Click here to download Mariah's interview with Kyle and Jackie O. (17MB, in MP3 format) which aired this morning, June 1st on Australia's 104.1 2DayFM.

Big thanks to Ross for making the file for us.

Live Aid organizer Bob Geldof announced on Tuesday that he has organized a star-studded sequel to the landmark 1985 concerts that raised hundreds of millions of dollars for famine relief in Africa. But this time, Geldof said he's interested in raising awareness instead of money.

Instead of two shows, though, Geldof has lined up five shows for the July 2 Live 8 event to shine a spotlight on the issue of poverty in the developing world. Among the stars on board are U2, Mariah Carey, Coldplay and the Dave Matthews Band. The concerts will take place in London's Hyde Park, at the foot of the Eiffel Tower in Paris, at Berlin's Brandenburg Gate, the Circus Maximus in Rome and the Museum of Art in Philadelphia.

The concerts are timed to coincide with the meeting of the G8 in Scotland (July 6-8) at which the leaders of the world's richest countries are gathering to discuss alleviating Third World debt. The concerts will be free and are aimed at raising awareness, not money.

The London show is slated to feature Paul McCartney, U2, Mariah Carey, Coldplay, Madonna, Elton John, Sting, Snoop Dogg, Annie Lennox, Dido, Keane, Muse, Scissor Sisters, Joss Stone, Stereophonics, Robbie Williams and R.E.M., while Philadelphia will host Will Smith, Bon Jovi, Matthews, Stevie Wonder and P. Diddy. Berlin has Crosby, Stills & Nash, Lauryn Hill, A-ha and the Beach Boys' Brian Wilson. So far, Jamiroquai, Placebo, Craig David, Youssou N'Dour and tennis-player-turned-singer Yannick Noah are on board in Paris, and Duran Duran and Faith Hill are slated to play Rome.

Other News Links:

With Live 8, Geldof urges G8 to stamp out poverty (Reuters)

DMB, U2 Lead Live 8 Shows (Rolling Stone)

Live 8 Officially Announced (FMQB)

As of Tuesday morning, Audioslave’s Out of Exile (Interscope/ Epic) continued to peel away from the pack, looking like a lock for #1 on this week's chart, with final sales for the album’s debut week expected to come in at 270k-280k.

That a good 70k or so ahead of the expected sales of this week’s #2 album, which at this point still could be either the debuting Common, whose Be (Geffen) is expected to come in at around 200k-210k, or System of a Down’s Mezmerize (Columbia), which is expected to see a second-week number in the same range following the album’s mighty 465k debut last week.

And then there’s Mariah Carey’s The Emancipation of Mimi (Island), which has held its ground for weeks now and isn’t giving any up just yet. The latest projections indicated a showing of 180k-190k for the week, but her appearance on Oprah last week could give her enough of a bounce to put her in contention for #2 as well.

Keep your eyes glued on the chart as it builds to its thrilling conclusion this afternoon to see how this plays out.

"Nobody can have a long career without experiencing the down side; some failure. But you have to remain positive. Because if you don't, your sadness will lead to bitterness and fester into something ugly and unproductive. I think ahead. I never look back."

So says Mariah Carey, who emerged from the tarnished dust of "Glitter" — the movie and the album — and the iffy reception of "Charmbracelet." She stands today at the pinnacle of her career. Carey's CD, "The Emancipation of Mimi," has gone double platinum. What's more, her latest single, "We Belong Together," is her 16th song to top the Billboard Hot 100. Right this minute, Mariah is the most successful female recording star ever. Only The Beatles and Elvis have had more No. 1 singles.

These days Mariah sounds like a woman who has her act together. She is full of bubbly excitement and appreciation, but not frantic, worried, obsessed, overworked. (The star insists she'll never run her energy into the ground again, as she did a few years back. This despite the fact that almost the minute she got off the phone she was heading for L.A. and then, the day after, to Japan.)

How does it feel to be historic in the music industry? "Pretty great, I have to admit. But as pleased as I am for myself, that I accomplished what I wanted to on this record, I am happier for my fans. They stuck by me. It's not that I exist for my fans, but I owe them my best. They've given me their best."

I suggested that her album should be subtitled, "The Vindication of Mariah." She laughed, "Oh, I don't think about it that way, really. What this does mean is that I have the freedom, the prerogative, if you will, to make the kind of music I want. If I want to do a gospel album, I can. Or whatever. I want to be versatile, always change, always challenge myself."

What about movies? "Believe it or not, I want to do more. And that's because, aside from 'Glitter,' I also did a little indie — 'Wise Girls.' It got great reviews, and made me feel very encouraged about a film career. Anyway, people always forget that 'Glitter' came out on September 11, 2001. Maybe it wouldn't have made a difference, but I don't think it helped."

The future? "Well, I'm a right-now kind of girl. So for the very first time, I am really enjoying my career and success. I am in this moment. But I have to say, I attended Oprah's tribute to women of color, and talking to people like Leontyne Price and Tina Turner and Diana Ross . . . it made me know I want to go on and on. And to never be afraid."

I told Mariah that her 1994 Christmas album was my favorite, and find her "O Holy Night" one of the great, moving renditions of that song. "Oh, thanks! I am the queen of all festivities, especially Christmas, so recording that had a real significance. I'm also thinking of doing a Broadway revue based around the album. Not this year, but maybe next." (Two of the original songs Carey wrote, "All I Want for Christmas Is You" and "I Miss You Most at Christmastime" have become new holiday standards.)

Mariah gave me a hearty, happy farewell as she was hustled off to her next gig. (I have literally never heard her sound so assured.) She performs at the MTV Movie Awards on June 9, and the BET Awards on the 29th. She's on a roll. She's back, bigger than ever. And I'm happy to say I never thought she wouldn't be!

--According to Net Music Countdown, tequila brand Sauza is giving away free music downloads from EMI artists including Rob Thomas, Gwen Stefani and Mariah Carey. The promotion runs from May 31, 2005 through October 31, 2005, and you must be at least 21-years-old to participate.

--Mariah is a maybe on next week's MSNBC's The 'It' List (the hottest celebs), she is trailing all the other potentials. Vote for Mariah to be on next week's list by clicking here!

--Download video clips of Mariah's arrival at Japan's Narita International Airport and her appearance at the MTV Video Music Awards Japan 2005 by clicking on the links below. Many thanks to Love Love Jack for the files.

Mariah at the Narita International Airport (The Jyohotsuu TV)

Mariah at the MTV Video Music Awards (Mezamashi TV) .

For decades now, "Today" and "Good Morning America" have gone at each other like the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox, tracking each other's performance in the Nielsen ratings as if they were morning box scores (CBS's "The Early Show," the Cleveland Indians of the network morning shows, remains a distant third). But lately, "Good Morning America" has been displaying an aggressive feistiness - both on camera and, judging by a visit last Wednesday, backstage as well -drawn at least partly from a recent rise in its fortunes.

In the battle over "gets" - those interviews or concerts that each program seeks exclusively - "Good Morning America" can point to several in recent weeks that might not have come its way a year ago.

Program's entertainment producer, Mark Bracco landed a longtime "Today" guest, the singer Mariah Carey, who introduced her new album with a concert outside the "Good Morning America" studios in Times Square. Ms. Carey was so pleased - she credits the concert with helping her single reach No. 1 on the pop chart - that last Wednesday night her representatives called Mr. Bracco to seek a walk-on during the next day's program to say thank you. She got her wish.

He said it would never happen but at 2pm today, Sir Bob Geldof will officially announce that a second Live Aid will take place on Saturday July 2, with simultaneous concerts in Hyde Park in London (replacing the annual Capital FM Party in the Park event in aid of The Prince's Trust) and at an undisclosed location in Philadelphia (chosen for its city-scape backdrop, after mooted venues in New York and Washington fell through).

There are rumours of simultaneous events being staged around the world, including in Scotland, France, Germany and South Africa.

The line-up was being worked out in a series of increasingly frantic phone calls over the past few weeks, but is likely to include (in Britain) Paul McCartney, the Rolling Stones, U2, Oasis, Madonna, Robbie Williams, Coldplay, Sting, Annie Lennox and Joss Stone; and (in the US) Eminem, Usher, Stevie Wonder, Mariah Carey and Prince.

Here are photos of Mariah as she accepts the award for "International Video Icon" at the MTV Video Music Awards Japan 2005 on May 29, 2005 in Urayasu, Japan. Click on each thumbnail for a larger, full-scale view.

From the June 3, 2005 issue of Entertainment Weekly magazine, below are two write-ups about Mariah.

It Ain't Over Till the Phat Lady Sings
Mariah Carey has her own Emancipation proclamation for 2005: She's back - in a big way. The evidence? A career-best No. 1 debut in April for her Emancipation of Mimi CD (404,000 copies sold its first week out), and a No. 2 single, "We Belong Together," poised to become the 35-year-old superstar's 16th chart-topper. That's a long way from the near career implosion that was 2001's Glitter, which prompted EMI to pay the diva a reported $28 million just to sever their ties. And while her first comeback, 2002's Charmbracelet, sold a respectable 1.1 million copies for Island Def Jam, her new disc has outsold her previous two in just five weeks. "I wish I could take credit," says IDJ chairman L.A.Reid. " I absolutely gave guidance to her, but I didn't write the songs."

Jermaine Dupri, who co-produced Mimi's first two singles, believes Carey is hot again because she's adjusted her business and creative priorities. "The last two records, she had to worry about too much as an artist, making managerial decisions," he says. With Benny Medina (the man who transformed J. Lo into a pop superpower) in her corner, Carey can "focus on her talent."

Ah yes, the Voice, the return of which was pluckily promoted in the marketing campaign. "[On 'We Belong Together'] I wanted her to sing the song in full voice," says Dupri. "I wanted people to feel the old essence." The strategy worked: According to Nielsen SoundScan, the ablum's 1.37 million sales pace is 410,000 copies ahead of the six-week total of Beyonce's 2003 solo disc. "I've worked with some very hardworking artists before," says Reid. "Now Usher has to share the top of that list with Mariah because she works hard." Usher, you have been warned.

Note: As we know, "We Belong Together" has since become Mariah's 16th # 1 single.

Music section under "Download This"
Now that Mariah Carey has experienced Emancipation, she's free to commission all the remixes she desires - including this exclusive spin on her radio hit "We Belong Together." iTunes.com

USA
--"We Belong Together" Mediabase update as of 5/28/2005: 191.7M audience impressions, 19,118 spins.

--"We Belong Together" iTunes update: #16 / #89 (album), #58 (Remix).

--Mariah's album launch party video is now available to watch at MSN. The party was held at Cipriani, New York on April 21, 2005.

--On the TV show "Surreal Life," Da Brat was asked what she was up to and said she's working on a new album with Mariah and Jermaine Dupri.

--Twenty-three of Mariah's pictures are featured in a slideshow on Comcast. Click here to view.

--Head over to Honey B. Fly and visit the Music section - there are two brand new remixes of "We Belong Together" (Atlantic Soul Vocal and Paul Rauhofer Club Mix) available now to registered members!

--After several ups and downs, "We Belong Together" finally made it to #1 on the internet radio station HitzRadio.com's Top 7@7! The song had made a huge leap 6-2 after Mariah's performance on The Oprah Winfrey Show but could never surpass Gwen Stefani’s hit. It finally got the push atop! Continue to vote online here (dropdown menu on the left). HitzRadio's Top 7@7 can be heard weekdays at 7pm EST.

--Mariah is still #1 on Cleveland, Ohio's Kiss FM 96.5's High Noon Countdown and Interactive 7@7. It has held the top spots for about 2 weeks now!

--"It's Like That" is being played every hour on Dallas, Texas' Kiss Fm 106.1 KHKS and 106.7 The Hot Latin Station for R&B and Hip Hop. On top of that, the gay community has fallen in love with Mariah once again, the clubs play all her dance mixes, hands up to Station 4 for listing "It's Like That" as the #1 played song in the clubs, you can find this information on Caven.com under Music.

--The "We Belong Together" Remix is taking off in the Southwest! It is played more than the original on Z90, 98.9 and Channel 933. The remix is also hot in El Paso, Texas. It was #2 the last three days on Hit FM 104.3's Top 7 at 7. It's also top five on Power 102's Phat 8@8.

Australia
"It's Like That" falls three spots from #16 to #19 while the album "The Emancipation of Mimi" jumps a notch from #31 to #30.

Canada
--"We Belong Together" is the 2nd Most Requested Song on Canada's largest urban radio station FLOW 93.5's Vibes Top 20.

--On Chum FM 104.5, MuchMusic's radio sector, "We Belong Together" rises three spots from #20 to #17. Continue to vote online or request the song here.

--"The Emancipation of Mimi" is currently sitting at #13 on the Top 100 Albums. See chart here.

France
Please keep supporting Mariah in France and vote for "It's Like That" on Hit Skyrock and Hit MCM.

Germany
--German charts this week: "It's Like That: #43 (#31 last week), "The Emancipation of Mimi": #76 (#60 last week). More chart data are available at MariahLounge.

--MariahLounge is working on a Fan Project called "What It's Like - Germany". The concept of this project is to show Mariah what it's like in Germany in terms of customs, interesting and important places, history, etc. All these will be included in this fanbook project. All German, Austrian and Swiss fans are urged to take part. Submit your entries to mariahlounge@web.de by June 23rd, 6pm CET. Visit the site for more details.

--Check out Butterflies Are Free for some new Mariah screen captures from German TV shows, "MTV Masters" special (10 images) and RTL "Exclusiv" report on this year's Echo Awards (6 images), where they also showed backstage footage of Mariah at the rehearsals.

Spain
Mariah is one of the choices on "Who should have the number one song next week?" in Spain. Click here (a pop up will appear) and vote for Mariah!

Taiwan
"The Emancipation of Mimi" drops 4 places from #8 to #12 in the International charts in Taiwan.

Thailand
--Mariah is on the covers of two popular Thai music magazines, "Pop" and "On Air." The "On Air" magazine (front and back covers shown) features five pages of Mariah's full discography. Click on the thumbnails to view the full-sized scans.


UK
--Mariah soars in the UK charts! "The Emancipation of Mimi" moves up nine spots from #30 to #21! The album was on the verge of dropping out of the charts two weeks ago but has had a sudden surge.

--In week three, "We Belong Together" slips three places on the Official UK TV Airplay Chart to #8. Please keep requesting "We Belong Together" video as it is greatly helping album sales in the UK:

MTV Base Chart Show. Click here to request.
MTV Base: For everyday requests, email mtvbase@mtvne.com
MTV TRL: Send an email to trl@mtv.co.uk or a text message to 86188 (UK) or 53688 (Ireland).
The Box: Call 09050 171 717 (£1), Video Number: 164
Kiss TV: Call 09056 525 222 (£1), Video Number: 141
The Hits: Call 09056 525 777, Video Number: 156

Here are photos of Mariah as she arrives, performs "We Belong Together," poses with her "International Video Icon" award at the MTV Video Music Awards Japan 2005 on May 29, 2005 in Urayasu, Japan. Click on each thumbnail for a larger, full-scale view.

Mariah Carey poses with members of the 10th Marine Regiment, United States Marine Corps, on the set of Good Morning America May 26, 2005 in New York City.

May 2005 marks the 7th anniversary of Mariah Daily!

We want to express our appreciation to everyone who is involved with the site; whether it's sending in information, writing comments to us or just visiting and supporting the site.

We are grateful to all of you and hope you stick around for many more years to come!

To celebrate our anniversary, we have an exclusive, never-before-aired performance of "We Belong Together" that Mariah has taped for an upcoming "Top of The Pops" show in the UK. Click on the links below to view screen captures from the show and download the video. Thanks Johny for all your help with the video!

"We Belong Together" - Live on Top Of The Pops
    Part One
    Part Two

Please make sure you have WinRAR installed on your computer. Download both files into the same folder, right-click on one of them and choose "Extract here..." for the video to appear.

For this special occasion, Mariah Daily would also like to hand its "Loyalty Award" to one dedicated person who has been a great support to the site. Aladerri, we chose you! As a token of our appreciation, we're happy to send you an autographed "The Emancipation of Mimi" poster by Mariah! Congratulations!

The diva is back. When you're a busy, busy star like Mariah, you have to try to find some peace and calm wherever and whenever you can. She took a break from her hectic schedule promoting her new album "The Emancipation of Mimi" to tell us her Essentials for getting comfortable. Now, relax.

Getaways
"Capri for numerous reasons. I filmed the "Honey" video in Puerto Rico, and I wrote the majority of my new album in Anguila."

Boxer Shorts
"Great comfortable moments because when you wear jeans all day you go home and immediately put on the wife beater and boxers."

Comforter and Pillow
"I have favorite floral ones that I carry around with me wherever I go."

Spa
"In my house, I have a steam room with a water bed and everything is made of terrycloth. It's great for when I'm resting my voice."

Foods
"My father's linguine with white clam sauce is the best. The red sauce gets the heave ho, I can't take it."

Car
"I don't drive because it's better for the general population that I don't. Right now my car is a stretch Mercedes s600 with a bed and a flat screen."

Candles
"There's too much abusive overhead lighting in the world. Lavender always works for me."

Music
"I sleep with music on. I listen to a lot of gospel like Karen Clark and Stevie Wonder is also very comforting."

Mariah arrived safely in Japan and was already on the English-teaching program called SmaSTATION a few minutes ago! The short interview with SmaSTATION had her talking about the Japanese men being handsome, the fabulous Japanese culture and of course, her 16th #1 song! As reported, Mariah is in Japan for the 2005 MTV Japan Video Music Awards tomorrow, May 29th at the Tokyo Bay NK Hall where she is set to perform "We Belong Together".

Head over to Love Love Jack to view photos and video clips of Mariah's arrival at the airport and her appearance at SmaSTATION.

PICTURE THIS: In the latest retail snapshot heading into Memorial Day weekend, Audioslave is pulling away from the pack and is a lock for #1 at 270k-280k. The fight is now for #2, pitting Common, presently looking to debut at 200k-210k, against System of a Down, who are falling toward the same numerical range in week two. Askers are asking whether Mariah Carey, who’s bouncing toward 180k-190k, will get enough of a bump from her Oprah appearance to get into the mix for #2 as well. Yes, kids, Mimi is a monster, with “We Belong Together” at #1 and more upcoming singles than Carter has liver pills.

Here are Mariah's Billboard chart positions for the magazine's issue date June 4, 2005.

The Emancipation of Mimi
Billboard 200: #3 (Last week #3)
Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums: #2 (Last week #1)
Billboard Top Internet Albums: #24

We Belong Together

Billboard Hot 100: #1 (Last Week #2)
Billboard Hot 100 Airplay: #1 (Last Week #1)
Billboard Pop 100 Airplay: #5 (Last week #9)
Billboard Pop 100: #2 (Last week #9)
Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks: #1 (Last Week #2)
Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay: #1 (Last Week #2)
Billboard Adult Contemporary: #38 (Debut)
Billboard Hot Digital Tracks: #7 (Last week #8)
Billboard Hot Digital Songs: #2 (Last week #9)

We Belong Together (Remix Ft. DJ Clue, Jadakiss & Styles P)
Billboard Hot Digital Tracks: #5 (Debut)

It's Like That
Billboard Hot 100: #64 (Last week #53)
Billboard Hot 100 Single Sales: #18 (Last Week #20)
Billboard Pop 100: #38 (Last Week #35)
Billboard Pop 100 Airplay: #38 (Last Week #35)
Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks: #63 (Last week #57)
Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay: #69 (Last week #61)
Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Single Sales: #16 (Last Week #17)
Billboard Hot Digital Tracks: #40 (Last Week #31)
Billboard Hot Dance Music/Club Play: #10 (Last Week #7)
Billboard Hot Dance Music/Sales: #4 (Last Week #4)

Now that "We Belong Together" is #1, our job is to try and keep it there! Here's what you can do to help the song remain at #1!

Download a copy of "We Belong Together" on one of the following services:

iTunes
MSN Music (Download the song and get 5 free songs)
Musicmatch
Napster
Real Music
Passalong/eBay
Sony Connect
Walmart

Download the exclusive remix of "We Belong Together" ft. Styles P. & Jadakiss on iTunes and tell all your friends about it!

Request "We Belong Together" on your local radio stations.

