Chart Performance
Merry Christmas debuted at number thirty on the US Billboard 200 with 45,000 copies sold in its first week. In its fifth week, the album peaked at number three, with sales of 208,000 copies, but experienced its highest sales in its sixth week (when it was at number six), with another 500,000 copies sold. The album was the second best-selling holiday album that year with a total of 1,859,000 copies sold. It remained in the top twenty for eight weeks and on the Billboard 200 for just thirteen weeks, re-entering the chart three times; peaking at number 149 the first time, 115 the second and at 61 the third (it has spent a total of twenty-seven weeks on the chart). On January 30, 2003, Merry Christmas was certified five-times Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for shipment of five million copies in the US. In Europe, Merry Christmas experienced success, being certified gold in Austria, Germany, Switzerland and United Kingdom. In Australia, the album was certified four-times platinum, denoting shipments of over 280,000 copies and finishing 11th on the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) 1994 End of Year Chart.
Aside from its success in the United States, the album experienced its highest sales in Japan, where the album sold over 2.5 million copies and became the second best-selling album by a non-Asian artist. Additionally, the album's lead single "All I Want for Christmas Is You", was the best-selling single of 1994 in Japan, where it was certified the "Million award." The single achieved similar success around the world, where it reached the top-five position in most countries, as well as re-entering many times throughout the years. In the US, "All I Want for Christmas Is You" is one of the few songs in recent years to be considered a classic and is the only holiday song and ringtone to reach multi-platinum status in the US.
Merry Christmas has sold over 15 million copies worldwide, and is the best-selling Christmas album of all time.
Read more about this topic: Merry Christmas (Mariah Carey Album)
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