonna has had 53 singles crack the Hot 100, but "4 Minutes" is only her second to feature a guest vocalist. The previous instance was 2003's "Me Against the Music" with Britney Spears, shortly after she and Timberlake split.

The Hot 100, established in the summer of 1958, combines radio airplay and retail song sales. "Touch My Body" and "4 Minutes" made their retail debuts last week, which led to their considerable rise on the charts. ("4 Minutes" was available earlier as a Verizon exclusive, but it didn't make a big impact until its national debut.)

Despite their head-to-head matchup on the singles sales chart, Mariah and Madonna are bypassing a Kanye-Fiddy matchup with their albums. Mariah's E=MC2 comes out April 15, while the Material One's Hard Candy drops two weeks later.