Mariah Carey's 11th Studio Album - Commercial Performance

Commercial Performance

E=MC² debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 with 463,000 copies sold, making it the biggest opening week sales of her career, and also the biggest opening album in 2008 for a female artist, before matched by Taylor Swift's Fearless in November. With six number one albums, Carey is now tied with Britney Spears and Janet Jackson in the United States for the third most number one albums for a female artist, behind Madonna with seven and Barbra Streisand's nine chart toppers. In its second week, the album remained at number one on the albums chart, with 182,000 copies sold. E=MC² became Carey's first album to spend two straight weeks at number one since 1995's Daydream, although The Emancipation of Mimi (2005) spent two non-consecutive weeks at the top spot. On Billboard's Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart, E=MC² debuted at number one, and spent forty-seven weeks fluctuating within the top 100. The album was certified Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) on July 8, 2008, denoting shipments of over one million units. According to Nielsen SoundScan, stateside sales of the album stand at 1,300,000 copies as of June 15, 2009. In total, E=MC² spent twenty-seven weeks within the Billboard 200, and finished at number twenty-two on the Year-End chart. On the same day the album was released, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa proclaimed April 15 officially as "Mariah Carey day" in Los Angeles. It was in part of celebrating her eighteenth number one single, "Touch My Body". Also, from April 25 through April 27, 2008, the Empire State Building was lit up in Carey's motif colors—lavender, pink, and white — in celebration of her achievements in the world of music. On the Canadian Albums Chart, during the week dated May 3, 2008, E=MC² debuted at number one, with first-week sales of 19,000 copies. It became her first number one album in Canada since before 1999, as Rainbow and The Emancipation of Mimi both opened at number two. The album spent seven weeks within the album's chart, and was eventually certified Platinum by the Canadian Recording Industry Association (CRIA), denoting shipments of over 100,000 units.

E=MC² entered the Australian Albums Chart on April 5, 2008, at number two. The album spent eight weeks in the albums chart, and was certified Gold by the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA), denoting shipments of over 35,000 units. In France, the album debuted at its peak position of number six during the week dated April 19, 2008. E=MC² spent twenty weeks on the albums chart, and ended its run on August 30, 2008. On the Dutch Albums Chart, it debuted at its peak position of number eleven on April 19, 2008. The album ended its eight week chart run on June 7, 2008. During the week dated April 28, 2008, E=MC² debuted at number ten on the New Zealand Albums Chart, starting a ten week run on the chart. The album peaked within the top ten in several European countries, such as number five in Switzerland, seven in Germany and Ireland, eight in Austria and number nine in Italy. On the UK Albums Chart, the album debuted at number three, selling 34,800 copies. This was her highest peak position in the United Kingdom since Butterfly (1997), which peaked at number two. After thirteen weeks on the chart, the album was certified Gold by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI), denoting shipments of over 100,000 copies. On the European Top 100 Albums, E=MC² debuted and peaked at number three, recording the highest debut of the week. Its debut places one spot higher than the start made by The Emancipation of Mimi in April 2005. It remained for seven weeks on the chart. In Japan, the album peaked at number seven on the Oricon Overall Chart, and was certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of Japan (RIAJ) for shipments of over 150,000 copies. In Russia, the album has been certified Gold for having exceeded the 10,000 units sold. After only eight days of release, E=MC² was certified Gold in the Philippines, denoting shipments of over 15,000 units. The album was the 26th best-selling album worldwide in 2008, according to International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI). As of September 19, 2009, the album has sold over 2.5 million copies worldwide.