Vote for the "We Belong Together" video on the following TV Shows:

MTV's Total Request Live
Vote online here or call 1-800-DIAL-MTV (1-800-342-5688) during the following hours:
4:25pm - 5:00pm Eastern Time
3:25pm - 4:00pm Central Time
2:25pm - 3:00pm Mountain Time
1:25pm - 2:00pm Pacific Time
TRL airs Monday-Friday at 5:00pm ET/PT.

BET's 106 & Park
Click here to vote online or call 1-800-617-LIVE (5483) between 5:30 and 6:00pm ET. BET's 106 & Park airs Monday-Friday, 6:00pm-7:30pm ET/PT; Saturday, 3:00pm-4:00pm ET/PT.

VH1's Top 20 Video Countdown
Post your vote online in the Top 20 Video Countdown Message Board. You can also request Mariah's video at VH1 by sending an e-mail to videorequest@vh1mail.com. Don't forget to watch the Top 20 Countdown on VH1 every week! Check out your local listings by clicking here.

--From MTV News: Mariah Carey's friends and label execs threw her a surprise party Wednesday night at Jay-Z's New York club 40/40, to celebrate her single "We Belong Together" hitting #1 - her 16th song to do so, making her the most successful female artist of all time as far as singles are concerned. Jay-Z, Jermaine Dupri, Patti LaBelle and DJ Clue were among those who helped eat her "surprise" cake, which had the cover of "We Belong Together" on top. Click each thumbnail below for a larger, full-scale view.



--From NY Post: THERE'S no rest for the comeback queen. Just after Mariah Carey learned her song, "We Belong Together," topped the Billboard Hot 100 chart the other night, Universal head Doug Morris, Def Jam president Jay-Z, Island/Def Jam chairman L.A. Reid, Jermaine Dupri and Patti LaBelle whisked her to 40/40 where they held a surprise "Sweet 16" party to mark the diva's 16th No. 1 hit. "I'm trying to enjoy the moment. I was out very late last night," Carey told PAGE SIX yesterday. She may get a quick vacation in Capri next month. "I can't miss my Capri," she said, but she's focusing on putting together a tour that could last up to six months. "I am spending Memorial Day in Japan — I end up spending all the U.S. holidays in Japan. But I might buy a trinket to celebrate my 16th hit."

"Mariah Carey makes music history. It's official. She's now the most successful female recording artist ever!" Click on the links below to download video clips (in MPEG format) of Mariah reacting to the wonderful news.

CNN Showbiz Tonight with A.J. Hammer (44MB)
    --Part One
    --Part Two

Extra with Tanika Ray (11MB)

The Insider with Pat O'Brien (7MB)

Mariah Carey is celebrating her Sweet Sixteenth. The diva notched her 16th No. 1 hit on the Billboard Top 100 singles chart this week with the ballad "We Belong Together," off the album "The Emancipation of Mimi," which has sold more than 2 million copies after less than two months on the charts.

Only the Beatles and Elvis Presley, who had 20 and 18 No. 1 singles respectively, have had more chart-toppers.

"I don't know that it's actually sunken in yet," Carey told The Associated Press on Thursday.

It's just the latest high note for Carey, who's been on the comeback trail with "Mimi," her first album since the 2002's "Charmbracelet." That album didn't have blockbuster sales, and came a year after the "Glitter" flop movie and soundtrack, and her breakdown from exhaustion.

Carey said she didn't know whether "Mimi" would be a best seller: "I didn't know what to expect when I put this record out except I knew that it was a good record and I was happy with it."

Asked why the album was doing so well, Carey said, "I feel like it was just timing and that for the first time, I feel like this is an expression of who I am."

Since its release in April, when it debuted at No. 1, the album has been in the top five every week. On Wednesday night, Island Def Jam Chairman Antonio "L.A." Reid threw Carey a party to celebrate at Jay-Z's 40-40 club. The label says "We Belong Together" is the biggest song in its history with an audience of more than 157 million.

"I look at this moment as an incredible blessing. It's part of my struggle," Carey said. "It's made me a stronger person and made me appreciate this."

And while plenty of critics doubted she would be able to revisit the multiplatinum glory years of her past, Carey doesn't plan on saying "I told you so."

"It's almost as if I were to caught get up in my own hype at the moment ... and be like all, 'Wow, I'm so wonderful,'" she said. "Then I would have to believe all of the naysayers as well."

Related Links

Mariah Makes Move On Elvis (E! Online)

Mariah Nets 16th Singles Chart-Topper (Reuters)

Mariah Makes Chart History In America (ContactMusic)

Mariah Is No. 1 (Mirror UK)

Here are pictures of Mariah signing autographs for fans as she leaves ABC studios in New York City this morning after making a special appearance on Good Morning America and


screen captures from her surprise visit to the show where she thanked GMA for "being there from the very beginning" and the fans for making "We Belong Together" her 16th #1 single!


Click each thumbnail above for a larger, full-scale view.

Be sure to catch Mariah TONIGHT on:

Extra at 7:00pm on NBC

E! News at 7:00pm on the E! Entertainment channel

CNN - Showbiz Tonight at 7:00pm EST

The Insider at 7:00pm on CBS

Don't miss them!

Mariah called in to New York's Z100 earlier today to thank the fans for making "We Belong Together" No. 1! Here's what Mariah had to say.

That she found out about the song being #1 in the car, on her way to the Robin Hood charity event!

That it was so amazing and that she really wanted to share the moment with the fans because she knows how excited the fans are.

That she is honored to be in the same sentence as Elvis and The Beatles.

Z100 DJ Cubby asked if it was even sweeter because of all she's been through and she said yes and mentioned that being on Virgin was bleak.

That L.A. Reid is a Godsend and amazing to work with and that her whole team is amazing.

About "The Emancipation of Mimi" being double-platinum, she of course was happy about that.

That she was only supposed to be in New York for one day for the Robin Hood charity event, but now she's there today because of the news

She's leaving for Los Angeles, and then flies to Japan for the MTV Awards there.

At the end, they played 'Name That Tune' with some of her songs, and she guessed correctly that the answers were "Someday" and "Honey." Then they played "We Belong Together."

*Mariah also placed a call to New York's Hot 97 earlier in the day. Details of Mariah's Hot 97 interview will be posted as soon as they become available.

Head over to MariahCarey.com to hear a brand new voice message from Mariah!

Transcript
Yeah, I just had to call and give you guys a congratulatory message for the sweet 16! And, it's really... This is, this is our number one record. I can't even know what to say, seriously.

This is amazing and I know how hard you guys worked and how much, you know, time and effort and energy and stuff you put into this moment and I just want to share it with you 'cause this is our moment and I have to tell you that I thank you so much from the bottom of my heart, to the depths of my soul!

Seriously this is an awesome day, this is amazing, and you guys should be so proud of yourselves and I'm so grateful to you and grateful to God for this moment. So, listen we gotta be "livin' it up" right now, because this is, this is seriously an historic moment and I'm just glad, I'm just glad that I'm sharing it with all of you, for real, this is our moment, and I love you, appreciate you and enjoy you much. Okay? Thank you, thank you, thank you! And I'll talk to you soon, yay! Bye bye!

It's okay, don't think this is not a festive message, it's just that I don't have my typical cohorts partners in crimes here to leave a message with me, plus they had a nice party for me last night, a surprise party, and I woke up to do "Good Morning America" today, so I'm a little sleepy, little sleepy, but I had to call and just give you love and give you thanks as always, I love you so much. Bye bye!

Due to a technical error made by Billboard, the original Hot Digital Songs chart for for this week was incorrect. Below are the updated figures.

Thanks to your downloads and unbelievable support for Mariah & the song on the Fan Official Download Day, "We Belong Together" jumps from #9 to #2 on the Hot Digital Songs chart, selling 53,341 copies (including 27,187 downloads of the remix), with a huge 137% increase from last week. Total sales: 142,620.

The fantastic download figures, combined with the #1 airplay position has ensured Mariah the #1 position on the Hot 100.

---------------------------------------------------------

As promised, 10 people who have downloaded the song over the past week and have helped "We Belong Together" reach #1 will be sent autographed posters of Mariah!

Mariah Daily's Contest Winners Are:

Alex Algarme
Edward Stephen
Danny Foglia
Vanessa R.
Thomas Clobes
Amber Nelson
KPNY01
Eric Traugott
Courtney Thomas
Earl

Congratulations!!

*All winners have been notified by e-mail. Winners, please be sure to check your e-mails and respond!

---------------------------------------------------------

Mariah Nets 16th Hot 100 No. 1 (Billboard Daily Music News)

With the 2-1 ascension of "We Belong Together" in the song's eighth week on Billboard's Hot 100, Mariah Carey notches her 16th No. 1 on the singles chart. In addition, the track, which is also the Hot 100's greatest airplay gainer, moves 2-1 on the R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart to become her ninth chart topper there.

As Fred Bronson reports in this week's "Chart Beat" column, Carey has not been on top of the Hot 100 since 2000 with "Thank God I Found You." The last time she landed there with a purely solo track (with no other featured artists) was in 1998 with "My All."

Carey's move to No. 1 comes as Gwen Stefani's "Hollaback Girl" drops to No. 2 after four weeks on top. But Stefani's not done yet, as "Hollaback" remains in the catbird seat on Billboard's Pop 100 chart for a fifth week.

---------------------------------------------------------

Together Alone (Chart Beat)

From Aug. 4,1990, the week she hit No. 1 for the first time on Billboard's Hot 100 (with "Vision of Love"), Mariah Carey occupied the chart's summit for at least one week every year through 2000, when she spent the week of Feb. 19 in pole position with "Thank God I Found You."

Carey hasn't visited the zenith since -- until now. More than five years after "Thank God I Found You," Carey earns her 16th No. 1 with "We Belong Together" (Island). This new chart-topper keeps Carey in third place among all artists with the most No. 1s in the rock era, but inches her ever closer to matching and surpassing Elvis Presley's second-place total of 17 No. 1 hits. The Beatles remain in first place with 20.

"We Belong Together" is Carey's first No. 1 on the Hot 100 without any featured artists in seven years and one week, since "My All" topped the chart the week of May 23, 1998.

A 2-1 rise on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart is good enough to make "We Belong Together" Carey's ninth No. 1 on this survey, and her first since "Loverboy" led the list for two weeks in August 2001.

Carey was supported on "Loverboy" by Da Brat and Ludacris. "We Belong Together" is Carey's first No.1 without any guest artists since "Always Be My Baby" captured the top spot in May 1996.

Mariah Carey attended the Robin Hood Event last night, May 25, 2005 after hearing news that her single "We Belong Together" hit No. 1 on Billboard. Click each thumbnail below for a larger, full-scale view.

Click on the links below to download an MPEG file (70MB) of Paul Robbins, the 12-year-old Hawaiian boy winner of Oprah's Wildest Dreams singing "I Pray," a song especially written for him by Mariah. Aired Tuesday, May 24, 2005 on The Oprah Winfrey Show.

Part One

Part Two

Part Three

MP3

USA
--"We Belong Together" bounced back from #6 to #2 on the Top 7@7 on the internet radio station HitsRadio.com, likely as a result of Mariah's performance on the Oprah Show. "We Belong Together" has never been able to get atop because of Gwen Stefani’s song. Vote for the song online here (dropdown menu on the left). HitzRadio's Top 7 @ 7 can be heard Weekdays at 7pm EST.

--"We Belong Together" Mediabase update as of 5/25/2005: 183.9M audience impressions, 18,408 spins.

--Mariah is finally getting good airplay in Atlanta. 95.5 The Beat plays the song almost every hour. Star 94.1 is playing the song a few times each day. Magic 102.1 in Athens, GA is also playing the song. It took awhile to get Georgia going, but Mariah is coming back strong here.

Australia
--Official Aria Album Chart: This week "The Emancipation of Mimi" jumps 8 places to number 31 for its 7th week on the ARIA Album charts.

--Official Aria Singles Chart: "Its Like That" drops 1 place on the ARIA singles chart for its 2 month reign on the Top20 chart!

--Official Aria Urban Chart: "The Emancipation of Mimi" drops 1 place to number 7, where "Its Like That" also drops 1 place from number 11 to number 12

--Official Aria Club Chart: "Its Like That" moves 3 places up to number 21 for its 12th week on the Club Chart.

Denmark
--"The Emancipation of Mimi" slips 4 spots from #79 to #83 on the official album chart. The album is currently at #50 on iTunes' Top 100. The single "It's Like That" is at #58, was #45 last week on the official single chart, and from #20 to #26 on the Danish dance chart. The song is currently at #33 on iTunes' Top 100 Songs. The other single, "We Belong Together" is at #68 on the Danish airplay chart.

Brazil
--On the Brazilian Top 40 Chart, "The Emancipation of Mimi" is at #3, jumping from #5 in its 4th week on the chart. The album has also officially gone gold which means that 50,000 copies have been sold!

--"It's Like That" is #62 on Hot 100 Singles, slowly taking off due to late radio play. The remix to "It's Like That" is currently at #7 on the TOP40 dance charts.

Italy
--On the Italian charts, "The Emancipation of Mimi" moves up 6 places from #47 to #41 while the single "It's Like That" slips 15 places from #16 to#31.

Japan
"The Emancipation of Mimi" album sales update in Japan:

Oricon Combined Album weekly Top 30 chart
First week: No.2 (49456 units)
Second week: No.3 (32969 units)
Third week: No.4 (29718 units)
Fourth week: No.6 (23744 units)
Fifth week: No.12 (17670 units)
Sixth week: No.9 (14953 units)
Seventh week: No.17 (8861 units)
*Total Sales:177371 units!

The album is also No.4 on the Monthly Top 30 chart.

Oricon International Album weekly chart
First week: No.1
Second week: No.1
Third week: No.1
Fourth week: No.1
Fifth week: No.5
Sixth week: No.4 Seventh week: No.9

Philippines
--Mariah Carey's first single from The Emancipation of Mimi, It's Like That, springs back in the Myx Hit Chart, the Top 20 chart show of MYX (the Philippine's no.1 music channel). After falling from #11 to #19 last week, It's Like That jumps back to #15, perhaps gaining renewed interest from viewers with the David Morales remix of the song which MYX is currently playing. (The David Morales remix is exclusive to MYX and cannot be viewed in its competitor, MTV Philippines.)

--We Belong Together, on the other hand, continues its reign at #1 after debuting at #8 just two weeks ago.

Russia
--"It's Like That" is currently at #3 on Muz-TV's Top 20. To request the video, send an e-mail to 20@muz-tv.ru.

--"It's Like That" enters Muz-TV's 10 Sexy chart at #8. Click on the link to vote for Mariah!

Singapore
--"Its Like That" fell out of Top 20 at Perfect10 but "We Belong Together" debuts at #18. On the RIAS charts, "It's Like That" fell one spot to #3 this week, the album "The Emancipation of Mimi" also fell out of Top 10.

South Africa
--On Metro FM, after sitting on top of the summit for 5 straight weeks, 'It's Like That' showed its first signs of slowing down in South Africa. On Metro FM's International Top 40, the track slipped to #2.

--Over at East Coast radio, 'It's Like That' powered its way to the #1 spot on the Top 20! The track had stalled at #2 the past couple of weeks. On the Global Hot Hits chart, the single is starting to fall and slips 4 to #14.

--In its three weeks on the chart, Mariah's second single "We Belong Together" storms a massive ten places to #15 on Good Hope FM's Top 40. "It's Like That" is a non-mover at #23.

--5Fm listeners are loving Mariah as 'It's Like That' maintains the top spot for a 6th consecutive week on the High 5@5. This chart is based purely on internet voting so thanks to all who have made this happen! 'It's Like That' moves to a new peak and enters the Top 5 at #5 over on Top 40. On 5Fm's World Chart Show, 'It's Like That' is a non-mover and remains at #26.

MTV Base Africa
The "It's Like That" and "We Belong Together" videos have been getting regular spins on MTV base Africa. Visit www.mtvbaseafrica.com to vote on the request show.

--A positive "Mimi" Review from Mambaonline, a gay website guide to the latest entertainment in South Africa. Click on the link to read.

UK
--Upcoming UK TV appearances. Be sure to tune in!
Total Hits - Mariah Carey's biggest hits back to back.
Showing on The Hits! 17:00, Thursday 26th May. Duration: 30 minutes

The Truth with Mariah Carey
A brand new show that delivers probing questions to artists in an effort to gain the truth about their life and work. Today sees Mariah Carey in the hot seat. Showing on MTV Base:
Starting: 15:00 on Tuesday, 31st May. Duration: 1 hour
Starting: 19:00 on Thursday, 2nd June. Duration: 1 hour

Crib Crashers
We give fans the chance to live like superstars by giving their humble abode a special Cribs makeover. Today, Mariah Carey's inspiration makes a 'Butterfly' wall, and a fluffy headboard. Showing on MTV Ireland & MTV UK, starting: 13:00 on Wednesday 1st June. Duration: 30 minutes

It's Official!

"We Belong Together" is #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 Singles Chart!

After a great increase in both digital sales and airplay over the past week, "We Belong Together" jumps one spot up to #1 on its 8th week on the chart and becomes Mariah's 16th #1 single on the Billboard Hot 100.



Update: Jermaine Dupri has announced the wonderful news on the popular NYC radio station Hot 97.

--Music Choice is conducting a poll, asking: "Which diva is gonna hold down Summer '05? Amerie, Faith, Mariah, or Ciara?" -- Vote for Mariah by clicking here.

--Mariah's "The Emancipation of Mimi" is the #1 album in the May 30, 2005 issue of The Jet Magazine!

--Official Soundscan numbers are in: "The Emancipation of Mimi" holds at No. 3 on Billboard's Albums chart, with 173,081 units sold. Total sales: 1,371,209.

From Billboard's Daily Music News: Rounding out the top-10, Mariah Carey's "The Emancipation of Mimi" (Island/Def Jam) holds at No. 3 for a second week on a 0.2% increase to 173,000, while last week's No. 1, Dave Matthews Band's "Stand Up" (RCA), slides to No. 4 on a 66% drop to 158,000 copies.

Mariah Carey will be appearing on the cover of PARADE magazine's June 5 issue. Mariah reveals many interesting things to PARADE including: her divorce from Tommy Mottola, how Derek Jeter impacted her life, living in an interracial family and more!

Check out PARADE magazine in your local Sunday newspaper or on the web at parade.com.

Radio personality Fatman Scoop continues to make moves as a one man multi-media conglomerate with a number of appearances on television and radio.

Most recently, the hefty hip-hopper can be heard on Missy Elliot’s latest song, “Lose Control,” which features Ciara. He also lent his party-rousing voice to Mariah Carey’s “Its Like That,” a huge part of her stellar comeback album, The Emancipation of Mimi.

"It was a blessing to work with Mariah and now Missy, not only because I'm a fan of theirs, but also because it means lots of radio and video play," Fatman Scoop told AllHipHop.com. "I'm in the process of transitioning from Mariah's record to Missy's right now. It's hard to follow up a record like Mariah's, but Missy's record is really about to set it off! I’m in a good place in my career right now. One day when it's all said and done I'll be able to tell my grandkids I worked with Mariah and Missy -- two of the most talented and beautiful women in all of music."

In the meantime, he’s focused on developing his website, www.FatmanScoop.com.

"We Belong Together" moves to the Number 1 spot on the Billboard Radio Monitor Rhythmic Top 40 chart with the most radio spins ever by a female artist at the Rhythmic Top 40 format!

Congratulations Mariah!

"We Belong Together" remains at #1 on the BDS airplay chart, gaining 25.4 million impressions since last week. It receives the "Greatest Gainer / Airplay" status for the 3rd week in a row!

Downloads for the song also rise this week (20% from last week) as it sells 26,978 downloads, including 824 copies of the remix. "We Belong Together" now sits at #5 on the Hot Digital Songs chart (up from #9) with total downloads of 116,257.

"We Belong Together" continues to close the gap from Gwen Stefani's "Hollaback Girl" and is on its way to be Mariah's 16th #1 on the Hot 100 Singles chart.

Digital Downloads
"We Belong Together" - 26,978 downloads.
"Hollaback Girl" - 61,166 downloads.

BDS Airplay
"We Belong Together" - 157,500,000 impressions.
"Hollaback Girl" - 103,400,000 impressions.

Combined Impressions
"We Belong Together" - 211,456,000
"Hollaback Girl" - 225,732,500
-----------------------------------------------
Gap - 14,276,600

Official chart positions will be revealed tonight.

