Key Takeaways

• Mariah Carey’s Success: Carey followed her record-breaking No. 1 with another hit.
• Chart History: “Always Be My Baby” reached No. 1 on May 4, 1996.
• Record Holder: Carey holds the record for the longest No. 1 run for a woman.
• Collaborations: “Day” was a follow-up to her earlier single “Fantasy.”

How did Mariah Carey follow up the then-longest-leading No. 1 in the Billboard Hot 100’s history, “One Sweet Day,” with Boyz II Men?

Only with another No. 1.

On the Hot 100 dated May 4, 1996, Carey’s “Always Be My Baby” ascended from No. 2 to No. 1, bringing her back to the summit after “Day” had reigned for a then-unprecedented 16 weeks beginning in December 1995. To date, Carey again boasts the longest command, thanks to 22 weeks for “All I Want for Christmas Is You.”

“Day” followed the first single from Carey’s 1995 album Daydream, “Fantasy,” which ruled the Hot 100 for eight weeks starting that September. As “Baby” added a second total week on top, Carey ran up a run of 26 weeks at No. 1 with songs from Daydream, still the record for an album by a woman. In 2018, Drake set the current mark among all artists, with three leaders from Scorpion dominating for a combined 29 weeks.

Meanwhile, “Baby” became Carey’s 11th Hot 100 No. 1, tying her at the time with Whitney Houston and Madonna for the most among women. When “Honey,” from 1997’s Butterfly, soared in atop the chart dated Sept. 13, 1997, Carey solely took over the mark among women, which she’s yet to relinquish. She now sports 19 No. 1s, having earned her latest, “Christmas” (originally released the year before “Baby”), in 2019. Only The Beatles have more No. 1s overall (20), while Carey now outpaces Rihanna, Taylor Swift (14 each), Madonna (12) and Houston (11) among solo women.

Mirroring the essence of its title, Billboard’s editorial staff earlier this decade placed “Baby,” which Carey cowrote and coproduced, atop the list of her 100 best songs.