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Mariah Carey leads on year-end charts
(Reuters/Billboard)
Updated: 2005-12-19 09:50
You do not need to read an analysis of the 2005 charts to know that Mariah
Carey made an impressive comeback, but a closer look at Billboard's year-end
surveys suggests this may be her most successful year to date.
File photo shows
singer Mariah Carey posing during the 2005 Recording Academy Honors at
Gotham Hall in New York City December 7, 2005.
[Reuters] | fa
The evidence? For the first time
in her 16-year career, Carey has the No. 1 spot on the Hot 100 Songs recap.
"We Belong Together" sealed up bragging rights by remaining in pole position
for 14 weeks, longer than any other 2005 entry. It was the first single to have
a 14-week reign in eight years, since Elton John's "Candle in the Wind
1997"/"Something About the Way You Look Tonight."
"We Belong Together" is Carey's seventh song to appear in a year-end top 10.
Her highest ranking on an annual Hot 100 recap until now was the No. 2 spot "One
Sweet Day" held in 1996. True, timing was a factor, as that collaboration with
Boyz II Men had its impact diluted by overlapping into two different chart
years; it would otherwise have been have been the top song of the year.
Carey's current triumph marks the first year-end No. 1 by a female artist in
five years, since Faith Hill had the top tune of 2000 with "Breathe." In the
ensuing years, the No. 1 year-end Hot 100 songs have been recorded by Lifehouse,
Nickelback, 50 Cent and Usher.
Last year, men dominated the year-end recaps. Now the pendulum has swung the
other way. The 2004 Hot 100 Songs recap featured male artists on nine out of the
top 10 songs; this year that number shrinks to five, including one song where
Busta Rhymes is a featured guest.
With Gwen Stefani lodged at No. 2 with "Hollaback Girl," this is the first
year that women have sewn up the top two spots since Cher ruled with "Believe"
in 1999 and TLC was second with "No Scrubs."
Demonstrating how fortunes can change from year to year, only one artist
repeats in 2005 from the 2004 Hot 100 summary. Ciara, who is No. 5 this year
with "1, 2 Step," was No. 9 last year with "Goodies."
The majority of artists on the year-end recap of Hot 100 Songs are there for
the first time. Aside from Carey and Ciara, only Stefani and 50 Cent have
previously registered in the top 10 of a Hot 100 annual recap.
Since "Disco Inferno" placed 11th, 50 Cent just missed having two songs in
the top 10. The only artist occupying two slots in the top 10 is Kelly Clarkson,
at No. 4 with "Since U Been Gone" and No. 10 with "Behind These Hazel Eyes."
Clarkson is the main, but not only, reason that the "American Idol" franchise
has made such a powerful showing on the year-end recaps. Contestants from the TV
series are responsible for 17 year-end No. 1s, up from two in 2004 and 2003 and
one in 2002.
For the seventh consecutive year, the No. 1 album of the year is by a male
artist. "The Massacre" marks the second time that 50 Cent has had the
best-selling set on the annual Top Billboard 200 recap. He is the first artist
to repeat with the top album of the year since Michael Jackson, who was No. 1 in
1983 and 1984, albeit with the same release, "Thriller."
The last time a female act had the top set was in 1997, when "Spice" by the
Spice Girls was the best-selling album. In 1998, the "Titanic" soundtrack
outsold all competitors. Between 1999 and 2004, the acts with the No. 1 album of
the year were Backstreet Boys, 'N Sync, the Beatles, Eminem, 50 Cent and Usher.
2004 was a bad year for soundtracks, and 2005 was not much better.
Movie-related CDs ranked in the top 10 in 2002 ("O Brother, Where Art Thou?" was
No. 6) and 2003 ("8 Mile" was No. 7), but in 2004 the highest-ranked soundtrack
was "Tupac: Resurrection" at No. 57. This year, the best-selling soundtrack is
"Ray," at No. 43.
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