Mariah has been nominated for the Teen Choice Awards in the following categories:

Choice Music: Female Artist
Alicia Keys
Ashlee Simpson
Avril Lavigne
Britney Spears
Ciara
Gwen Stefani
Kelly Clarkson
Mariah Carey

Choice Music: R&B Artist
Alicia Keys
Ciara
Fantasia
John Legend
Mariah Carey
Mario
Omarion
Usher

1. Vote for Mariah and email all your friends to vote at Teen People. Mariah's categories are on the 5th page of voting.

2. Stay tuned! More Teen Choice Award categories will be added throughout the summer.

3. Watch the Teen Choice Awards on FOX on August 16, 2005 8pm/7c to see if your favorites walk away with a surfboard!

Click on the links below to download MPEG files of Mariah's appearance on The Oprah Winfrey Show which aired yesterday, May 24th.

Legends' Luncheon

Part One

Part Two

Interview

Part One

Part Two

Part Three

Performance: "We Belong Together

Part One

Part Two

MP3

From Contact Music:
Marish Carey lived up to the promise she made a 12-year-old Hawaiian fan in March 2005 when she helped launch his singing career on pal Oprah Winfrey's TV show yesterday, 25 May 2005.

The pop superstar thrilled Paul Robbins on his 12th birthday earlier this year when she capped off his appearance on the Oprah show by offering him the chance to record a song she had written especially for him.

And the pre-teen wannabe got the chance to show off his amazing voice when Carey and Winfrey invited him back to perform the tune "I Pray."

Carey says, "I tried to morph myself into the mindset of a kid like Paul.

"I just hope that people who hear it (the single) enjoy it and sense the pure heart that he has when he sings. I feel like that's gonna shine through."

---

Mariah Carey was stunned when legendary opera star Leontyn (corr) Price insisted on meeting her at Oprah Winfrey's recent Legend's Ball - because she felt sure the diva had mistaken her for someone else.

Price, 78, was among the African-American women being honoured at the weekend gala, held partly at Winfrey's California estate.

And she made a point of telling Carey she was a big fan.

A thrilled Carey says, "Leontyn Price actually was telling me that she knew my video... and this is a woman who has made history and paved the way for just everybody.

"When Mr Price was telling me about my video and talking to me about my songs and my life and all these things, I was just so honoured and so shocked that she even knew."

--Mariah is featured on the homepage of AOL and AOL Music:

Mariah Carey
Never underestimate the power of a pop star. Take Mariah Carey, for example. Critics have had her down for the count on more than one occasion—namely for a few career stumbles, such as her 2001 movie Glitter, for which she was unmercifully panned—but she's managed to rise above it with the help of her faithful fans. So much so that she's roared back with a Number 1 R&B-pop CD, The Emancipation of Mimi, proving that you can't keep a phenomenal singer down for long. Her sense of style, however, hasn't always been the overwhelming success that her music is. Known for slightly outlandish outfits that expose miles of skin and cleavage, she has hit the fashion-don't lists more than once. But her beauty is undeniable. Her dark, curly hair and olive skin have been her trademark, although in recent years she's softened her look with warm gold locks and pale pastel makeup. Whether it's a sign of maturity of a simple shaking things up, we think it's working.

—by Karen Johnston



--Mariah still holds the #1 positions as the top searched artist and the #1 top song on AOL.

--On Launch's top 10 videos, "We Belong Together" jumps from #3 to #1 this week. Keep the video's position by watching it on Launch.

Hello,

I wanted to know if an artist could be No. 1 on Billboard's Hot 100 with the most airplay of all songs, but with sales that aren't as good. I'm asking this because of Mariah Carey's latest single "We Belong Together."

The single is doing well with airplay, better than Gwen Stefani's "Hollaback Girl" [which is No. 1 on the Hot 100]. But Stefani is doing better sales-wise.

I want to know if airplay and sales are split 50/50 when tabulating the Hot 100, or are sales more important than airplay. And, do you think "We Belong Together" could get to No. 1?

Joel

Keith Caulfield of Billboard Answers:
Hi Joel,

One can certainly be No. 1 on Billboard's Hot 100 with the majority of their chart points coming from sales or radio airplay. Or vice-versa.

For example, when Fantasia's "I Believe" went to No. 1 last year, the "American Idol" winner's single was propelled to the top of the chart almost entirely by sales of the single. Radio had hardly played the tune when it reached No. 1.

This week's No. 1, Gwen Stefani's "Hollaback Girl," is a solid hit with both sales (digitally) and radio airplay. The single is No. 1 on Billboard's Hot Digital Songs chart and No. 4 on the Hot 100 Airplay chart.

Mariah Carey certainly has a very good shot at being No. 1 on the Hot 100 in the next few weeks. "We Belong Together" is her biggest airplay hit since "One Sweet Day" in 1995, and her digital sales are rising each week.

For what it's worth, Carey has often reached No. 1 on the Hot 100 in the past with a single that was powered by sales, but lacked radio airplay. For example, her last No. 1, 2000's "Thank God I Found You," peaked at No. 15 on the Hot 100 Airplay chart, but was a No. 1 sales hit. Similarly, her 1998 No. 1 Billboard Hot 100 hit "My All" peaked at No. 15 on the Hot 100 Airplay chart, but No. 1 on the sales chart.

FEARLESS FORECAST: The way things look now, System of a Down will move a total of 450k-460k units, making the “Armenian U2” the week’s runaway chart-topper. Behind System, we expect Toby Keith to finish at 270k-280k for #2, a still-strong Mariah Carey to do 168k-173k, pulling ahead of last week’s #1, the Dave Matthews Band, who should tally 150k-160k, with Motown's Kem rounding out the Top 5 at 140k-150k. Also debuting this week are American Idol 4 (80k-85k), Def Leppard (60k+), Memphis Bleek (60k) and Cowboy Troy (50k-55k). But considering our track record, take all of the above with several grains of salt.


REMINDER: Let's not forget to vote for "We Belong Together" on MTV's TRL and BET's 106 & Park. Click on the buttons to your right to vote for the video now!

Click on the links below to download MPEG files (Total: 412MB, 40 mins.) of the E! Entertainment Special Mariah Carey Uncut which premiered last night, May 22nd at 10 p.m.

Part One

Part Two

Part Three

Part Four

Part Five

Part Six

Part Seven

Part Eight

Part Nine

Part Ten

Part Eleven

Part Twelve

Part Thirteen

Part Fourteen

Part Fifteen

The Emancipation of Mimi
Artist: Mariah Carey
By David Lopez
Rating:

We've seen some major changes in Mariah Carey's image over the years. Going from a shy and quiet R&B singer with songs like "Hero" and "Dream Lover," to a sexier Mariah thereafter with a brand new diva attitude, she has shown that even though going through setbacks -- like her acting debut in the disappointing film and soundtrack "Glitter," to her much publicized breakdown soon after, then following with a subpar album with Charmbracelet -- she has the willpower and determination to keep on striving for success.

After a brief haitus since her last album, it's official Ms. Carey is back -- a new and improved Mariah Carey. There is no denying her place amongst the upper echelon R&B artists, and with her tenth album, The Emancipation of Mimi, she delivers an insightful opus in which she claims her freedom from men on a complete album that delivers a solid punch of soul, hits, romance and sex appeal. Determined to top the charts once again, she releases an album which helps her regain the once prominent position she held throughout the 90's as one of the premier female vocalists.

The explosive lead single "It's Like That," is a radio friendly dance hit, which serves as a public reintroduction to Mariah, as she reinvents her self once again. "It's a special occasion, Mimi's emancipation, a cause for celebration, I ain't gonna let nobody's drama bother me," exclaims Mariah.

The ever so reflective "We Belong Together," is a passionately sung and spirited entry about the diva's feelings about someone once dear to her, as she sings "When you left I lost a part of me, it's still so hard to believe, come back baby please, cause we belong together." Following is the track "Shake You Off," which is a therapuetical anthem to getting over a false love.

The Snoop Dogg assisted and Neptunes produced "Say Something," is a bouncy track in similar fashion to Jodeci's classic hit "Come And Talk to Me", as it incites one to step up and approach the person you like.

"Get Your Number," is a party starter that entices head nodding, and "One and Only," featuring Twista and "Circles" add to the relationship themes of the album, with both pertaining to the difficulties of an unfaithful relationship. "Your Girl," adds even more momentum to the album, as she demonstrates in convincing fashion her claim for being your second half.

She closes the LP with "Fly Like a Bird," a defining moment on the opus as she asks for God's guidance throughout the harsh times that life offers.

The great thing about this album is the song writing, and Mariah's voice. Though this is no big secret, the combination of the both make for one of Mariah's best albums to date. The album's authenticity helps Mariah take the R&B game to new heights, as she manages to put together an LP that everybody will find enjoyable from your biggest 50 Cent fan right down to a Syleena Johnson fan. Mariah successfully bridges the gap between old school, new school, and everything in between. The Emancipation of Mimi is definitely a new beginning for the R&B diva.

The golden age of R'n'B is over - that much clear. Just don't go blaming the regal figure the much maligned Mariah Carey...

As music lovers struggle to come to terms with the end of R&B's turn of the century belle époque, the search for scapegoats intensifies. From Missy Elliott's terrible Gap ad, to Pharrell Williams's embarrassing relationship with Jade Jagger, a lot of people who once seemed infallible have let us down badly over the past couple of years. But the one person no one should point the finger at is Mariah Carey.

Carey's excellent current album, turns the clock back to the halcyon days of laser-guided digital slink. And critics who harped on about Mariah's newfound resemblance to Beyoncé were putting the cart before the horse. When it comes to big hair and a big voice, it's Carey who wrote the hymnbook that everyone else is singing from.

As befits a woman who got her name from Lerner and Loewe's Broadway standard 'They call the wind Mariah', Carey is a scientifically authenticated force of nature. Not only has her spectacular upper register been the single dominant influence on the Pop Idol school of unfettered vocal histrionics, but the 1995 Ol' Dirty Bastard mix of 'Fantasy' was also the rosetta stone of the hip hop/diva crossover.

In calling her comeback album The Emancipation Of Mimi - 'a nickname only used by those closest to her', apparently - Mariah has tapped into another vital lineage. The honourroll of female superstar alter-egos stretches from Janet Jackson's 2004 album Damita Jo (Janet's middle name), through the fun-loving, J-Lo, to Madonna's inner S&M trollop Dita, with her 1992 mantra 'Only the one that hurts you/Can make you feel better'. And until we hear from Beyoncé's own backup persona (a tempestuous 'inner diva' called Sasha), well, as one amateur reviewer of Mariah's album on Amazon.com put it recently , the idea that the most successful female recording artist in history needs to imitate the Destiny's Child frontwoman is 'just laughable ... People, please.'

USA
--From Hits Daily Double: Mariah Carey's dramatic comeback under L.A. Reid's expert guidance, as her new album passes the million-unit mark, indicates how crucial the A&R process continues to be to the bottom line and artist careers. The current hit albums from Carey and Warner Bros.’ Green Day are excellent examples of the importance of top-level A&R.

--"We Belong Together" iTunes update: #17, #30 (album), #64 (Remix).

--"We Belong Together" Mediabase Update as of 5/20/2005: 164.062M audience impressions, 16,612 spins.

--"We Belong Together" is currently at #5 on the Top 7@7 on the internet radio station, HitzRadio. Please vote to make it #1!

Austria
The album drops two spots from #61 to #63, "It's Like That" down from #40 to #50.

Cyprus
--"The Emancipation of Mimi" maintains its position at #2 in its 4th week in the official international album chart of Cyprus.

Germany
--"The Emancipation of Mimi" is down eight spots from #53 to #60 and so is the single "It's Like That," five spots from #26 to #31.

--The German fansite, Mariah Lounge has updated its photo gallery, tour and fanlabel pages so be sure to check them out!

Hungary
--"It's Like That" remains at # 21 in its fifth week on the Dance Top 40! The CD Single (there are 3 versions available, card-sleeve, with, and without poster) reenters the Top10 Official Singles Chart at # 6, it is its fourth week on this chart and it peaked at # 3 a couple of weeks ago.

--Mariah Carey's biggest hits back to back showing on The Hits!
Monday, May 23rd - 13:00
Tuesday, May 24th - 21:00
Thursday, May 26th - 17:00

New Zealand
--After threatening to fall off the charts in New Zealand, "The Emancipation of Mimi" climbs back to the #1 spot on the Heatseekers Chart. This means that Mariah is gaining some traction, however she still has not entered the Top 40 so New Zealand fans have a lot of work to do. Keep requesting Mariah's songs on radio.

-"It's Like That" has finally had its commercial release in New Zealand this week so get out and buy the CD single now! The song is #22 on the official New Zealand Top 40. The song is a major club and radio hit, sales are letting her down at the moment.

Philippines
--Two of Mariah Carey's music videos are lording it over at the two competing music channels of the Philippines. It's Like That is currently at no. 1 in MTV Philippines' top ten chart show, MTV Diyes, while it continues to stay at no. 1 in the top 20 countdown, MTV Asia Hitlist.

--Over at MYX, Mariah's other video, We Belong Together, ranks no. 1 in the MYX Daily Top Ten while it stays at no. 1 in the top 20 chart show, MYX Hit Chart. We Belong Together zoomed to no. 1 in its second week after debuting at no.8. It's Like That has already fallen from no. 11 to no. 19 in the top 20 chart.

--The album, The Emancipation of Mimi, is still the no. 1 CD at Odyssey Records, Philippines largest music store.

--In other news, the E! special, It's Good To Be...Mariah Carey (Queen of Making Money), was aired last May 20 at the Lifestyle Network. The 30-minute special featured Mariah's earnings through the years and her lavish lifestyle.

Russia
--"It's Like That" is #4 at Muz-TV's Top 20. To vote for Mariah, click here. Muz-TV is the 2nd music TV-Channel after MTV-Russia.

--Also, please vote for "It's Like That" to be on MTV-Russia's Top20. Click on the link.

Switzerland
This week, "The Emancipation of Mimi" dips to #38 from #26 last week. "It's Like That" is also down from #20 to #33.

Taiwan
In its seventh week of release, "The Emancipation of Mimi" drops two spots to # 8 in the international charts this week.

Kick off your shoes and settle in for a fashionably fun ride as we go inside the curvy crooner's comeback campaign in the E! Entertainment Special Mariah Carey Uncut, premiering Sun., May 22, at 10 p.m.

Get an inside look at Carey's glittering world when E!'s cameras go behind the scenes of the promotional tour for her new album, The Emancipation of Mimi. We give you a peek at her personal life as she records in studios, makes television appearances and celebrates with friends--including Sean "P. Diddy" Combs, Jermaine Dupri and Kanye West.

In addition, Mariah sits down and addresses all those crazy rumors of diva behavior and nervous breakdowns. "It's not so interesting to say, 'Mariah Carey woke up and had a normal day,'" says Carey of the media's characterizations. "It's much more interesting for them to make up stories about me demanding red carpets, breaking nails and having breakdowns."

Wanna know more? Tune into Mariah Carey Uncut, and find out what it takes to be superstar.

Head over to MariahCarey.com to hear a new voice message from Mariah!

Transcript
Hello! Yeah, just calling to say hey and thank you guys so much for everything. I left a message on the other site as well, but I heard that today is a special day, I was told by a little birdie about that and I wanted to say thank you to all you guys, for everything that you're doing and just the support with "We Belong Together", 'cause the song really really means a lot to me, as do all of you.

And, we're just sitting here, just thinking about you, looking at a couple of different books that I've received lately, and they are spewing about the room. Nice and festive. I just wanted to tell you that you are the best fans in the entire universe but you already knew that, and you make me happy! And I love you, appreciate you and enjoy you much as always, always, always. All you guys are amazing, MTV, TRL, BET, 106 & Park - all the moments, darling, moments! fabulous!

Anyway, I love you much and I will be calling back soon. Thank you so much for everything and I will chat with you soon!

Note: Mariah has left the message on May 19th and refers to the special download day for "We Belong Together"! The "other site" she refers to is the Honey B. Fly fanclub. Head over there and listen to another voice message from Mariah where she confirms, again, that "Shake It Off" is the third single off "The Emancipation of Mimi".

The video to "Shake It Off" will be shot next week and will be directed by Brett Ratner.

"We Belong Together" has been a no-show on BET's 106 & Park's video countdown the last few days. Its plays have fallen from 25 last week to only 12 this week. BET is key for album sales since it is watched so heavily by the urban market. Let's continue to vote and put Mariah back on the BET countdown!

MTV's Total Request Live
Vote online here or call 1-800-DIAL-MTV (1-800-342-5688) during the following hours:
4:25pm - 5:00pm Eastern Time
3:25pm - 4:00pm Central Time
2:25pm - 3:00pm Mountain Time
1:25pm - 2:00pm Pacific Time
TRL airs Monday-Friday at 5:00pm ET/PT.

BET's 106 & Park
Click here to vote online or call 1-800-617-LIVE (5483) between 5:30 and 6:00pm ET. BET's 106 & Park airs Monday-Friday, 6:00pm-7:30pm ET/PT; Saturday, 3:00pm-4:00pm ET/PT.

VH1's Top 20 Video Countdown
Post your vote online in the Top 20 Video Countdown Message Board. You can also request Mariah's video at VH1 by sending an e-mail to videorequest@vh1mail.com. Don't forget to watch the Top 20 Countdown on VH1 every week! Check out your local listings by clicking here.

--Don't miss The Oprah Winfrey Show Wildest Dreams Finale featuring a special performance by Mariah that will air this coming Tuesday, May 24. To find out where and when Oprah airs where you live click here for local listings and details.

--From Hello!: "She started out as a chart-topping girl next door, but after Mariah Carey split from husband and record boss Tommy Mattola in 1998, she became one of the pop world's most daring pin-ups." Click here to see Hello!'s gallery of Mariah's style hits and misses over the years.

--"We Belong Together" emerges as the winner in TRL's poll for the ultimate Prom Song! Other winners are, Jesse McCartney for TRL's Prom King and Ciara, Prom Queen.

--From Bloomberg: Universal Music Group returned to profit from a year-earlier loss, as sales by artists including 50 Cent and Mariah Carey helped lift earnings from operations to 36 million euros from a shortfall of 4 million euros a year earlier.

--In an interview with Eurovision TV, Shiri Maimon of Israel, who advanced to the Eurovision Song Contest Finals which will be held tomorrow, May 21st said Mariah was one of her early influences, "At the age of ten I participated in some children’s singing contests and was also in a youth group, singing and dancing all the time. My idols were Mariah Carey and Céline Dion who were kind of role models for me and, of course, Rita, who is a very famous Israeli singer."

Mariah Scans
Here are the scans from this week's issues of the U.S. magazines: People, In Touch Weekly, Life & Style Weekly and Star magazines


and from recent issues of the Australian magazines, New Weekly, Smash Hits and TV Hits; and the French magazines, Fam (May 2005 issue) and Miss Ebene (released May 17) where Mariah is featured on their covers (see last two scans). You can order Miss Ebene online here.

Here are Mariah's Billboard chart positions for the magazine's issue date May 28, 2005.

The Emancipation of Mimi
Billboard 200: #3 (Last week #2)
Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums: #1 (Last week #1)

We Belong Together

Billboard Hot 100: #2 (Last Week #3)
Billboard Hot 100 Airplay: #1 (Last Week #2)
Billboard Pop 100 Airplay: #9 (Last week #20)
Billboard Pop 100: #9 (Last week #16)
Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks: #2 (Last Week #4)
Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay: #2 (Last Week #3)
Billboard Hot Digital Tracks: #8 (Last week #9)
Billboard Hot Digital Songs: #9 (Last week #11)

It's Like That
Billboard Hot 100: #53 (Last week #51)
Billboard Hot 100 Single Sales: #20 (Last Week #19)
Billboard Pop 100: #35 (Last Week #37)
Billboard Pop 100 Airplay: #35 (Last Week #41)
Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks: #57 (Last week #58)
Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay: #61 (Last week #63)
Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Single Sales: #17 (Last Week #14)
Billboard Hot Digital Tracks: #31 (Last Week #23)
Billboard Hot Digital Songs: #34 (Last week #26)
Billboard Hot Dance Music/Club Play: #7 (Last Week #1)
Billboard Hot Dance Music/Sales: #4 (Last Week #5)

--From Billboard Daily Music News: Gwen Stefani's "Hollaback" has again fended off all comers to remain the No. 1 single in the United States. For a fourth consecutive week, the cut tops Billboard's Hot 100, as well as the Pop 100 (four weeks) and the Hot Digital Songs (five) charts.

