#1's
Mariah Carey
#1’s (stylized Number 1’s) is Mariah Carey’s first compilation album, released on November 16–17, 1998 by Columbia Records as a celebration of her record‑breaking run of U.S. Billboard Hot 100 number‑one singles. Covering recordings from 1989 to 1998, it gathers her 13 U.S. chart‑toppers up to that point—starting with “Vision of Love” and running through ballads and pop/R&B hits like “Love Takes Time,” “Someday,” “I Don’t Wanna Cry,” “Emotions,” “I’ll Be There,” “Dreamlover,” “Hero,” “Fantasy,” “One Sweet Day,” “Always Be My Baby,” “Honey,” and “My All”—and adds four new songs recorded specifically for the album. In Japan, the tracklist also includes “All I Want For Christmas Is You,” which had become one of her biggest‑selling singles there, helping make #1’s the best‑selling album by a non‑Asian artist in the Japanese market.
Among the four new tracks, the most prominent is “When You Believe,” a duet with Whitney Houston originally featured on the soundtrack to The Prince of Egypt and later released as a single that won the Academy Award for Best Original Song. The other additions—such as “Whenever You Call” (in duet form with Brian McKnight on some editions) and previously unreleased material—position the compilation not just as a retrospective but as an active part of Carey’s late‑’90s release schedule. Although Carey herself later expressed dissatisfaction with #1’s, saying she had little control over its song selection and would have preferred a broader “true greatest hits” set including fan favorites like “Underneath the Stars” and “Breakdown,” the album nonetheless became a multi‑platinum success, certified five times platinum by the RIAA and solidifying her image as the dominant U.S. pop and R&B singles artist of the decade.
#1's
Mariah Carey
#1’s (stylized Number 1’s) is Mariah Carey’s first compilation album, released on November 16–17, 1998 by Columbia Records as a celebration of her record‑breaking run of U.S. Billboard Hot 100 number‑one singles. Covering recordings from 1989 to 1998, it gathers her 13 U.S. chart‑toppers up to that point—starting with “Vision of Love” and running through ballads and pop/R&B hits like “Love Takes Time,” “Someday,” “I Don’t Wanna Cry,” “Emotions,” “I’ll Be There,” “Dreamlover,” “Hero,” “Fantasy,” “One Sweet Day,” “Always Be My Baby,” “Honey,” and “My All”—and adds four new songs recorded specifically for the album. In Japan, the tracklist also includes “All I Want For Christmas Is You,” which had become one of her biggest‑selling singles there, helping make #1’s the best‑selling album by a non‑Asian artist in the Japanese market.
Among the four new tracks, the most prominent is “When You Believe,” a duet with Whitney Houston originally featured on the soundtrack to The Prince of Egypt and later released as a single that won the Academy Award for Best Original Song. The other additions—such as “Whenever You Call” (in duet form with Brian McKnight on some editions) and previously unreleased material—position the compilation not just as a retrospective but as an active part of Carey’s late‑’90s release schedule. Although Carey herself later expressed dissatisfaction with #1’s, saying she had little control over its song selection and would have preferred a broader “true greatest hits” set including fan favorites like “Underneath the Stars” and “Breakdown,” the album nonetheless became a multi‑platinum success, certified five times platinum by the RIAA and solidifying her image as the dominant U.S. pop and R&B singles artist of the decade.