By M&C News Apr 23, 2008, 15:28 GMT
An unprecedented pre- and post-release campaign – including appearances on NBC’s Saturday Night Live, MTV’s The Hills, BET’s concert special, FOX’s IDOL Gives Back and American Idol, and The Oprah Winfrey Show – maximized exposure for international superstar Mariah Carey and her current smash hits, the #1 “Touch My Body” and #1 most added “Bye Bye,” resulting in a massive #1 debut on the Billboard 200 albums chart for ‘E=MC˛’, weighing in with first week Soundscan sales of 463,000 units.
‘E=MC˛’ also debuts #1 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop albums chart and #1 on the Top Digital albums chart (Mariah's first-ever #1 digital album debut with over 50,000 scanned!). "Mariah's an inspiration, the true definition of a star," said Antonio ‘L.A.’ Reid, Chairman, Island Def Jam Music Group. "She continues to amaze us with every incredible new album she creates. Now Mariah has added another plateau of success to what has become her virtually unapproachable track record on charts around the world. She proves beyond a doubt that with talent, ambition, and sheer force of will, all things are possible."
TV appearances continue this Friday, April 25th on ABC, when Mariah returns to Good Morning America for a live outdoor concert with New York’s Times Square as her backdrop. Three years to the month since she first shut down traffic outside GMA’s studios on 44th Street to celebrate the release week of ‘The Emancipation Of Mimi,’ Mariah will once again welcome thousands of fans to the event, slated between 8:00 and 9:00 a.m. She then hurries uptown for a guest appearance on Live with Regis & Kelly.
Mariah reached an historic career achievement earlier this month when “Touch My Body” became her 18th #1 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 – surpassing one of the most enduring chart records in Billboard history, Elvis Presley’s 17 #1’s. “Touch My Body”’s two weeks at the top marked Mariah’s 78th and 79th cumulative career weeks at #1, which tied Elvis’ long-standing all-time high of 79 weeks at #1, as calculated in Billboard.
At the same time, Mariah is now positioned as the only active recording artist in the 50 years of the Hot 100 (which began in 1958) with the potential to surpass the Beatles’ all-time high of 20 #1 hits.
“Touch My Body” took over the #1 spot with an all-time record-setting 286,000 debut week on the Billboard Hot Digital Songs chart. The video, directed by feature filmmaker Brett Ratner, and featuring a cameo by Jack McBrayer (30 Rock’s Kenneth Parcell), stays in rotation on VH1, VH1 Soul, BET and 106 & Park, and FUSE; as well as #1 at Yahoo Music Video. "Touch My Body" also topped the AOL video charts for several weeks.
Clear Channel Online played a major part in the Mariah Carey promotion, simultaneously launching “Touch My Body” as it went to radio. The song was played over 400,000 times in one week and debuted at #1 on the On-Demand Chart. Tracks from ‘E=MC˛’ were also featured in Clear Channel’s Sneak Peak promotion a week before the album was released.
“Bye Bye” impacted across-the-board at Pop, Rhythmic, and Urban radio formats on Monday, April 21 and is #1 most added across the board.
Leading up to the release of ‘E=MC˛,’ “Touch My Body” was one of two songs (along with “Migrate”) that were performed by Mariah last month on NBC’s Saturday Night Live, hosted by Jonah Hill, the show to be re-run on May 3rd. Earlier this month, Mariah gave a special performance of “Touch My Body” and “We Belong Together” after the season premiere of the MTV reality series, “The Hills.” The episode set a year-to-date record as the highest rated telecast on cable TV. On April 9th, Mariah joined an all-star cast for the second annual “IDOL Gives Back” two-hour tv special, a music celebration raising awareness and benefiting various U.S. and international charities.
The following Monday, April 14th, Mariah appeared as special guest on The Oprah Winfrey Show, chatting with the host and performing “Bye Bye.” The next day, as ‘E=MC˛’ was released, Mariah began a two-night stint on American Idol, serving as musical mentor to that week’s finalists on night one, and performing “Bye Bye” on night two.
“Touch My Body” was produced by Mariah Carey, C. “Tricky” Stewart, and fellow Island Def Jam artist The-Dream. Other guest producers joining Mariah on E=MC˛ include Jermaine Dupri, DJ Toomp, Stargate, Will I Am, Bryan Michael Cox, Nate "Danjahandz" Hills and James Poyser. The album is executive produced by Mariah Carey and Antonio “LA” Reid, Chairman, Island Def Jam Music Group.
The 11th studio album of her career, ‘E=MC˛’ follows-up ‘The Emancipation Of Mimi,’ Mariah’s worldwide 10 million selling #1 album, which generated three Grammy awards (including Best Contemporary R&B Album), two #1 singles, and countless more honors during its 18-month stay on the charts.
Released April 12, 2005, ‘Mimi’ was an industry phenomenon for the mega-platinum award-winning superstar. Soundscan’s biggest-selling album of the year, it brought total sales of Mariah’s albums, singles and videos to over 160 million worldwide, making her the top-selling female recording artist in history.
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