A former threat in Ciara's "Oh" featuring Ludacris is starting to fade, but Mariah Carey's "We Belong Together" is picking up steam across several Billboard charts.

As "Oh" falls 2-3 on the Hot 100 and Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs charts and 1-2 on the Hot 100 Airplay tally, "Together" surges 3-2 on the Hot 100 and is the chart's greatest airplay gainer. The song also takes over the No. 1 post on the Hot 100 Airplay list and pushes 4-2 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, where Bobby Valentino's "Slow Down" is on top for a fourth week.

--From Billboard Music Chart News: WHERE SHE BELONGS: A 3-2 move for "We Belong Together" (Island) pushes Mariah Carey to her highest position on Billboard's Hot 100 since she topped the chart in February 2000 with "Thank God I Found You." Carey was last No. 2 in August 2001 with "Loverboy." While she's far enough away from Gwen Stefani's "Hollaback Girl" (Interscope) to not be a serious challenger for No. 1 next week, Carey could be looking at her 16th chart-topper as soon as two weeks from now.

Carey's chart climb had been aided by an abundance of radio spins. On the Hot 100 Airplay chart, "We Belong Together" rises 2-1, becoming Carey's first chart-topper on this survey since "One Sweet Day" ruled for 13 weeks in 1995-96.

--From Chart Beat Chat: Looking at this week's Adult Top 40 chart, the top 10 songs that have been on the chart the shortest amount of time are Rob Thomas' "Lonely No More" and Lifehouse's "You and Me" at 14 weeks. After that, the range is from 21 weeks (Kelly Clarkson's "Since U Been Gone") to 41 weeks (Howie Day's "Collide"). That does seem long compared to the Hot 100, where the top 10 occupant with the smallest number of weeks on the chart is Mariah Carey's "We Belong Together" at six weeks, and only one song has been on the chart longer than 20 weeks (Clarkson's "Since U Been Gone" at 23 weeks).

Today, May 19th, 2005 is the fan-declared official download day for "We Belong Together"!

Download the song all day today and you'll be able to win some fabulous rewards. If we get together and achieve the goal, the reward will be priceless: Mariah's 16th #1 Song on the Billboard Hot 100 Singles Chart!

"We Belong Together" is the #1 most played song in the U.S. It has received the "Greatest Gainer / Airplay" status for a 2nd week in a row and its third time in 4 weeks. The only thing keeping it away from being #1 on the Hot 100 Singles Chart is its weak downloads.

All you have to give is:
1 Minute of your time
1 U.S Dollar

Below are links to legally download "We Belong Together":

"We Belong Together" Remix ft. Styles P. & Jadakiss

iTunes

FREE DOWNLOAD - courtesy of MariahCarey.com

"We Belong Together" - Single Version

iTunes

MSN Music (Download the song and get 5 free songs)

Musicmatch

Napster

Real Music

Passalong/eBay

Sony Connect

Walmart

MariahCarey.com Contest
Win A Trip To See Mimi Perform LIVE!
Download any version of "We Belong Together" on iTunes, keep your oder # and enter this amazing contest on MariahCarey.com

Team Mariah Contest
Win A 4 Ft. Tall Autographed Stand-Up of Mariah!
Head over to Team Mariah and find out how you can tell EVERYONE you know about the iTunes-See Mariah Live contest! Not only will you help Mariah score another #1 hit, but you'll be entered to win this collector's item every time you spread the word. This contest is only for Team Mariah Members (Free registration)

Mariah Daily Contest
Win One of 10 Autographed Mariah Posters!
Download any version of "We Belong Together" on any of the legal services mentioned above, send us via e-mail your online receipt (order #) or a screen capture of one and you'll be entered to win an autographed poster of Mariah. We have 10 posters to give away, so your chances are great!

As usual, multiple entries count multiple times in all the contests above.

Important Note: Only U.S Residents are able to download the song and enter the contests.

GOOD LUCK!

In its 7th week on the Billboard Hot 100 Singles Chart, "We Belong Together" climbs one spot from No. 3 to No. 2 this week, making Mariah one spot away from getting her 16th #1!

As we reported yesterday, "We Belong Together" is No. 1 on Billboard's Hot 100 Airplay chart which means that the only thing keeping it from topping the Hot 100 Singles Chart is its weak downloads. Later today we will announce the special national download day for "We Belong Together" - stay tuned!

In related news, here are the latest positions for the "We Belong Together" video:
MTV's TRL - #4
BET's 106 & Park - #8
VH1's Top 20 Video Countdown - #10
Launch's Top 100 Videos - #3

Lastly, a clarification regarding the 3rd single: Mariah and various other sources have confirmed that the choice is "Shake It Off" and the video will be shot next week in L.A.

Over the years we've heard Mariah Carey work with the gulliest of MCs, from Ol' Dirty Bastard to Jadakiss to Mobb Deep. But after listening to Snoop Dogg sing her praises, it's difficult to imagine any rapper being more excited about collaborating with M.C. than the king of Cali.

"She's so soft," Snoop said in a light, pimpish voice while recollecting working with Mariah. "She's beautiful too. I always tell her this story: When I was locked up in jail, that song 'Vision of Love' was the hottest song in the world. I used to always say, 'Man, if I could meet her!' So I worked with her, then Pharrell hooked it up for me to work with her again this time."

Snoop has similar praise for the song they collaborated on, "Say Somethin'." "The beat was just sick and it was bangin'," he said. "I was like, 'All right, give me that, M.C.' I took [the song] down to my studio and flipped my style to it.

"When I played [the finished version] for her, she was like, 'Oh, I love it!' I said, 'OK, give me a hug, baby.' She was just as soft as a cotton swab! Lord have mercy! Jesus, M.C.! What I wouldn't ... " he paused. "Let me stop."

Mariah's label was so enamored with the record, they initially wanted the song to be the first single from The Emancipation of Mimi, instead of "It's Like That."

"[Island Def Jam head L.A. Reid] was totally into that as the first single," Carey said in March. "Everybody was really happy and ready to go. I was like, 'It's great, but I don't know. It's very different for me structurally' — not to get technical or whatever, but in terms of the chord changes and the feeling, it's very Pharrell. He very much goes in that jazzy kind of direction, which is great. I can go there with him, but it's just not where I would naturally go."

M.C. and the D-O-double-G are getting back together next week in L.A. to shoot the video for "Say Somethin'," and Snoop promises that he'll be extra sharp for the clip.

"I gotta get real slick and sly, get my face real smooth like a baby's butt," he said. "Get my nails filed, get my hair did. I don't know what I'm gonna do for you, M.C., but I'm gonna do something real fly that's gonna be memorable. It's gonna be so we can go down in history and look real fly doing it."

Editor's Note: Mariah has confirmed to fans today that "Shake It Off" will be the third single off "The Emancipation of Mimi" and that the filming of its video will take place in Los Angeles next week. The MTV report of "Say Somethin'" may be a possibility. Is it "Say Somethin'" or "Shake It Off"? We shall find out within a week's time!

Earlier today, Mariah has taped her appearance on the Oprah Winfrey show in Chicago. The episode doesn't have an air date yet but is presumed to air as the show's season finale.

Mariah wore a blue dress as she performed "We Belong Together" for an enthusiastic crowd of fans.

For the short interview, Mariah wore a short black dress and introduced the song she wrote for Paul, the young boy whom she surprised last month in a special "Dreams Come True" show. Paul then performed the song titled "When I Pray".

Below are pictures that Alex and Dan took of Mariah leaving the taping. Alex managed to hand Mariah a fanbook with appreciation notes from fans regarding the new album.





Mariah and her background singer Trey Lorenz have also confirmed that "Shake It Off" is the 3rd single to come out from "The Emancipation of Mimi" and the music video for it will be shot next week in Los Angeles, California.

MTV: Music Television today announced that Mariah Carey has joined Eminem and Nine Inch Nails to complete the line-up of performers for 2005 MTV MOVIE AWARDS.

Hosted by Jimmy Fallon, the fourteenth annual awards show will air on June 9th at 8:30PM (ET/PT). The ceremony will tape on June 4th at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, CA. More presenters, special guest appearances and award tributes will be announced shortly.

Performer and songwriter Mariah Carey exploded back onto the U.S. charts with her brand new Island Def Jam album, THE EMANCIPATION OF MIMI, and achieved the greatest first week sales of her career - at 403,755 units - earning a #1 debut on the Billboard 200 albums chart. THE EMANCIPATION OF MIMI is Mariah's 10th studio album and has already spawned two hit singles with "It's Like That" and "We Belong Together."

Tickets are on-sale via Ticketmaster and Ticketmaster outlets for this show. For more information on tickets, call the Ticketmaster hotline number, 213-480-3232 or visit Ticketmaster.com.

The 2005 MTV MOVIE AWARDS will be seen in 164 countries/territories via 42 music programming services, and in 18 languages in over 418.8 million households.

-------------

As previously reported, Mariah will also perform at the 2005 MTV Japan Video Music Awards. The event will take place at the Tokyo Bay NK Hall on May 29th.

Congratulations Mariah and fans! "We Belong Together" jumps to #1 on Billboard's Hot 100 Airplay Chart. The last Mariah song that held the top position on this chart was "One Sweet Day" in 1996.

"We Belong Together" has increased its airplay by 26.7 million audience impressions and gained 2,286 spins since last week. The total audience for the song is: 132,070,900.

On the Hot Digital Songs chart, "We Belong Together" jumps from #11 to #9 with a 10% sales increase. It's sold 22,471 copies this week for a total of 89,279 copies sold.

As you know, the Billboard Hot 100 combines digital downloads and airplay. Despite the #1 position on the Hot 100 Airplay chart and due to the relatively low downloads, "We Belong Together" is still behind Gwen Stefani's "Hollaback Girl". Here is the breakdown of the gap between the two songs:

BDS Airplay
"Hollaback Girl" - 97,668,500
"We Belong Together" - 132,070,900

Digital Download
"Hollaback Girl" - 61,497
"We Belong Together" - 22,471

Combined
"Hollaback Girl" - 220,662,500
"We Belong Together" - 177,012,900
-----------------------------------------------
Gap - 43,649,600

"It's Like That" drops 6 places to #34 on the Hot Digital Songs chart, selling 10,139 copies this week (16% decrease from last week) for a total of 189,854.

Weezer's entry ends the three-week second-place stint of Mariah Carey's "The Emancipation of Mimi" (Island/Def Jam), which dips to No. 3 on a 13% decrease to sales of 173,000 copies (and a total of 1,198,128 copies sold.)

Interesting Facts:

"We Belong Together" becomes Mariah's 11th #1 on the Hot 100 Airplay chart. Mariah's other #1 songs on the chart are:

Vision Of Love
Love Takes Time
Someday
I Don't Wanna Cry
Emotions
I"ll Be There
Dreamlover
Hero
Fantasy
One Sweet Day

All the above songs have reached #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 Singles Chart.

"It's Like That" and "We Belong Together," Mariah's two chart hits in 2005 complete Mariah's run of 16 consecutive years on the Billboard Hot 100.

USA
--"We Belong Together" was #1 again on today's TRL - its 7th day at #1!

--"We Belong Together" Mediabase update as of 5/16/2005: 150.111M audience impressions, 15,154 spins.

--CD Universe lists a DualDisc edition of "The Emancipation of Mimi" with a release date of June 21, 2005 now available for pre-order. CD details are as follows:

"The Emancipation of Mimi" DualDisc
Release Date: Tuesday, June 21, 2005
Sale Price: $13.96
CDU Part#: 6869049

--"We Belong Together" is the #5 Most Picked Song in All Access Top 40/Mainstream. WWYL/Wild 104, Binghamton, NY PD KJ Bryant says, "Top 5 phones! You couldn't ask for a better Pop record right now!"

--"We Belong Together" was #1 on today's NY's Z100 Hi-Noon Countdown above Gwen Stefani's Hollaback Girl.

--"We Belong Together" has finally made the #1 spot on the Hot 8@8 at Phoenix, Arizona's 104.7 FM. The DJs mentioned that they loved the song. Keep requesting.

--According to sources who were tuned in to MTV News earlier today, "Say Something" is reportedly the third single off "The Emancipation of Mimi" and that the video to the song will be shot in Los Angeles, California sometime next week. This report has yet to be confirmed or announced by Mariah's camp.

Canada
"The Emancipation of Mimi" has been doing well in Canada. Debuting at #2 (#1 in the city of Toronto) and #1 on the R&B charts, it is still in the top 10 bestselling albums this week. Interestingly, Mariah's "Butterfly" has resurfaced on the Top 100 Album Downloads at Simpatico Music Store at #73.

Greece
"The Emancipation of Mimi" takes a huge plunge in the official IFPI chart. It falls 22 places from #1 to #23 this week. "It's Like That" however, rises one spot to #12 from #13 last week. On Radio, "It's Like That" is #8 from #12 on Kiss Fm and #5 from #6 on Athens Radio Deejay.

Hungary
"It's Like That" is absent this week from the Top 10 Singles chart but jumps to #21 (was #34 last week) on the Dance Top 40. The album "The Emancipation of Mimi" has not entered the Top 40, it is at #51 in its fourth week.

Japan
--According to CD Japan, the release of the limited edition of "The Emancipation of Mimi" with DVD (catalog #UICL-9024) has been postponed and a new release date has not been determined yet. The CD was supposed to be released on May 25, 2005.

--Mariah will reportedly be back in Japan to attend the MTV Video Music Awards Japan 2005 which will be held on May 29, 2005. Sources say she is also scheduled to perform. Again, this has yet to be confirmed or announced by Mariah's camp.

Update: MTV Japan has confirmed that Mariah will perform at this year's MTV Video Music Awards Japan. This event will take place at Tokyo Bay NK Hall on May 29th. Also, according to Sanspo, Mariah is planned to arrive in Japan on May 28th and perform "We Belong Together" the next day at the awards.

Malaysia
--DJ Serena has given "The Emancipation Of Mimi" 4 stars out of 5 at her Serena's Rack page on Hitz.FM, one of Malaysia's most listened to radio stations. Below is her review:

"You know how with CDs, you usually have to skip tracks to get to the songs that you like? WELL this isn't one of those! The queen of #1's got it right again! This time, it seems like Mariah's gone back to her roots and gotten in touch with her soul. A touch of old school can be felt throughout the album. As always, she picked just the right people to work with -- Jermaine Dupri for "It's Like That", Snoop Dogg for "Say Somethin'", Twista for "One and Only", Nelly for "To The Floor", the Neptunes amongst others and (but of course) LA Reid to produce. One interesting aspect people keep forgetting: underneath that fluffy exterior is a woman of many talents (not talking about acting here). She's executive producer of the album as well. THE EMANCIPATION OF MIMI seems to reflect not just her re-emergence from a few years of being 'lost' in her emotional and professional life, but also the fact that she's come full circle to what Mariah should be -- Soulful, sensual, and sexy ! without even having to try! I remember Simon Cowell saying to one of the AI's this season, "you're like a kitten, trying to be a lion". Mariah is without a doubt the lioness in a sea of kittens! In fact, she can do without the "tart" effect and still roar! Serena's fave: ALL OF THEM!!!!! Get the album and bask in the gloriousness of Mimi!"

--Catch Mariah on Malaysian TV, Channel [V] (Astro Channel 72) for Mainstage: Mariah Carey - Around the World on May 25 at 11pm.

Philippines
"The Emancipation of Mimi" is #1 on the Top 10 Foreign Albums at Odyssey Music Stores this week. At Tower Records, it is #5 on the Top 25 Albums.

Singapore
"It's Like That" climbs to #2 at Power98 but falls to #18 at Perfect10 while the album "The Emancipation of Mimi" holds steady at #8 at the RIAS chart.

South Africa
--"It's Like That" shows no signs of slowing down in South Africa! At Metro FM Radio, the song enjoys its fifth consecutive week at #1 on the International Top 40 chart.

--At East Coast Radio, the song stays at #2 on Top 20, but slips two spots from #8 to #10 on Global Hot Hits this week. Also, "We Belong Together" is the station's "Pick of the Week," it's played everyday between 2:30pm and 3:30pm South African time.

--"We Belong Together" rockets 10 spots on Good Hope FM's Top 40 and is now placed at #25 in its second week on the chart. "Its Like That" drops 10 places to #23 (peaked at #2).

--For the fifth straight week, "It's Like That" continues to be #1 on 5FM's High 5@5! This chart is based purely on internet voting so thanks to all the online votes! On the station's Top 40, "It's Like That" moves up five spots from #13 to #8, entering the Top 10 for the first time. On the World Chart Show, the song makes a three-spot move up from #29 to #26.

MTV Base Africa
The "It's Like That" and "We Belong Together" videos have been getting regular spins on MTV Base Africa. Click on the link to vote on the request show.

Taiwan
"The Emancipation of Mimi" drops two spots to #4 in the international charts for the sixth week. The album has sold over 35,000 in Taiwan.

MTV Asia - Southeast Asia
"It's Like That" is #1 for the second straight week on MTV Asia Hitlist!

According to 'Hits Daily Double,' "The Emancipation of Mimi" sells another 170k copies (down just 13%) and grabs the #3 position this week. Mariah's five-week album sales now total to 1.191 Million!

"Stand Up" by Dave Matthew Band is #1 with opening week sales of 485k followed by Weezer with "Make Believe," 204k copies.

'Hits' also reports Mariah's album positions on the following retailers' top sellers lists:

Independent Records: #1
Virgin Megastore: #3
Tower Record: #4
Dimple Record: #5
Hasting: #6
Newbury Comics: #8
Borders: #9

Although the official sales for the album will be determined by SoundScan, "Hits Daily Double" is regarded to as a good and almost accurate measurement. The SoundScan figures apply to the Billboard charts and will be released later this week.

"Exclusive auctions are being offered on eBay to help raise money for the ARCF this year. We have offered a few lovely items which have been generously donated by some great fans and you have a chance to win them! Below are the auctions for a Heartbreaker Tank Top, an autographed Remixes CD Cover, the exclusive TRL Charmers Charmbracelet and a Rainbow Tour Baseball Tee. Get some great memorabilia while helping out a wonderful cause. Please take some time to visit these auctions, we'd greatly appreciate it!

Can't afford to place a bid but want to help? Visit our site and find out more on how to make a donation. Any amount helps in a big way! Let's make Mariah proud this year and raise some good money!

Tank top auction

Remixes CD Cover auction

Bracelet auction

Baseball Tee auction

Please note not all auctions are offered to ship worldwide but exceptions can be made, please contact seller."

The remix to Mariah's latest hit single, "We Belong Together" is now available for download at iTunes! The remix is produced by DJ Clue and features guest vocals by rappers Styles P. and Jadakiss. Download the remix between 5/17 - 5/21 and get a chance to win a trip to see Mariah live! More details at Mariah's official website, MariahCarey.com.

On May 19th, Mariah fansites and forums will announce a "national download day" for "We Belong Together." Stay tuned for more details!

"We Belong Together" maintains its #1 position on AOL's Top 11 songs. The video jumps from #31 to #5 on Launch's Top 10 videos and is #7 on MSN's Top Downloaded Songs. "The Emancipation of Mimi" is one of MSN's Top Downloaded Albums.

One of the highlights at the 22nd Annual ASCAP Pop Music Awards celebration held last night at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in California was the presentation of the ASCAP Golden Note Award to multi-talented songwriter, producer, artist and record label owner Jermaine "JD" Dupri in recognition of his groundbreaking achievements influencing the direction of American popular music and impacting the heart, soul and sound of pop music worldwide.

Superstars Mariah Carey and Usher joined Marilyn Bergman on stage to pay tribute to their musical collaborator. Dupri has worked with Carey on a number of albums and has four songs on her current album The Emancipation of Mimi, which is tearing up the Billboard charts. Dupri's work on Usher's multi-platinum album, Confessions, garnered four 2005 Grammy nominations for his songwriting and production work on chart-toppers, "Burn," "Confessions Part II," and "My Boo." Dupri and Usher picked up awards during the ceremony for their winning songs "Burn," and "Confessions Part II."

Previous recipients of the ASCAP Golden Note Award include Garth Brooks, Sean "P.Diddy" Combs, Jose Feliciano, Alan Jackson, Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis, Jay-Z, Quincy Jones, Tom Petty, and Stevie Wonder, among others.


