Mariah Carey has yet another reason to celebrate as her ‘Merry Christmas II You’ album has become her 16th gold-certified album in the US. The icon’s 2nd Holiday collection was released on November 2nd and sold over 435k units in stores (with shipments exceeding 500k) after only 8 weeks in the US despite limited promotion. The gold certification was officially issued on January 11th.
These latest figures have taken Carey’s total album sales in the US to 53.2 million since 1991, giving her the highest numbers amongst women in the SoundScan era ahead of Celine Dion (51.1 million), Shania Twain (34 million) and Britney Spears (31.6 million). Moreover, Carey has the 3rd highest album sales of any artist (male or female) in that territory in the last 20 years.
In terms of shipments, the diva has moved over 63.5 million units in the US since her debut in 1990, placing her 3rd amongst women behind only Barbra Streisand (71.5 million) and Madonna (64 million). Legendary.
Sidebar: unlike conventional releases, Carey could promote this album during every Christmas season like she did with her 1st Holiday project. This means that ‘Merry Christmas II You’ has the potential to keep selling at the end of each year, eventually achieving platinum status and beyond. That is the key difference between Christmas records and standard LPs.