Chart Performance
"Fantasy" achieved strong commercial success around the world. The song became Carey's ninth number one single on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart. It became the first single by a female artist to debut atop the chart, and only the second single to do so after "You Are Not Alone" by Michael Jackson. It debuted at the top of the Billboard Hot 100 due to the strong sales, which were expected to exceed 229,000 copies. It spent eight weeks at the top of the chart, from September 24 to November 18, 1995, Carey's longest stay at the time alongside "Dreamlover" (1993). It replaced "Gangsta's Paradise" by Coolio, and was replaced by Whitney Houston's "Exhale (Shoop Shoop)". "Fantasy" spent 23 weeks in the top 40 and was successful on other Billboard formats, including the R&B and dance charts. Its strong sales led it to be certified double-platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), Carey's first single to do so. "Fantasy" was the second best-selling single of 1995 in the US, with sales of over 1,500,000. It was ranked seventh on the Hot 100 year-end charts for 1995 and 49th on the 1996 year-end charts. "Fantasy" ranked at number fifteen on the Hot 100 decade-end chart for the 1990s.
In Australia, the song topped the chart and was certified platinum by the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA). In Canada, the song debuted on the RPM Singles Chart at number ninety-five on the RPM issue dated October 2, 1995, and reached the top of the chart on November 20, 1995. It was present on the chart for a total of twenty weeks, and ranked eighteen on the RPM Year-end chart for 1995. "Fantasy" also reached the top ten in most countries across Europe, and the top 20 on the Oricon chart in Japan. It peaked within the top-five in Belgium (Wallonia), Finland, France and the United Kingdom; and in the top-ten in Belgium (Flanders), The Netherlands, Ireland, Norway and Switzerland. "Fantasy" was certified silver in France and the United Kingdom, by the Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique (SNEP) and British Phonographic Industry (BPI), respectively. According to The Official Charts Company, the song has sold 280,000 copies in United Kingdom. The song also topped the charts in New Zealand, where it was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of New Zealand (RIANZ).
Read more about this topic: Fantasy (Mariah Carey Song)
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