From Rolling Stone: Songwriter/producer Jermaine Dupri took home the Golden Note Award at last night's 22nd Annual ASCAP Pop Music Awards. Two of Dupri's disciples, pop diva Mariah Carey and R&B star Usher, presented the award, with Usher touting his longtime collaborator as "an extraordinary individual, my mentor, my confidante, my best friend." Carey added, "He's the truth when it comes to songwriting."

Like Neil Young who received the Founders Award earlier, Dupri apparently failed to prepare for his time on stage. "I ain't wrote nothing down," he said, "'cause that ain't how I do my records." With much hooting from the audience, Dupri finally turned to Carey: "Mariah, we about to have the new Number One record in the country!"

Mariah Carey, who is regularly mocked for her got-it-flaunt-it fashion sense, is getting a style makeover from her new best friend - Vogue editor-at-large Andre Leon Talley.

Pals of Carey's are hoping Talley can do what he did for Melania Trump and turn her into a style icon, possibly landing her on the cover of Vogue, as Melania was when she married Donald Trump.

Talley escorted Carey to Karl Lagerfeld's dinner at Matsuri last week, took her to Oprah Winfrey's celebration of African-American legends over the weekend near Santa Barbara, and hung out with the songbird yesterday in L.A.

According to Carey's rep and pal Marvet Britto: "I introduced them two months ago because Mariah needed guidance. She has an incredible sense of style — but then she went out in outfits like cutoff shorts and tank tops. It was her old team of people telling her to wear that.

"Mariah always said she would love Andre's guidance and wisdom, and when I called him to help her, he was thrilled and said, 'I would be honored!' "

"Andre is there to help Mariah's broken relationships with fashion houses. No one wanted to lend clothes to her because when she wore them the clothes would be different — shorter or not worn right — and it wouldn't complete their vision of the clothing . . .

"We don't want people to say things like 'skanky' . . . But that is changing . . ."

And how! For the big Winfrey weekend bash at the TV superstar's Montecito home, Talley got couturier Alexander McQueen to make Carey a one-of-a-kind dress.

The singer was one of 24 "legends," also including Halle Berry, Angela Bassett, Beverly Johnson, Diana Ross, Iman and Cecily Tyson, who received either diamond drop earrings or 5-carat solitaire earrings — worth $200,000 per pair.

An insider said, "This weekend must have cost Oprah at least $10 million."

The weekend started with luncheon at Winfrey's home Friday afternoon, followed on Saturday by a white-tie ball at the Baccara resort.

The festivities ended with a Sunday brunch at Winfrey's house that turned into a jam when such other honorees as Patti LaBelle, Gladys Knight, Carey and Shirley Cesar joined the gospel choir.

"We Belong Together" continues to reign at TRL! It has been No. 1 for six days now! However, the song falls off BET's 106 & Park's video countdown. Let's keep on voting!

MTV's Total Request Live
Vote online here or call 1-800-DIAL-MTV (1-800-342-5688) during the following hours:
4:25pm - 5:00pm Eastern Time
3:25pm - 4:00pm Central Time
2:25pm - 3:00pm Mountain Time
1:25pm - 2:00pm Pacific Time
TRL airs Monday-Friday at 5:00pm ET/PT.

BET's 106 & Park
Click here to vote online or call 1-800-617-LIVE (5483) between 5:30 and 6:00pm ET. BET's 106 & Park airs Monday-Friday, 6:00pm-7:30pm ET/PT; Saturday, 3:00pm-4:00pm ET/PT.

VH1's Top 20 Video Countdown
Post your vote online in the Top 20 Video Countdown Message Board. You can also request Mariah's video at VH1 by sending an e-mail to videorequest@vh1mail.com. Don't forget to watch the Top 20 Countdown on VH1 every week! Check out your local listings by clicking here.

As we reported earlier, big Mariah fan Anthony Federov who was recently eliminated from the American Idol competition, was a guest on The Ellen DeGeneres Show and was shown a clip of Mariah advising him to "never give up on your dream."

Download a short video clip of Mariah's message to Anthony here.

--TRL is conducting a "Prom Poll." "We Belong Together" is one of the choices for "Which should be TRL's prom song?" Click here to vote for "We Belong Together" as TRL's prom song!

--Reminder: Vote for Mariah as the most elegant woman on Hello! magazine's poll. Click here to vote! Mariah is currently in 3rd place with 1431 votes after Penelope Cruz (2096 votes) and Nicole Kidman (5368 votes.)

--Anthony Federov, eliminated American Idol contestant was on The Ellen DeGeneres Show earlier today. Ellen mentioned that she knew he was a big Mariah fan and that Mariah had been on the show last Friday. They showed a clip of Mariah on Friday's show wishing him the best and telling him to never give up. It was very sweet and he looked like he was about to cry.

--Def Leppard is releasing a new "Greatest Hits" set, and the band members included the following Mariah mention in their liner notes about "Bringin' On The Heartbreak":

"Mariah Carey has also covered it... and about bloody time! It took 21 years for someone to do a proper cover of one of our songs..."

--Cliff Richard was a guest on the UK talk show 'The Paul O'Grady Show' and was asked what superstar he admired the most. Richard replied "Mariah Carey" and praised her for her vocal control, range and said he simply loved her voice.

--Zach Braff of "Scrubs" fame was a guest on the US talk show "The View." He mentioned that he had worked on a lot of video shoots and specifically talked about working as a P.A. on the set of Mariah's "The Roof" video shoot. He joked that he had to carry everything up to the roof so he wished Mariah's next video was called "in the lobby".

--The compilation CD titled "Superstars #1 Hits Remixed" is out now! The CD includes the remix to "Dreamlover" by David Morales as track #12. Click here to order the CD on Amazon.

Australia
On the ARIA charts, "The Emancipation of Mimi" jumps four spots to #39 in its 6th week. "It's Like That" drops from #13 to #15 in its 7th week.

"We Belong Together" has officially charted on the Hot30.com countdown. There are currently two Mariah Carey songs charting on the Hot30.com countdown, with "We Belong Together" (22) and "It's Like That" (7), which still seems to show no sign of moving out of the top 10! This is the first time Mariah has had two songs on the chart at the same time!

Vote for Mariah's songs on the Hot30.com countdown. "We Belong Together" can be found on the bottom of the playlist.

Brazil
Mariah holds the #1 international album on the Top 40 and #5 on the full chart, according to Hot100Br@sil. "It's Like That" is at #67 on Hot 100 Singles.

Italy
On the official Italian charts, "The Emancipation of Mimi" falls down 28 places from #19 to #47. "It's Like That" is up to #16.

Philippines
On the MYX weekly countdown, "We Belong Together" debuted at #8 last week and jumps to the #1 spot this week. "It's Like That" is at #19 dropping from its previous position of #11.

"The Emancipatioin of Mimi" is currently at the Top 10 best selling albums of the week at Tower Records Philippines and at The Top 5 best selling albums at Oddyssey Record stores.

Spain
"It's Like That" is #1 this week on Cadena 100, the biggest radio station in Spain.

UK
On the official UK albums chart, with over 70,000 copies sold, "The Emancipation of Mimi" jumps four places to #35. "It's Like That" drops from #23 to #31 on the UK Hitlist chart. On the TV Airplay chart, "It's Like That" drops from #22 to #27 and "We Belong Together" debuts at #20.

USA
--From the "We Belong Together" EPK:
Radio Forces Our Hand
Due to the fact that we already have WLTW/New York, WALK/Long Island and WHUD/New York and spin increases over 950 spins a week at Mainstream Top 40... We Have Decided To Go For Adds On... Mariah Carey "We Belong Together" THIS WEEK... Mainstream AC on May 16th!

Mainstream Top 40: 26-21* (+970)
#1 Greatest Gainer

Rhythm Top 40: 5-3* (+622)
#2 Greatest Gainer

R&B: 9-4* (+918) #1 Greatest Gainer

Adult Top 40: Chartbound 45* (+36)

Mainstream AC: Chartbound 52* (+9)

--"We Belong Together" is currently #1 on the Mediabase airplay charts with 145.299 million audience impressions and 14,757 spins divided on the various radio formats as follows:

Alternative: 5 spins
AC: 24 spins
Hot AC: 97 spins
Urban AC: 302 spins
Urban: 3,519 spins
Pop: 4,417 spins
Rhythmic: 6,325 spins

Video Plays:

VH1: 21 spins
MTV: 23 spins
BET: 24 spins

The song has a good chance of advancing to #1 on Billboard's Hot 100 airplay chart as well.

BET will honor superlative achievement in music, entertainment and sports with a star-studded "live" telecast of BET AWARDS '05 on Tuesday June 28 at 5:00 PM PT/8:00 PM ET. The top-rated and most-watched awards show among African-American viewers, the BET AWARDS will be helmed this year by Hollywood power couple Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith, making their BET AWARDS hosting debut family-style! The show format includes star-studded red carpet arrivals, exciting on-stage performances and stirring tributes by the hottest names in entertainment at Hollywood's Kodak Theatre.

Special honorees this year will include Denzel and Pauletta Washington, recipients of the Humanitarian Award and Gladys Knight, recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award.

Other BET AWARDS '05 nominees include: 50 Cent, Jay-Z, Ludacris, Snoop Dogg, Pharell, T.I., Kanye West, Ciara f/ Missy Elliott, The Game and 50 Cent, Jadakiss, Anthony Hamilton, Amerie, Mariah Carey, Fantasia, Alicia Keys, Jill Scott, John Legend, Mario, Prince, Usher, Destiny's Child, Lil Jon and the Eastside Boyz, The Roots, Terror Squad f/ Fat Joe, Ruben Studdard, CeCe Winans, Halle Berry, Kimberly Elise, Regina King, Queen Latifah, Gabrielle Union, Don Cheadle, Jamie Foxx, Morgan Freeman, Mos Def, Will Smith, Laila Ali, Gail Devers, Serena Williams, Venus Williams, Allen Iverson, LeBron James, Donovan McNabb, Shaquille O'Neal, Tiger Woods.


Mariah is nominated for Best Female R&B along with Amerie, Ciara, Fantasia, Alicia Keys and Jill Scott, and scheduled to perform at the BET Awards.

Mariah Carey arrives at the Legends Ball, an award ceremony hosted by Oprah Winfrey honoring women who paved the way in arts, entertainment and civil rights, Saturday, May 14, 2005 at the Bacara Resort and Spa in Santa Barbara, California. Click each thumbnail for a larger, full-scale view.


News Story from the Santa Barbara News-Press
Oprah Winfrey rolled out the silver carpet for a lavish tribute to pioneering black women, then strolled it herself in a red Vera Wang ball gown.

Guests including Usher, Illinois Sen. Barack Obama, Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes were on hand for the ball Saturday night at the seaside Bacara Resort and Spa.

The talk show host joked with friends at the resort's entrance and praised the 25 honorees, including Coretta Scott King, Diana Ross, Maya Angelou and Cicely Tyson.

"These are women who, when I was growing up, made a difference for me," Winfrey told reporters, who weren't allowed inside the event. "The first time I saw Diana Ross and the Supremes on the Ed Sullivan Show, it changed my life."

Winfrey also linked the older black stars with their younger counterparts in a more intimate meeting Friday night at her Montecito home.

"There was nobody hating on nobody," said singer Patti LaBelle, who attended that party along with Mariah Carey and Alicia Keys.

Others at Saturday's bash included Gladys Knight, Halle Berry, Ashanti and California First Lady Maria Shriver.

Winfrey said it was a no-brainer to host her tribute in Santa Barbara.

"If you're going to have it, it might as well be in paradise," she said, laughing.

News Tidbits
--Hits Daily Double's album sales forecast for next week: Mariah at #3, selling 155K-160K copies (down 10% and over 1M).

--Richard Reynolds told the Texarkana Gazette that he was only nervous before taping of The Ellen DeGeneres Show on Thursday. "Mariah Carey was warming up in the dressing room next to me with those high notes and that is the only thing that made me nervous. She had literally about 115 people in and out ... her entourage. It was unbelievable," Reynolds said.

--The commercial for the E! Uncut special is now airing. It shows Mariah briefly at her pajama party and backstage at BET. Be sure to tune in. Check our "Important Dates" for air dates and times.

--From Lufkin Daily News: The government, which compiles the 1,000 most common names for boys and girls each year, doesn't track the motivation behind baby naming. A baby book author, though, says celebrities and athletes can popularize a name — but not always. "With Mariah Carey, the name came from nowhere and suddenly became popular. Princess Diana, though, had an incredibly positive image, but her name never did," said Pam Satran, co-author of "Cool Names for Babies" and seven other books on the subject.

--Mariah is on the cover of the French magazine, GENERATION R&B, a special issue solely devoted to Mariah Carey. It features 4 pull out posters plus 2 giant ones that are really beautiful. There are also exclusive pictures of Mariah when she was in Paris in March. You can order the magazine online at Journaux.

Mariah Scans
Below are scans of the Mariah pages in the May 23, 2005 issues of In Touch Weekly and Life & Style Weekly magazines.


Fans' Corner
--Holly was one of the lucky fans who met Mariah at The Ellen DeGeneres Show taping last Thursday. Click here to view her picture with Mariah.

--JC celebrated his 24th birthday with a "Mimi" cake that his officemates gave him. See photo of the cake.

--Wallpapers made by Marcos and Chris from Vienna for everyone.


--Jason is selling his wide assortment of Mariah items. If interested, email him at subtleinvitation23@yahoo.com

In this photo released by Warner Bros., talk show host Ellen DeGeneres welcomes Mariah Carey, seen wearing one of Ellen's suits, during a taping of 'The Ellen DeGeneres Show' at NBC Studios in Burbank, Calif. on May 12, 2005.

Related Story
From ContactMusic: Comedienne Ellen DeGeneres saved Mariah Carey a few blushes on US TV on Friday, May 13, 2005 when she offered her pinstriped suit when the singer's dress plans fell apart.

The pop star had planned to wear her prom dress for the interview part of her appearance on DeGeneres' daytime show, but decided it didn't look right and had no other outfit to wear.

So when DeGeneres offered to loan her one of her suits, Carey decided to try another style.

She says, "I knocked on Ellen's door. I didn't know if she was gonna say, 'Get out of here, whatever,' and I said, 'Can I really borrow this suit?'

"She was so nice and let me look through a bunch of different options... Thankyou to Ellen, stylist to the singers."

Lesbian DeGeneres was stunned by her guest's pinstriped look she wore the suit without a shirt underneath.

The host quipped, "I didn't know it could be worn like that."

Click on the links below to download video/audio files of Mariah's interview and live performances of "It's Like That" and "We Belong Together" on The Ellen DeGeneres Show which aired earlier today.

Interview (78MB, RAR archive)

Part One

Part Two

Part Three

MP3

Performance: "It's Like That" (38MB, RAR archive)

Part One

Part Two

MP3

Performance: "We Belong Together" (40MB, RAR archive)

Part One

Part Two

MP3

Download Instructions
--Make sure you have WinRar installed on your computer.
--Download all the RAR files into one folder.
--Right click on one of the downloaded RAR files and click on "Extract Here".

Here are Mariah's Billboard chart positions for the magazine's issue date May 21, 2005.

The Emancipation of Mimi
Billboard 200: #2 (Last week #2)
Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums: #1 (Last week #2)
Billboard Top Internet Albums: #15 (Last Week #11)

We Belong Together
Billboard Hot 100: #3 (Last Week #7)
Billboard Hot 100 Airplay: #2 (Last Week #6)
Billboard Pop 100 Airplay: #20 (Last week #28)
Billboard Pop 100: #16 (Last week #25)
Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks: #4 (Last Week #10)
Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay: #3 (Last Week #10)
Billboard Hot Digital Tracks: #9 (Last week #10)
Billboard Hot Digital Songs: #11 (Last week #12)

It's Like That
Billboard Hot 100: #51 (Last week #45)
Billboard Hot 100 Single Sales: #19 (Last Week #8)
Billboard Pop 100: #37 (Last Week #34)
Billboard Pop 100 Airplay: #41 (Last Week #41)
Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks: #58 (Last week #50)
Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay: #63 (Last week #60)
Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Single Sales: #14 (Last Week #4)
Billboard Hot Digital Tracks: #23 (Last Week #13)
Billboard Hot Digital Songs: #26 (Last week #19)
Billboard Hot Dance Music/Club Play: #1 (Last Week #2)
Billboard Hot Dance Music/Sales: #5 (Last Week #1)


From Billboard Music Chart News: With Gwen Stefani's "Hollaback Girl" (Interscope) continuing at No. 1 for the third week and Mariah Carey's "We Belong Together" (Island) surging 7-3, this is the first week that three solo females are holding down the top three spots since July 26, 2003, when "Crazy in Love" by Beyoncé featuring Jay-Z was No. 1, "Magic Stick" by Lil' Kim featuring 50 Cent was No. 2 and "Rock Wit U (Awww Baby)" by Ashanti was No. 3.

Below are photos of Mariah as she was leaving the NBC Studios at around 5:30pm earlier today after the taping of The Ellen DeGeneres Show where she sat for an interview with Ellen and performed "It's Like That" and "We Belong Together." Be sure to catch the show tomorrow, May 13th! For your local listings, click here.


Thanks to Jimmy and Kelly for sharing their pictures with us.

With 15 number one hits and counting, multiplatinum superstar Mariah Carey's back and breaking free creatively with her 10th album "The Emancipation of Mimi."

"You're getting the side of me that's carefree and fun," Mariah told her old friend, Randy Jackson, when he caught up with her to talk about her new music and his new fame, in a rare interview only for "Extra." And the pair has had a lot of fun working together over the years. Randy even shows up in Mariah's latest video.

Randy: Are you good? Are you happy?
Mariah: I am fantastic to be sitting with you darling.

R: So M, this has been called your most revealing album to date.
M: The personal side of me on this record is the fun side that you would know, or anybody who really knows me would know that when I say something silly, like (sings) "them chickens is ash and I’m lotion," we're having jokes, it’s fun.

But M, (as Randy calls her) decided to have a little fun with Randy's "American Idol" fame by turning the interview tables on him.

M: I remember when you told me about the show and I was in Italy and you said -- what did you say to me? It was early stages?
R: I said, "I'm doing this show, I don't know, man, it's kind of interesting."

M: And now I walk down the street with you and you get mobbed and I am like, "This is Randy Jackson, this is my Randolph Jackson," and I'm so proud of you and happy for you. How do you feel that fame has changed you from the Randy Jackson that we've known?
R: I think I am still the same humble guy from the south. It's like, for me, I always say if I ever change, my mom would come out from wherever and beat the hell out of me: "What do you think you're doing, boy!?" So I'm still that guy.

M: I am happy for you and your family, and its great.
R: Ladies and gentleman, Miss Mariah Carey, yeah yeah!

M: Yes, Randolph.
R: Thanks, M.

Mariah will be joining Janet Jackson, Barbra Streisand and Halle Berry, among other superstars, for a big party at Oprah's California estate this weekend.

Download a video file of the Mariah and Randy chat (in MOV format) by clicking here.

USA
--Today's Video Countdown Results: "We Belong Together" was #1 again on TRL and #7 on 106 and Park. Keep voting for the video by clicking the buttons to your right!

--From FMQB: Mariah Carey "We Belong Together" - MC is now on over 100 stations and counting with over 3,000 spins (+945). New reports include Z100, KHFI, WIHT, WLAN, WXXL and WFKS. The Emancipation of Mimi scans another 197,000 units holding at #2 on SoundScan for a third week. MSN "Artist Of The Month."

--"We Belong Together" was #1 on 96.5 KISS FM's High Noon Countdown and Interactive 7@Seven yesterday! "We Belong Together" is the most requested song in Cleveland, OH. Click on the links to request!

--Mariah received great feedbacks from two popular Los Angeles radio shows yesterday morning: on the Steve Harvey's show on 100.3 The Beat, they played "We Belong Together" and Shirley, the co-host said, "I love that song, it's one of my favorites...Mariah Carey!". And Steve said, "Mariah, that girl can sing. She doesn't need to do club bangers, just go on stage and belt it out." On the Ryan Seacrest's show on 102.7 KIIS, they premiered "We Belong Together" and he called it "hot, hot hot...Mariah's back!"

--We Belong Together has been added to New York's Z100 playlist.

--"We Belong Together" is getting tremendous airplay in the Indianapolis area. You can't get away from the song, seeing as how the two major hip-hop/popular stations, WHHH 96.3 and RNOW 93.1 give the song many spins.

--Mariah has been #1 on the Top 4@4 and Top 5@9 for the past two weeks on Houston, TX's R&B/Hip-Hop Station 97.9 The BOX. She's also fluctuated around the Top 5 on Houston's Party 104.9.

--"We Belong Together" was #1 again on Philadelphia's top pop station WIOQ 102.1 during the request countdown! Also major airplay continues on 96.5 WRDW, 98.9 WUSL and 100.3 WPHI, rhythmic & urban stations in the Philadelphia area. The song is everywhere!

Australia
--"We Belong Together" is a contender for Channel V's 'Ripe Clip of the Week'. SMS "We belong together MARIAH CAREY" to 188 99 04 to vote for the song now! Ripe clips get played pretty much once every hour for the full week so this would be a huge, huge promo for the song.

--The video to "We Belong Together" is on high rotation on MTV Australia and will premiere on Video Hits this weekend. It will also premiere on RAGE after the Top 50 countdown on the weekend as well.

Canada
--"The Emancipation Of Mimi" falls one spot from #10 to #11 on the album chart.

--"We Belong Together" debuts at #25 on the CHR/Pop airplay chart this week. "It's Like That" peaked at #9 on the chart for 2 weeks and fell quickly.

India
"It's Like That" is Mariah's biggest hit in Mumbai after Daydream. The song is #7 on the local radio stations and the album "The Emancipation of Mimi" has been sold out at major stores. Also the clubs are playing the Fat Joe mix to "It's Like That" and people have been requesting it like mad. "We Belong Together" is also played a lot on VH1 India.

Japan
Oricon Combined Album weekly Top 30 chart
First week: No.2 (49,456 units)
Second week: No.3 (32,969 units)
Third week: No.4 (29,718 units)
Fourth week: No.6 (23,744 units)
Fifth week: No.12 (17,670 units)
Sixth week: No.9 (14,953 units)
Total sales: 168,510 units

The album is also No.4 on the Monthly Top 30 chart.

On the Oricon International Album weekly chart, the album has spent 4 weeks at No. 1, dropped to No. 5 and now spends its sixth week at No. 4 on the chart.

Singapore
"It's Like That" rises up to #3 from #5 this week at Power98 and stalls at #9 at Perfect10. "The Emancipation of Mimi" stands at #8 on RIAS Chart.

Hong Kong
"It's Like That jumped from #3 to #1 on CRHK 903 Channel - Internartional Chart. CRHK 903 is the most popular channel for youngsters in Hong Kong.

Philippines
--MTV Philippines' chart show, MTV Diyes recently featured the Top 10 Mariah Carey Club Bangin' Videos. Making it in the countdown are: (10) Loverboy (Rap), (9) You Make Me Wanna, (8) Always Be My Baby (Remix), (7) Sweetheart, (6) I Know What You Want, (5) It's Like That, (4) Boy (I Need You), (3) Heartbreaker (Remix), (2) Honey (Bad Boy Remix) and (1) Fantasy (ODB Remix).

--Over at rival music channel MYX, Mariah Carey had back-to-back entries in its weekly Top 20 chart show, MYX Hit Chart. "It's Like That" ranked #11 while "We Belong Together" entered the charts at #8. "We Belong Together" was the week's highest new entry.

--The album "Emancipation of Mimi" continues to top the sales at Odyssey Records, Philippines' biggest record store. The album has been in stores for a month already.

-Channel [V] gives Mariah the Chosen One treatment this month of May. She makes special appearances on Video[Scope] with a series of her #1s including the current hot single "It's Like That" (repeats throughout the week), [V] "Special Introducing Mimi" and "Mainstage: Mariah Carey Around The World." Click here to view the complete airtime schedule.

New Zealand
Attention New Zealand fans, Mariah is not getting much radio airplay in New Zealand. Find your local radio stations' request lines here and request for Mariah now!

France
"It's Like That" is currently at #2 on Hit Skyrock Planetesky. French fans, please request "It's Like That" by clicking here. Votes are accepted twice every hour.

El Salvador
--"It's Like That" continues to rise, it's now up one spot from #4 to #3 (peak) on El Salvador's largest radio station La Femenina 102.5FM's Las 11 Del 11. Also, "We Belong Together," which was just added to the station's playlist has been played a lot this week. El Salvador's fans, keep on requesting for "It's Like That" to make it #1 and also to request for "We Belong Together" so it can enter the station's hit list soon. Call (2)224-2411 or send a text message to 1025 to request the songs now!

Those weaned on Mariah Carey should feel emancipated by her return to form -- and her escape from Whitney's sad fate.

Before I moved to New York City in 1997 and gave up my car, I was one of those people who cherished commercial radio. My high school years were spent chauffeuring friends around in my Chevy Blazer, compulsively changing the dial between Baltimore's pop station B104 and Washington's unmatched alternative channel, 99.1 WHFS. In college, even as DJs were formatted out of existence, I tuned in to the Albany rock channels in that same trusty truck whenever our campus station got too earnest or obscure (which was often). I was always a sucker for the hits -- my last year with the radio left me indelibly marked by the Wallflowers' "One Headlight" and Third Eye Blind's "Semi-Charmed Life" -- even as I mail-ordered records from Teenbeat, Simple Machines and other tiny labels. To my friends I was a walking contradiction, a devotee to manufactured pop and indie rock in equal measure. And, to quote Whitney Houston, they didn't even know about my greatest love of all: Mariah Carey.

I haven't stayed in great touch with Mariah -- like I said, I pretty much stopped listening to commercial radio eight years ago -- but the memory of her from the early '90s has haunted the entire decade that has made up my 20s. As a teenager I spent countless afternoons after school, alone in my parents' living room, belting out "Vision of Love" as the video played on VH1. (As a little, little girl riding in the "way-back" of my parents' station wagon, I dreamt of being discovered by a radio executive because I knew every word to every song in the top 10 of Casey Kasem's weekly top 40. As a 16-year-old with a decent voice, I subconsciously believed that hollering along to "Vision of Love" was going to get me somewhere -- if not a record contract, then a boyfriend enchanted by my somewhat agile voice.) "Someday," Mariah's incredibly upbeat revenge hit that played on B104 at least once every hour of my junior year of high school, summed up my teenage angst and anger better than any Cure song could. And "Love Takes Time" -- has any breakup ballad ever put it better?

Around then, my true loves were probably Jane's Addiction, New Order and the Beastie Boys' "Check Your Head." But Mariah, she got to me. "But the catsuit!" exclaims a friend, recalling her outfit in the "Vision of Love" video. OK, sure. But compared with other manufactured divas of that era, Mariah was the real deal. She wrote her own songs! She could really, really sing!

For most of the late '90s, I watched from afar as Mariah coasted along, putting out more and more ballads and, eventually, a collection of greatest hits. Her outfits got worse and worse but, I must admit, I loved seeing her defiantly busting out of her clothes all the time on billboards around downtown. (Mariah is no Kate Moss.) However, when she suffered a very public breakdown in 2001, following her disastrous screen debut in "Glitter" and the tanking of the film's '80s-throwback soundtrack, I quickly snapped to, and rushed back to her side.

The press (and most of the public, it seemed) didn't have much sympathy for Mariah. I understood why. The year before, she had signed a record-setting $80 million, five-year contract with Virgin records. (The deal was later dissolved.) She had been the bestselling female performer of the 1990s, with 13 No.1 singles and more weeks spent at the top of the Hot 100 singles chart than any other artist in history. She was famous and beautiful; she was, obviously, rich; she dated Yankees shortstop cutie Derek Jeter. It was easy to think that 2001 had brought Mariah's day of reckoning: a 10-year run was enough; it was her turn to crash and burn and fade. Months later, when she finally spoke about the breakdown, she attributed her bizarre behavior -- performing an impromptu striptease on MTV, writing rambling, suicidal messages on her Web site -- to exhaustion. But it was fair to wonder, as many people did: Can someone as wealthy and successful as Mariah Carey really be more exhausted than your average fan?

I caught Mariah on "Oprah" doing damage control post-breakdown, around the time that her rebound record "Charmbracelet" came out. I was with Oprah: I felt sorry for the girl. On the show, she was surprisingly articulate and credible; when she described shuttling back and forth between L.A. and New York while making "Glitter" -- and suffering from insomnia to boot -- her breakdown seemed inevitable. Poor Mariah, I thought, spending all those nights in the studio and on red-eye flights. As she sang her inspirational hymn "Through the Rain," and explained that it was all about her personal struggle to keep going, to survive, I teared up a little. She's just a hard-working woman with a dream, I thought. She gives so much money to the Fresh Air Fund that they named an entire campsite after her. She doesn't have a husband and spends most of her time with her mom. Why do people so love to hate her?

"Charmbracelet," unfortunately, was a throwaway -- a record rushed into production with the hopes that it would erase "Glitter" and the breakdown from minds of her fans. It bombed (though not quite as badly as "Glitter") and, in its wake, things continued to look grim for Mariah's future. So news earlier this year of a second comeback, one saddled with the improbable title "The Emancipation of Mimi" (after a nickname used by those closest to Mariah), was greeted with a groan by many, including me. A few weeks ago, when "Mimi" was hitting the stores, I held my breath and said a little prayer for Mariah, expecting the worst. And when the record debuted at No. 1, I quickly exhaled. The songstress of redemption and healing had done it. As she hopefully sang a few years ago, she "made it through the rain." Mariah was back on top.

"Mimi" had a very strong first week of sales, moving 404,000 copies, and it's currently sitting at No. 2 (behind the Boss) as it approaches its first million sold. The critics, by and large, are liking it (and I am, too). The first single, "It's Like That," didn't get too far up the charts, maybe because the song is a fun but bland hip-hop throwaway that could have been sung by anyone. Indeed, Mariah's voice here, and on a few other tracks, is barely recognizable as her own. The second single, a slow jam called "We Belong Together" that cuts a bit closer to the classic Mariah mold, is faring better, hanging in at No. 7 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart.

"Mimi" makes it clear that Mariah's voice is not what it used to be. The record holds a few signature Mariah flourishes, but mostly the diva is subdued here, playing it safe by avoiding the highest of her five octaves and staying within a tighter vocal range. It's a little mean to say, but I honestly cringe at the thought of the woman on "Mimi" attempting the feats Mariah pulled off on songs like her 1992 MTV Unplugged cover of the Jackson 5's "I'll be There," or the triumphant pop love song "Emotions." As she ages, perhaps this is the formula for success. At 35, less of Mariah is actually more. It's a sad fact of aging, but I'm very grateful she and her smart producers (including Jermaine Dupri and the Neptunes) recognized it.

I'm impressed. Just a year ago it looked as though Mariah was destined to be the next Whitney Houston. Remember her? Mariah's soul sister, with her ex-star husband and her drug problems? Thanks to the tabloids and 10 o'clock news, an entire generation knows Whitney as a supposed crack addict instead of the girl in the tank dress singing into the telephone "How will I know if he really loves me?" or the poised young woman who covered millions with goose bumps when she covered Dolly Parton's "I Will Always Love You" for her movie "The Bodyguard," which seemed destined to make her a major movie star. Although she's got an active contract with Arista and put out a full-length record in the late '90s -- one that garnered modest critical and commercial success -- it seems unlikely that she'll ever reclaim her former glory. Should she even try? The public is unforgiving; to most of us, Whitney Houston seems like a lost cause.

Mariah, on the other hand, appears to have been found, yet again. Scoff as you like at the title of her new record, but Mimi has indeed been emancipated. And I, for one, am delighted.

--By Hillary Frey

Click on the links below to download video/audio files of Mariah's interview and live performance of "We Belong Together" on The Tonight Show With Jay Leno which aired yesterday, May 11, 2005.

Interview (105MB, RAR archive)

Part One

Part Two

Part Three

Part Four

Performance: "We Belong Together" (40MB, RAR archive)

Part One

Part Two

MP3

Download Instructions
--Make sure you have WinRar installed on your computer.
--Download all the RAR files into one folder.
--Right click on one of the downloaded RAR files and click on "Extract Here".

"We Belong Together" jumps four spots to No. 3 in its 6th week on the Billboard Hot 100 Singles Chart (Issue Date: May 21, 2005).

On the Billboard Hot 100 Airplay chart, "We Belong Together" jumps from No. 6 to No. 2 with a 26.6 million increase in audience and 2,678 spin increase. Total Audience: 105,362,000. This makes "We Belong Together" the Greatest Gainer / Airplay this week (2nd time in 3 weeks!)

Mariah's last single that reached No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 Airplay chart was "Always Be My Baby" in 1996.

The two songs ahead of "We Belong Together" are:
1. Hollaback Girl, Gwen Stefani (#1 on Hot Digital Songs)
2. Oh, Ciara Featuring Ludacris (#1 on Hot 100 Airplay)

--From Billboard Daily Music News: Both Stefani and Ciara need to watch out for Mariah Carey, whose "We Belong Together" makes a bold 7-3 gain on the Hot 100. The chart's greatest gainer at radio also jumps 6-2 on Billboard's Hot 100 Airplay list.

Mariah Daily caught Mariah as she was leaving the NBC premises in Burbank, California after taping her interview and performance of "We Belong Together" on The Tonight Show With Jay Leno earlier today. In the interview, topics discussed were Mariah's FHM cover photo, Mariahisms, the fan who sued for his messed-up Mariah tattoo, dolphins, her being in the Guinness Book of Records, among other things. The taping promptly started at 4:30pm and wrapped up at 6:30pm. Be sure to tune in this evening at 11:35pm for the show. Photos below, click each thumbnail for a larger, full-scale view of these MariahDaily.com exclusives!


Check us back for the video file of Mariah's appearance on The Tonight Show With Jay Leno!

"The Emancipation of Mimi" has sold 197,448 copies this week (slight increase from last week's 196,637 figure) and stays at #2 on the Billboard 200 Albums Chart. Total album sales: 1,025,459.

"We Belong Together" moves up from #12 to #11 on the Billboard Hot Digital Songs chart, selling 20,464 copies (22% increase from last week.) The total sales for the album is: 1,025,459. Total single downloads: 66,808.

"We Belong Together" also moves up the airplay charts (#3 on the Mediabase chart with 123.277 million audience impressions) and is expected to jump a few spots on the Billboard Hot 100.

"It's Like That" drops 7 places to #26 on the Hot Digital Songs chart with a decrease of 11% from last week, selling 12,031 copies for a total of 179,715.

Much of Emancipation—which, for those unfamiliar with the word, is handily defined over a photo in the booklet of Mariah posed as a gauzy butterfly—is a lot like the tongue-tripping rap-hopping that characterizes lead single "It's Like That," which packages the massive breadth of Carey's voice into a piercing little stone that she and her co- producers send skipping off over funky grooves.

The wails and whistles that made her name are often squashed and multitracked or used as foundation for the many guest artists to shuffle across, which isn't entirely a negative—when the familiar screeching pops up again (and, sure, it does), an emancipated Mariah doesn't sound like such a bad idea after all.

Whenever she finds the middle ground between her old histrionics and her new attitude, the album has a smooth, seductive old-school shimmer and is a lot more fun than her many detractors will want to admit. There are effective ex-lover laments like "Mine Again" set against the undeniable hooks of hot summer day come-ons: the I'm - gonna - put - those - naughty - thoughts - into - your - mind promise of "Your Girl"; "Get Your Number," where Jermaine Dupri is informed that Mimi's "gotta pip penthouse with a sick hot tub"; "To the Floor," with Nelly angling for a piece of her; and, best of all, "Say Somethin'," in which Carey breezily instructs Snoop Dog, "If it's worth your while/Say something good to me."

Well, here's something good, Mariah: This is worth our while.

Ben Folds is a critically-acclaimed singer-songwriter, best known for his band, Ben Folds Five's 1997 song "Brick". His new solo album, "Songs for Silverman" has been a surprise hit, despite no MTV or radio airplay. Speaking recently with Joel Topcik of The New York Times, Mr. Folds discussed what he's been listening to and why.

Mariah Carey
She's got the most amazing voice. Although the production on her new album, "The Emancipation of Mimi" (Island), may turn some off, I find the sheer talent involved reason enough to listen. I love classic soul ballads like "Mine Again" and "Fly Like a Bird." I also like that she's using her voice on this album more like a male singer might, like Prince. She could show off and belt, but she's evolving and doesn't seem to need to prove herself every bar, so you get the interpretation of an amazing singer.

According to 'Hits Daily Double', "The Emancipation of Mimi" sells an incredible amount of 195,929 copies this week which brings the album's sales total to over one million copies in only four weeks!

This is Mariah's 3rd straight week at #2, falling behind a strong debut from Nine Inch Nails whose album "With Teeth" sells over 270,000 copies this week.

'Hits' also reports Mariah's album positions on the following retailers' top sellers lists:

Dimple Records: #2
Independent Records: #2
Hasting: #4
Newbury Comics: #8

Although the official sales for the album will be determined by SoundScan, "Hits Daily Double" is regarded to as a good and almost accurate measurement. The SoundScan figures apply to the Billboard charts and will be released later this week.

Mariah will be flying to Chicago, IL next week in order to tape her appearance in the Oprah Winfrey show, which will presumably air as the show's season finale.

Mariah is scheduled to perform on the show as well.

Aladerri will be attending the show and is making a fan book for Mariah. He writes:

"I know how excited everyone must be about her success on "The Emancipation of Mimi" and how much you would like to congratulate her. Like myself, can't wait to see her and tell her how happy I am!

In New York she took the time to thank each and every fan at the Best Buy (for what I heard) and she keeps on calling to leave voice mails on HBF, MC.COM & TM, this is the time to send a reply from us and let her know how happy we are and how much we love this album.

I am doing this Fan Book to help every one deliver a message and be close to Mariah. Be festive, send pictures, poems, tell her how much fun you had at NY, LA or Europe! there is no limit on the pages as they are 8 x 10.

Deadline will be Sunday, May 15. So you have one week to work on that letter.

Send in your entries to MariahChicagoFan@aol.com any other question feel free to ask!"

If you had told anyone in the music biz two years ago that Mariah Carey would have a runaway hit album in 2005, they'd probably have collapsed in hysterics.

But "The Emancipation of Mimi" looks as if it will finish the current week at No. 1 again, with another 200,000 or so copies in the hands of fans.

"Mimi" is probably going to be Mariah's biggest hit album in over a decade. It's already spawned two hit singles, and there are several more on the way. Go figure.

Credit has to go to manager Benny Medina, who spirited Mariah away from another manager and a label deal. Remember the short-lived MonarC Records? He also jumped sides, leaving former client Jennifer Lopez in the dust.

It's poetic justice, since Lopez and Carey have had an old-fashioned feud going for several years, thanks to Lopez poaching some music Carey had planned on using for the movie "Glitter."

After a nervous breakdown, a huge public divorce and bombs of both a movie and its soundtrack, Carey is back and bigger than ever.

USA
--The remix to Mariah's latest hit single, "We Belong Together" will be available for download at iTunes on May 17th. The remix is produced by DJ Clue and features guest vocals by rappers Styles P. and Jadakiss.

--"We Belong Together" debuts at #31 on Launch.com's Top 100 Music Videos.

--MSN Music has a special offer this month. When you purchase one digital song for 99 cents, you get 5 songs free! Take advantage of this special offer and download "We Belong Together" now.

--"We Belong Together" Mediabase Update as of 5/8/2005: 114.773M audience impressions, 12,225 spins.

--"We Belong Together" is currently at #14 on iTunes' Top 100 Songs and #13 on Top 100 Albums.

--Hot 107.9 in Atlanta, Georgia played the remix to Mariah Carey's "We Belong Together" and is already getting requests.

--"We Belong Together" is #1 on 9 Most Wanted countdown and #15 on the playlist at B96. Call (312) 591-9696 to request.

Greece
--"The Emancipation Of Mimi" is #1 on the Greek charts again this week! The positions for the album since its debut: #2 (week 1), #1 (week 2), and #1 (week 3).

--"It's Like That" debuted on the official sales chart last week at #15 and this week it rises two places to #13.

--"It's Like That" is #6 on Athens Radio DeeJay and #12 on Kiss FM, big radio stations in Athens that play only international music.

Cyprus
--"The Emancipation of Mimi" is #2 on the official international album chart this week in Cyprus. It debuted at #1 last week.

El Salvador
"It's Like That" stays at #4 on El Salvador's largest radio station, La Femenina 102.5FM for 2 weeks in a row. "We Belong Together" has been added today to the station's playlist so start requesting now! Request Line: 224-2411, or vote online here. "A TODA LA GENTE DE EL SALVADOR:"It's Like That" esta en la posicion 4 de la femenina, sigamos pidiendola esta semana para que suba esta semana, pero si esta semana no sube, ni modo enfoquemosnos en pedir "We Belong Together," y hagamosla un exito tambien como lo logramos con "It's Like That"."

Brazil
"The Emancipation of Mimi" is the #1 international album in Brazil. It is #6 on the Top 100 while the single, "It's Like That" is at #70.

Russia
The "It's Like That" music video has charted for the first time in Russia. Muz-TV, broadcast in Russia, Baltic countries and Ukraine, is showing much love to Mariah and held a competition where fans had to send in best love letters and could win a weekend with Mariah in Paris! Please vote for "It's Like That" here.

New Zealand
"It's Like That" debuts at #24 on the official New Zealand music chart, RIANZ. This is the highest peak for a Mariah song since Heartbreaker went #1, other than Busta and Mariah going to #7 with "I Know What You Want."

Germany
--"The Emancipation of Mimi" is #36 this week (issue date May 6th) on the official German charts, last week it was #30. "It's Like That" is #26 this week, was #18 last week.

--"We Belong Together" is the highest new entry on the German urban radio station 98.8 KissFM and enters the chart at #37. People can vote here. Another radio station, Planet Radio has just added the song to its "Hot In US" list. Vote online by clicking here.

--"We Belong Together" can be downloaded at MusicLoad.de and iTunes.de.

--Helen has created a request page for "We Belong Together" on her MariahLounge site. Check it out!

South Africa
--"It's Like That" keeps its #1 position for four consecutive weeks on Metro FM's International Top 40. Metro FM is South Africa's largest urban radio station.

--On East Coast Radio, the song is #8 on the station's Global Hot Hits and #2 on Top 20.

--"We Belong Together" is the highest new entry on Good Hope FM's Top 40 chart debuting at #35 while "It's Like That" drops two places to #13, peaked at #2.

--For the fourth straight week, "It's Like That" is at #1 on the High 5@5. This chart is based purely on internet voting so thanks to all the online votes! On the station's Top 40, "It's Like That" moves up one spot to #13 and World Chart Show, the song finally makes a three place jump to #29.

MTV Base Africa
The "It's Like That" video has been getting regular spins on MTV Base Africa. Click here to vote on the request show.

Italy
--"The Emancipation of Mimi" climbs eleven spots from #30 to #19 on the album chart while slips two places from #21 to #23 on the singles chart.

--"It's Like That" is up one spot to #2 on the airplay chart of Radio Deejay, a major radio station in Italy. "We Belong Together" has just been added to the playlist of the same radio station.

Bulgaria
"It's Like That" is #1 again for the second week on the Bulgarian music TV, MM.

Puerto Rico
--Two of Puerto Rico's biggest radio stations, La Mega Estación 106.9 FM and Univision/KQ 105/104.7 FM have added "It's Like That" to their playlists. The song is getting very good airplay!

--The single of "It's Like That" can be bought at Spec's Music Store in Plaza Las Américas. "The Emancipation of Mimi" can be found in any PR music store.

MTV Asia
Mariah is holding the #1 spot for the second week with "It's Like That" on the MTV Asia Hitlist.

With 35% of the record stores counted, "The Emancipation of Mimi" takes the lead with 68,860 copies sold, 8,116 units more than second placer "With Teeth" by Nine Inch Nails. Rounding out the top 5 are last week's boss, Bruce Springsteen's "Devils & Dust" with 45,917, Rob Thomas's "Something To Be" 41,135 and Il Divo's self-titled album with 32,923.

'Hits' predicts Mariah's "The Emancipation of Mimi" to sell 180K to 190K at #2 finish.

We shall see! Watch for this space as we continue to bring you album sales updates tomorrow!

--Be sure to tune in to catch the special TV appearances by Mariah on:

The Tonight Show with Jay Leno - Wednesday, May 11, 11:35pm ET on NBC

The Ellen Degeneres Show - Friday, May 13th on NBC (check your local listings for airtime here.)

--Launch.com now has the "We Belong Together" video available to watch. Check it out!

--E!'s cameras follow Mariah as she goes from public appearances and performances to her very private, very exclusive pajama party with her closest girlfriends in a special called "Uncut." This special will be shown on Sunday, May 22nd at 10:00pm ET and repeated on Monday, May 23rd at 1:00am ET. Be sure to catch the show!

--Alyssa sent Mariah a journal with sunflower and butterfly on it as a birthday present and got a picture back saying, "To Alyssa, Thanks 4 the pip journal. Love, Mariah" Click here to view the autographed photo.

--Rober has made two flyers to promote Mariah's new album for everyone to use.


--From New York Post: Sean "P. Diddy" Combs celebrated the 50/50 joint venture deal between his Bad Boy Records and Warner Music Group with a blow-out at the Cabanas atop the Maritime Hotel the other night. From there the party moved on to Glo nightclub, where Combs, Usher and a posse of pals drained 12 bottles of Cristal. Unfortunately, cops shut the club's doors at 1 a.m., leaving the likes of Denzel Washington and Mariah Carey out in the cold.

--Colin Garner of Trident Online writes, "I made this statement last week, but I love the new Mariah Carey album. Listening to it sparked me to download all her old classics, and they just feel like 6th grade. It's amazing how long she has been around."

--Banding Together Update: Second shipment of bracelets this coming week, bracelets still available for purchase, Sarah G. winner of a signed "Blender" poster. Visit their website for more updates.

Below are scans from recent issues of Celebrity Living, Entertainment Weekly, Us Weekly, Teen People and New York Daily News.

THE CALM BEFORE THE CHART: Based on mid-week retail reports, here's what the Top 10 on next week's album chart might look like:

1) Nine Inch Nails 260-270k (debut)
2) Mariah Carey 180-190k
3) Rob Thomas 120-130k
4) Star Wars Revenge Of The Sith (st)110-120k (debut)
5) 50 Cent 100-110k
6) Bruce Springsteen 90-100k
7) Bobby Valentino 80-85k
8) Il Divo 75-80k
9) Fall Out Boy 75-80k (debut)
10) Gwen Stefani 70-75k

Other debuts of note include Limp Bizkit 50-55k and Nivea 25-30k.

--From New York Daily News: Def Jam President Jay-Z will present his boss, Island Def Jam Chairman L.A. Reid, with Pratt Institute's Creative Spirit Award tonight at Lincoln Center. Expect L.A.'s comeback kid, Mariah Carey, to be there cheering him on.

--Want to know more about Mimi and the new album? Go check out the ASK MARIAH section of MariahCarey.com and you can hear Mariah answer the questions many of her fans are asking!

--Mariah is currently at #4 with 404 votes in the Most Elegant Woman poll that Hello Magazine is conducting. Nicole Kidman tops the list with 2,593 votes. Click here to vote for Mariah now!

Mariah Scans
Below are the Mariah pages in this week's In Touch Weekly, Life & Style Weekly and Star magazines.


Mariah Mentions
--From Guardian Unlimited UK: When a manufactured star starts talking about proving themselves musically, it usually means they are keen to show off their vocal prowess by doing that relentless up-and-down-the-scale yodel popularised by Mariah Carey.

--From Washington Times: Still, give Jordan credit: he managed to sell a lot of jerseys. Too many, in fact, and by that we mean more than two (Jordan's own, and the one Mariah Carey came this close to flopping out of at the 2003 All-Star Game).

--From Scotsman: Bridget Jones would love it. An American music writer is to publish a new guide to the most depressing pop songs ever written. It also includes Harry Nillsson’s Without You, sung by Mariah Carey, whose lyrics ("I can’t live if living is without you") were a favourite of Renee Zellweger in the film Bridget Jones’s Diary.

USA
--Video countdown update: "We Belong Together" was #1 again in yesterday's 106 & Park's video countdown and #5 on TRL. Let's keep Mariah on top, vote!

--Billboard Update: Mariah Carey's latest, "We Belong Together" (Island), advances into the top 10 on Billboard's Hot 100 and Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs charts. It's the first non-collaborative top 10 for Carey on both charts in six years. The last time Carey was in the top 10 with a song that didn't feature another artist was in 1999. "I Still Believe" peaked at No. 4 on the Hot 100 and No. 3 on the R&B list.

--"We Belong Together" Mediabase update as of 5/5/2005: 101.342M audience impressions, 11,038 spins.

--Mariah tops AOL Songs with "We Belong Together" (991,101 plays, total of 3,965,335 plays to date) and Searches! Click here to view the charts.

--Check out the new "We Belong Together" eCard!

--"We Belong Together" has been added to Power 106's Top 4@4 and Top 7@7 countdowns. Click on the links to vote. Power 106 is a huge radio station in Los Angeles.

--Positive review of the "The Emancipation of Mimi" by Kevin Aeh of Out In San Antonio. Click here to read.

Taiwan
--"The Emancipation of Mimi" in Taiwan still remains at #2 for five weeks on the international charts.

--Universal Music Taiwan is sponsoring a Mariah event titled: "Mariah Carey-The Wonderland" at AXD Taipei on May 14, 2005. Lots of Mariah goodies are in store for the attendees. For more informatiion on how you can be a part of this event, visit the AXD Community.

Philippines
--"We Belong Together" holds strong places on various Philippine radio stations and music video channels. As of May 6th, here's WBT current chart positions.

#1 - Wave 89.1 Soul Review Countdown
#1 - Monster 93.1 RX Daily Survey Chart
#2 - RT 99.5 Top 10 Biggies
#4 - Magic 89.9 ER Countdown
#8 - MYX Daily Countdown

"It's Like That", on the other hand, is still claiming spots. It is the current #1 video on MTV Philippines Diyes Countdown and #8 on RT 99.5 Top Ten Biggies.

Canada
Please take the time to request for Mariah on Much Music Power Shift and MMM Top 10.

Malaysia
Mariah came in at #2 on The 10 Biggest Divas aired last May 5th on Malaysian TV, Channel V. Kylie Minogue took the top spot with Jennifer Lopez coming in at #3. The video to "It's Like That" also premiered on the same show.

Germany
"It's Like That" is #16 on its debut week on the SWR3 chart. SWR3 is one of the biggest radio stations in Germany. Click here to vote.

Latvia
Capital FM 101 shows much love to Mariah - "It's Like That" is #1 for the sixth week already and "We Belong Together" has just been added to their playlist. Click here to vote for "We Belong Together".

Here are Mariah's Billboard chart positions for the magazine's issue date May 14, 2005.

The Emancipation of Mimi
Billboard 200: #2 (Last week #2)
Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums: #2 (Last week #2)
Billboard Top Internet Albums: #11 (Last Week #6)

We Belong Together
Billboard Hot 100: #7 (Last Week #12)
Billboard Hot 100 Airplay: #6 (Last Week #14)
Billboard Pop 100 Airplay: #28 (Last week #42)
Billboard Pop 100: #25 (Last week #33)
Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks: #10 (Last Week #15)
Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay: #10 (Last Week #15)
Billboard Hot Digital Tracks: #10 (Last week #13)
Billboard Hot Digital Songs: #12 (Last week #17)

It's Like That
Billboard Hot 100: #45 (Last week #33)
Billboard Hot 100 Single Sales: #8 (Last Week #25)
Billboard Pop 100: #34 (Last Week #23)
Billboard Pop 100 Airplay: #41 (Last Week #41)
Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks: #50 (Last week #49)
Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay: #60 (Last week #53)
Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Single Sales: #4 (Last Week #14)
Billboard Hot Digital Tracks: #13 (Last Week #10)
Billboard Hot Digital Songs: #19 (Last week #12)
Billboard Hot Dance Music/Club Play: #2 (Last Week #5)
Billboard Hot Dance Music/Sales: #1 (Last Week #3)

Below are photos of Mariah at the Abyssinian Church in Harlem, New York taken the afternoon of May 3rd and


at the Karl Lagerfeld Interview Magazine Party at Maritime Matsuri, New York City later the same day. At both places, Mariah was accompanied by Andre Leon Talley, editor-at-large for Vogue magazine.

--Pictured on the right is Mariah cutting her celebratory cake for the smashing #1 debut of her album "The Emancipation of Mimi" while L.A. Reid and Jay-Z look on. The party was held April 21, 2005 at Cipriani, New York.

--New York's Hot 97 is already playing the remix to Mariah's latest hit single, "We Belong Together." The remix is produced by DJ Clue and features guest vocals by rappers Styles P. and Jadakiss and it's been completely re-recorded.

--From the gossip section of New York Post, Page Six: Oh, the irony! Hollywood's favorite fashion plate, Nicole Kidman, was upstaged at a dinner for Karl Lagerfeld by skanky-chic icon Mariah Carey. It happened when Kidman's driver tried to slip an attendant $20 to park in front of the Maritime Hotel, but was told the space was reserved for Carey, who eventually arrived in a Maybach with Vogue's jolly giant, Andre Leon Talley. Our spy spotted poor Kidman tottering down the street in high heels to the hotel's Matsuri restaurant the other night, where she nibbled sushi with Sean Penn, Naomi Watts, Clive Owen, Miuccia Prada and Allegra Versace.

--From Herald Sun Australia: Singer Mariah Carey, back from career and mental hell at an MTV event in New York yesterday. Reminds us of an email we received last week from Robert, who was most irate over Herald Sun music writer Cameron Adams daring to refer to Destiny's Child's Beyonce Knowles as the hottest woman alive. "Hello! Mariah is back (and No. 1 in the US) and not only does she look great she sings better than that fat Beyonce bouncer. Yuk. Get your babes right!!!!!"

--Mariah is the Most Searched Artist on Yahoo Buzz's Top 20 Music Searches.

--Snoop Dogg was just on MTV's TRL and said he loves "Say Somethin'" and hopes to be shooting a video for the song soon.

--Roger Friedman of Fox News reports, "You've got to hand it to Mariah Carey. Her album "The Emancipation of Mimi" is her second comeback CD. But this one really has worked. Carey stays at No. 2 this week, racking up another 200,000 copies to bring her total to almost a million. Not only that, but she has plenty of singles left. "Mimi" should stay afloat well into the fall.

--In Hits Daily Double's In Tha Mix, Ricky Leigh Mensh writes: "Count me in w/tha huge crowd of folks who counted Mariah Carey out over tha last few yrs. Now count me in w/tha huge crowd of folks that get tha fact that she's back. In theze days of artist dispozability & quick declines from greatness, it'z that much more amazing that Ms. Carey iz back, which iz also due in large part tha great work of IDJ Messrs. Reid, Steve “DJ Nice” Bartels, Benny “South Beach” Pough, Frank Johnson et al."

--From ChartAttack: It's been two-and-a-half years since we've heard a peep from master lyricist MC Paul Barman. "I'm in the middle of six records, at the most," Barman says from New York. "I'm gonna finish one within a month and I'll probably finish another one by the end of the year. I'm definitely hell-bent to get one out this year. Everyone tells you you can't release a record in the winter because you're competing with a Mariah Carey Christmas album and I'm like, am I really?"

--"Return of the Voice" wallpaper made by Orestes for everyone. Enjoy! Click on the thumbnail to view full-sized image.

--Visit MariahCareyUK to see new and exclusive high quality photos from Mariah's March visit to London.

Taking a five-point leap up the Billboard Hot 100 Singles chart this week, "We Belong Together" makes its first Top 10 appearance at No. 7, up from No. 12 last week!

Yet another Top 10 entry, the song climbs five spots from No. 15 to No. 10 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks!

"It's Like That" continues to falter on the Billboard Hot 100. The song places at No. 45, down twelve spots from No. 33. However, on the Hot Dance Music/Club Play, "It's Like That" climbs three spots from No. 5 to No. 2!

Related News from Billboard
With a 12-7 jump, "We Belong Together" becomes the 23rd Hot 100 top 10 title of Mariah Carey's career. As a lead artist, Carey last appeared in the top tier with "Loverboy" in 2001, which peaked at No. 2.

--From Media Daily News: Other notable moments at MTV Networks Upfront: Roseanne Barr chomping on girl scout cookies as she made fun of TV Land; Paul Reiser, when promoting his sitcom "Mad About You," forgetting where his office is; and the touch of class brought by - huh? - Mariah Carey, who offered a subtle, restrained performance of her comeback hit, "We Belong Together."

--Toni Braxton mentioned Mariah in a recent radio interview. Toni was very excited for Mariah because they came out around the same time and they are going to do it again. "I am Mariah's biggest cheerleader," she said.

--Groovevolt reports Def Jam is considering a Dual Disc re-release for the new Mariah Carey album. The set will include three new cuts.

--If you think Mariah's Butterfly is an Essential Pop Album, a Must-Have for your Collection, vote for it at ChannelOne.com.

--In discussing Angelina Jolie's clothing, Ted Casablanca of E! references Mariah's fashion by calling skimpy duds "Mariah Carey." He says, "Ms. J., you could wear Ugg boots and a Mariah Carey tube top now for all I care - you're just too scandalicious."

--Mariah is the 10th Most Searched artist on Lycos for week ending April 30, 2005. Pamela Anderson tops the list, followed by Paris Hilton. View the complete list by clicking here.

--Update from Banding Together: "Upon receiving your bracelet, if you would like to participate in the Project Book being sent to MC, please submit your information to anelson@visionsystems.tv. Include a photo of yourself sporting the bracelet, your name, location, age, and any short note you would like to have sent to MC." Visit the Banding Together website for more information.

--Nicho invites fans to join Mimi's Emancipated Group on MySpace.com. On the group page, check out their new artwork, listen to music, see profiles of other Mariah fans, and join in on the discussion on the latest Mariah topics.

--Visit the new Australian fansite, Automatic Princess for everything Mariah in Australia. Congratulations to Naomi, webmiss on her new Mariah fansite.

USA
--Today's video countdown results: "We Belong Together" slipped one spot to #2 on 106 & Park and two spots down to #4 on TRL. Please keep on voting!

--From FMQB: Mariah Carey "We Belong Together" (Island/ IDJMG). Video debuts #1 on TRL! New reports: WNCI, WKXJ, WNOK, WRVW and WQEN! MAJOR spins at KISS 108, KHKS, KRQQ & WKSC.

--"We Belong Together" is a Hot Pick in All Access. WHTF (Hot 104.9)/Tallahassee PD Darren Stephens says, "We just put this in last week, and we're ALREADY getting calls!" Comments WBBM/CHICAGO APD/MD ERIK BRADLEY, "Mariah Carey is back...We Belong Together is a certified smash - everyone can and should play it!"

--"It's Like That" and "We Belong Together" are #12 and #20, respectively on VH1 Top 20 Countdown. Click here to vote.

--Island diva Mariah Carey and Robbins Dance artist Reina spend some time together at a recent WKTU/New York event to celebrate the release of Mariah’s CD, The Emancipation Of Mimi. Click here to view the photo.

--Mariah is HitzRadio's featured artist for the month of May. "...Mariah Carey is back, and this time it's for real! Her new album The Emancipation Of Mimi features her top-notch vocals with appearances from Jermaine Dupri, Snoop Dogg, Nelly, Twista and The Neptunes. Listen to HitzRadio.com to hear her latest singles!" "We Belong Together" is currently at #4 on HitzRadio's Top 7@7. Click on the link to vote.

--XM Radio's MTV channel has been airing MTV Presents: Mariah Carey. Airs at 11am PT and plays Mariah songs throughout the hour-long show. Be sure to tune in!

--"We Belong Together" is currently at #16 on iTunes' Top 100 Songs chart and #13 on the album chart. Download the song by clicking here.

Philippines
"We Belong Together" debuted on Magic 89.9's ER countdown at #10. "The Emancipation of Mimi" remains to be the topseller at Odyssey, the largest music store in the Philippines.

Singapore
"It's Like That" continues to rise in Singapore! On Power98, it is currently at #5, three spots up from last week's #8, and #9 from last week's #11 on Perfect10. Keep voting!

Canada
Vote for "We Belong Together" on C100 FM's Top 9@9 in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

Lebanon
"We Belong Together" is currently at #15 on Lebanese radio. Virgin Megastore has enough copies of "The Emancipation of Mimi," for Lebanese fans who haven't bought their copies yet, head on over. The album was the #2 topseller at Virgin in its debut week, dropped to #4 in second week.

Malta
"The Emancipation of Mimi" is currently at #14 on the Maltese Charts. The album comes only in Deluxe Edition.

Italy
"It's Like That" is up 10 spots to #3 on the airplay chart of Radio Deejay, a major radio station in Italy.

Denmark
This week chart positions in Denmark:
"The Emancipation Of Mimi"
Official album chart: #55 (last week #55, peak #44)

"It's Like That"
Official singles chart: #20 (last week #43, peak #20)
Danish Dancechart: #13 (last week #12, peak # 8)

Malaysia
Hitz.fm, one of the biggest English radio stations in Malaysia is conducting a poll to select its Artist Of The Month for June. Mariah is currently at #2 with 28.2% of the votes behind J.Lo's 36.3%. Click here to vote for Mariah.

Sweden
At NRJ Sweden, they have a webchart to see which songs are the hottest on the station. This week, Mariah is up for the challenge with "It's Like That." Please vote to get her on the countdown and be played on the station even more.

South Africa
--Mariah is rocking Metro FM. For the third consecutive week, 'It's Like That' remains the #1 song on the International Top 40. Metro FM is South Africa's largest Urban Station.

--On East Coast Radio's Global Hot Hits,"It's Like That" is a non-mover and remains steady at #6 for the third straight week. Mariah cracks the Top 5 on East Coast Radio's Top 20. 'It's Like That' climbs 3 places to the #3 position on the chart.

--On 5FM, for the third week in a row, 'It's Like That' is the #1 song on 5FM's High 5 @ 5. This chart is based purely on internet voting. On 5FM's Top 40, 'It's Like That' continues its steady climb up the chart. In its 5th week, the track moves up to #14. On 5FM's World Chart Show, 'It's Like That' finally debuts on the chart at #32.

--On MTV Base Africa, The "It's Like That" video has been getting regular spins on the show. Visit the website and vote for Mariah on the 'request show'.

Norway
"It's Like That" debuted at Norway's official single list "Top 20" at #20, then went all up to #13 (highest peak). This week it is at #16.

Japan
"The Emancipation of Mimi" is #12 in Japan this week with 153,557 copies sold.

In its third week on the chart, "The Emancipation of Mimi" remains at #2 on the Billboard 200 Albums Chart, selling 196,637 copies this week for a total of 828,011 copies sold.

The album also remains at #2 on the R&B/Hip Hop Albums chart, second to Bobby Valentino's album which debuted at #1.

On the Hot Digital Songs chart, "We Belong Together" manages a 3% increase in downloads and jumps from #17 to #12, selling 16,811 copies this week for a total of 46,344 copies sold.

"It's Like That" drops 7 places to #19 on the same chart, selling 13,552 copies this week for a total of 167,684 copies sold.

"We Belong Together" is expected to jump into the top 10 on this week's Billboard Hot 100 Singles chart due to the continually increasing airplay which now stands at 92.958 million audience impressions according to Mediabase. Its 10,172 spins are divided at the different radio formats as follows:

Alternative - 4
A/C - 18
Hot A/C - 68
Urban A/C - 164
Urban - 2419
Pop - 2538
Rhythmic - 4899

Video Plays:
VH1 - 18
MTV - 20
BET - 21

The "We Belong Together" music video has finally reached the #1 spot yesterday on BET's 106 & Park but slipped one spot to #2 on MTV's TRL. Keep voting!

News Links:

'The Boss' Bows 'Devils' At No. 1 (Billboard)

Bruce Edges Out Mariah (Rolling Stone)

Bruce Leaves Mariah, Rob Thomas In The Dust (MTV)

Bruce Bedevils Charts (E! Online)

Eat My 'Dust' (Entertainment Weekly)

With a pitch aimed at Main Street America, both coasts and everywhere in between, MTV Networks told Madison Avenue Tuesday that it touched everyone, everywhere, every way.

The Viacom cable division's third annual "upfront" presentation at the Madison Square Garden Theatre was another star-filled affair, mixing celebrities, humor, music and a blend of subtle (and not-so-subtle) attempts to gain a greater share of marketing dollars for the white-hot young adult demographic.

The two-hour-plus presentation included performances by the Black Eyed Peas, Willie Nelson and Jessica Simpson and, to conclude the show, recent chart-topper Mariah Carey. Also appearing were Halle Berry, Paul Reiser, Goldie Hawn, Roseanne Barr and Don Cheadle.

Below are photos of Mariah performing onstage at the MTV Networks Upfront May 3, 2005 in New York City.

He's The Boss at retail this week, but just barely. Bruce Springsteen, who appeared to have smooth sailing to the top of the album chart this week with his Devils & Dust (Columbia/CRG), did wind up #1, but only after withstanding a furious rally from a surging Mariah Carey.

Springsteen did 203k and change - a testament to his continuing clout considering that the album (released exclusively on DualDisc) is a stripped-down affair. But Carey hung so close to her former labelmate that we were unable to call a winner until the chart closed Tuesday afternoon. The diva's comeback opus, The Emancipation of Mimi (Island/IDJ), is showing real staying power in its third week, finishing at 199k, a drop of only 9%, buoyed by a well-timed appearance last week on ABC's daytime female magnet The View.

"It's amazing to see someone of Bruce's legendary stature be able to top the charts with an acoustic album," marveled Tower's Kevin Hawkins, gunning his Harley. "Just awesome. And Mariah is showing some real staying power."

Another IDJ act, DTP/Def Jam Crossover rookie Bobby Valentino, debuted at an impressive #3 with his self-titled album. The 2-3 finish is yet another indication that IDJ ruler L.A. Reid is really starting to assert himself just over a year into his reign.

Mariah maintains her sales stronghold, placing at #2 again this week with an additional 199,014 copies of "The Emancipation of Mimi" sold, according to Hits Daily Double, which brings the album's three-week total to 824,000+. Bruce Springsteen's new album Devils & Dust takes the top spot with 203,406 copies, and Bobby Valentino's self-named album comes in at #3 with 183,062.

'Hits' also reports Mariah's album positions on the following retailers' top sellers lists:

Tower Records: #2
Dimple Records: #2
Independent Records: #3
Hasting: #3
Borders: #6
Newbury Comics: #6
Olssons: #8

Although the official sales for the album will be determined by SoundScan, "Hits Daily Double" is regarded to as a good and almost accurate measurement. The SoundScan figures apply to the Billboard charts and will be released later this week.

Click here to download an audio file (4.7MB, in MP3 format) of Mariah's interview with Johnjay, Rich and Carrie on 93.7FM KRQ in Tucson, Arizona which aired live yesterday, May 2nd at 7:30am. Big thanks to Robert of EternallyMariah for recording the radio interview for us.

While most weeks it is obvious who will wear the crown of the #1 album, this week's battle will go down to the wire between the debuting acoustic set by The Boss and the third week sales boosted by an appearance on The View by Mariah "On Fiah" Carey. This one will be settled around the 200k mark, so place your bets and watch the games continue all the way to the very last reports midday tomorrow.

With 34% of the record stores counted, "Hits" shows Mariah at #1 with 63,544 copies sold so far. Below are the current Top 5 albums.

1. MARIAH CAREY (ISLAND/IDJ) - 63,544
    THE EMANCIPATION OF MIMI

2. BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN (COLUMBIA/CRG) - 62,967
    DEVILS & DUST

3. ROB THOMAS (ATLANTIC/ATL G) - 36,429
    SOMETHING TO BE

4. 50 CENT (SHADY/AFTERMATH/INT) - 34,462
    THE MASSACRE

5. JO DEE MESSINA (CURB) - 33,324
    DELICIOUS SURPRISE

Juno Records offers for sale a 12" vinyl titled "Favorite Joints Volume 19." The EP contains a previously unreleased song titled "Friendz," performed by NORE feat Mariah Carey & Big Pun (produced by Green Lantern.)

Click here to download an official promotional preview audio clip of the song.

Mariah Daily would like to thank all the fans who have participated in our "Buy Mimi" contest - you guys are amazing and have contributed a lot to Mariah's incredible first week sales figure. Below are the four contest winners:

1st Prize Winner
Eric Shimohata wins a rare 72" x 50" banner autographed by Mariah!

2nd Prize Winner
Alan Wong wins a promotional poster for "The Emancipation of Mimi" autographed by Mariah!

3rd Prize Winners
Ramon Rivera and Brian Cato each win 3 promotional posters and a copy of "Para Todos" magazine with Mariah on the cover!

Congratulations! Winners - please check your e-mails and send us back your mailing addresses.

As the sales-report tally continues this morning, Bruce Springsteen’s Devils & Dust (Columbia) is currently on track to come in at or just shy of 200k, putting it in a three-way battle for #1 with a surging Mariah Carey and crossover comer Bobby Valentino.

The Emancipation of Mimi, Carey's three-week-old Island/IDJ album, got a timely boost from the diva's appearance last week on ABC's The View, and its continued potency provides compelling evidence that the diva has a bona fide smash on her hands. Valentino's self-titled debut album, on sister label DTP/Def Jam/IDJ, has come out of left field to also contend for the top spot on this week's chart. But no matter where Bruce finishes, Devils & Dust, released exclusively in DualDisc format, will give the nascent CD/DVD hybrid one of its best sales weeks yet.

Along with Carey, Rob Thomas’ Something to Be is likely to be this week’s only other holdover in the Top 5.

As the sales-report tally continues this morning, it looks as though Bruce Springsteen’s Devils & Dust (Columbia) has a solid lead and will make its debut at #1 on this week’s chart.

The second-highest chart debut looks like DTP/Def Jam/IDJ crossover comer Bobby Valentino, whose self-titled set is on track to log a first-week of 185k-190k, putting it in contention for #2, depending on how Mariah Carey’s The Emancipation of Mimi (Island/IDJ), which sold 220k last time and has been showing signs of staying power, does in its third chart week.

While speaking to MTV about her latest album, "The Emancipation of Mimi," the singer tells the network that she's hoping to translate an earlier album her 1994 "Merry Christmas" into a family-friendly Broadway show. Aside from the songs already on the album, Carey says she'll be writing two new ones, along with a story to intertwine them all together.

She tells MTV "I'm such a festive person, and I love Christmas. I'm so over the top with it that this is a bit much, but it's perfect for me. I get a chance to live out my Christmastime fantasies vicariously through the show. I think it's going to be fun and something families can go to see."

This isn't the first time she's mentioned this idea, or mentioned it to MTV, noting back in December of 2004 that she hoped to have it ready for Christmas 2005.

With her unique talent and signature vocal abilities, Mariah Carey commanded the world’s attention when she made her musical debut in the early nineties. In less than a decade, Mariah Carey emerged as one of the most popular and widely acclaimed talents in music. As a singer and songwriter, Carey has been recognized with the most prestigious accolades in the industry including two Grammy Awards, eight American Music Awards, Billboard's “Artist of the Decade" Award and the World Music Award for “World's Best Selling Female Artist of the Millennium" to name a few. As the best-selling female performer of all time, Mariah Carey has continuously raised the bar and set the standard of excellence within the music industry worldwide.

Carey started singing at the tender age of four and her innate talent quickly progressed. While attending middle school, she began honing her songwriting skills and upon high school graduation she immediately left for New York City to pursue a lifetime ambition - her dream of a musical career.

From the beginning, Carey’s luminous talent quickly distinguished her in New York and her vocals were in demand by a variety of artists. Her major break came while singing backup for Brenda K. Starr, who gave Mariah’s demo tape to then Sony Music Entertainment Chief Tommy Mottola. Soon afterwards, Mottola signed Mariah to her first recording contract with Columbia Records.

With a fresh-face and angelic allure Mariah exploded on the scene with a signature style that displayed a vocal intensity that had never been seen before. Released in 1990, Carey’s self-titled debut was an immense hit, firmly establishing her as one of the most talented artists in the industry. The album which spawned an extraordinary four #1 singles: “Vision of Love,""Love Takes Time,""Someday," and "I Don't Wanna Cry," led to two Grammy Awards for Best New Artist and Best Female Vocalist. Carey continued her success with a series of singles from Emotions and MTV Unplugged albums that consistently placed her at the top of the charts.

With the 1993 release of Music Box, which included the chart-topping hit singles "Dreamlover" and "Hero," Carey produced her most commercially successful album to date going an astounding ten-times platinum. Carey soon hit yet another career milestone with the release of her first holiday album Merry Christmas, which contained the instant classic "All I Want for Christmas is You." Over the next two years, Carey continued her relentless chart domination with the album Daydream (1995). Daydream’s “Fantasy” single debuted at number one, making Mariah the second artist in history and the first female performer to accomplish that feat. The album’s other single, "One Sweet Day" (recorded with Boyz II Men), stayed at the top of the charts for a mind-blowing 16 weeks. Carey followed with the Hip-Hop and R&B infused Butterfly which introduced a new chapter in Mariah’s career teaming her with the hottest names in the music business such as Sean Combs and Missy Elliott.

A true testament to her longevity, Carey released #1’s, a compilation of her chart-topping hits in 1998. The album also included a new song, "When You Believe" (from the film “The Prince of Egypt”), a duet with Whitney Houston, pairing two of the most successful female recording artists in Pop history.Rainbow, with its chart-topping hit "Heartbreaker," followed in 1999 with startling success.

Always at the top of her game, the ever-thriving Carey sparked the interest of the Universal Music Group's Island Def Jam Records who in May 2002 signed her to an exclusive recording contract. Later that year, Carey made her Island Def Jam debut with the release of the multi-platinum Charmbracelet.

After more than a decade of hits that include the staggering success of 15 #1 singles, Carey released her latest self-penned album The Emancipation of Mimi, in April 2005.

For more information on Mariah Carey, visit http://www.mariahcarey.com

Australia
Top 40 singles chart:
"It's Like That" drops down 4 spots to number 13 on its 5th week, and gets a gold certification (sold 35,000 copies or greater that value.)

Top 40 Albums chart:
"The Emancipation of Mimi" stays steady at number 27 on its 4th week on the ARIA chart.

Urban Charts:
"It's Like That" drops 5 places to number 9, whereas "The Emancipation Of Mimi" rises one spot up to number 5.

Club Chart:
In its 9th week, "It's Like That" jumps 4 places to number 20 on the Club chart.

Brazil
On the official Brasilian charts:
"The Emancipation of Mimi" debuts on the TOP 40 CD Sales chart at #16.

"It's Like That": debuts on the Hot 100 Brazil chart at #84.

On the Hot 40 Dance Chart, "It's Like That" is up to #27 (from #36 where it debuted last week.)

Canada
"We Belong Together" continues to progress in Canada's radio stations and music channels as follows:

The song is #18 Most Requested Song on FLOW 93.5, Toronto most popular urban station.

On Tuesday April 5th, Z103.5 premiered We Belong Together, and it was Pumped (as opposed to Dump) by the audience by 66%!

"We Belong Together" is currenty #7 on Z103.5's daily 7am Commercial Free Countdown (Wednesday, April 27th). If you live in the range which gets this station, you can request the song here.

"The Emancipation of Mimi" is the CD of the month at Z103.5.

After debuting at #30 on 104.5 CHUM FM's Chum Chart, "We Belong Together" moves up 3 spots to #27 this week. If you live around the Toronto area, please request the song here.

"We Belong Together" dropped out from the MuchMoreMusic Top 10 countdown, after reaching #2! Please continue voting for it here.

Be sure to vote for "We Belong Together" on Much Music's Power Shift countdown as well.

In Montreal, the popular radio station CKOI has added "Get Your Number" to their playlist so start requesting it here.

Universal Music Canada has picked Mariah as their artist of the week. Their reasoning: Mariah Carey is back! THE EMANCIPATION OF MIMI, Mariah's new album, has taken the world by storm! Following the success of the hit single "It's Like That" with Fat Man Scoop and Jermain Dupri, is the new ballad "We Belong Together". The new video features Mariah wearing the wedding dress that she wore when she married Tommy Matolla. Request her new video on MUCH today.

Italy
On the official Italian charts:
"The Emancipation of Mimi": Down two places to #30.
"It's Like That": Climbs six places to #21.

Japan
On its fourth week on the Oricon Combined Album weekly chart, "The Emancipation of Mimi" drops to #6 and sells 23,744 units for a total of 135,887 albums sold. The album continues its reign at #1 on the Oricon International Album weekly chart.

According to HMV Japan, a CD Single of "We Belong Together" is scheduled to be released on June 15th in Japan with two tracks.

Malaysia
Music channel Channel [V] has chosen Mariah Carey to
be The Chosen One for the whole month of May and will air many shows that feature Mariah. Be sure to watch Mariah on the following shows (All Malaysia Time)

Video [Scope] - May 9, Monday, 8pm
An hour show that showcases all of Mariah's video
clips.

[V] Special: Introducing Mimi - May 16, Monday, 11pm
A sepcial introduction of Mariah's highly anticipated new
album "The Emancipation of Mimi".

Mainstage - May 25, Wednesday, 11pm
Features Mariah Carey's Around The World Tour.

Spain
"It's Like That" continues climbing on Cadena 100 top songs. This week, it gains one position and is number 4. It's the 8th week of the song in this chart. Keep voting with your mobile phone by sending "100 TUNOMBRE TUPROVINCIA MARIAH CAREY" to 5211

The spanish version of FHM with Mariah on the cover (May issue) is out in Spain now. Be sure to pick up your copy of the magazine that features a supplement titled 'The 100 sexiest woman of the world 2005' (where Mariah is #52) in addition to the article. Click here to see the cover of the magazine.

Taiwan
Attention Taiwanese fans, here's your chance to win great prizes from two great Mariah Taiwanese fansites! Mariah Taiwan is holding a "We Belong Together" singing contest and Mariah Times, a trivia contest. "The Emancipation of Mimi" CDs (Taiwan exclusive Promo AVCD) and posters will be given away to lucky winners. Check out their respective sites for contest details.

UK
"The Emancipation of Mimi" drops 10 places to #33 and "It's Like That" drops 7 places to #18 on the official UK charts.

MTV Asia
"It's Like That" climbs two spots to #1 this week on MTV Asia's Hitlist.

Global Charts
On Mediatraffic's United World Chart, "The Emancipation of Mimi" remains at #1 on the albums chart and "It's Like That" remains at #6 on the singles chart.

--Due to server problems, the fan site "The Butterfly Room" has been moved to a new URL. All pervious members must rejoin here.

--From The NY Post: Siren Mariah Carey showed how "smooth" she can be at the annual ANDY advertising awards Thursday night at Capitale, where marketing execs gathered to do the self-congratulatory thing. Event chairman Alex Bogusky, who, as Bull's Eye has duly noted, is the ad industry's resident heartthrob, gushed to the audience that he got to touch the pop star during a photo op. "Just her arm — and she is so smooth," Bogusky said. "Seriously, she is by far the smoothest person I have ever felt in my life." For the record, we're sure Bogusky's wife is just as soft skinned, but there should be some warning signs if his ad agency, Crispin Porter + Bogusky, suddenly comes up with a plan to launch a body cream commercial starring one sexy songbird.

--From Out In Chicago: The Emancipation of Mimi is a nice mix of dance jams and the usual ballads you come to expect from a Mariah Carey album. The over-the-top slow songs are kept at a minimum here, which may be the main reason why the album works much better than her last few records. Mimi starts strong with the first single, “It’s Like That.” The catchy song, a hit on the radio and in the clubs, gives the album a late-night dance/lounge vibe. Read the full review here.

--Be sure to cast your vote for Mariah on CNN's Quickvote Poll for favorite dance track.

A transcript of the interview with Paula Zahn on CNN's "People In The News" can be read here.

Tune in to 93.7FM KRQ in Tucson, AZ tomorrow - May 2, at 7:00am for an interview with Mariah. Mariah will be calling to the station and talk to the morning show hosts about her new album and single.

Mariah has been chosen to be MSN's artist of the month for the month of May 2005.

Click here to watch new interview clips and Mariah's videos on MSN.

Click on the links below to download video files of Mariah's interview and live performance of "We Belong Together" on ABC's The View last Friday, April 29, 2005.

Interview (83MB, RAR archive)

Part One

Part Two

Part Three

Performance: "We Belong Together" (44MB, RAR archive)

Part One

Part Two

Download Instructions
--Make sure you have WinRar installed on your computer.
--Download all the RAR files into one folder.
--Right click on one of the downloaded RAR files and click on "Extract Here".