A #1 debut on the Billboard album chart has eluded Mariah Carey. The numbers are now official, and the diva’s long-awaited new album, Me. I Am Mariah … the Elusive Chanteuse, has entered the chart at #3, with first-week sales of 58,000 copies, according to Nielsen SoundScan.
Mariah’s last non-holiday studio album, Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel, also debuted at #3, back in 2009, but as Billboard notes, the first-week sales on that effort were 168,000 copies. These are the smallest first-week sales figures for a non-holiday album by Mariah since SoundScan was instituted in 1991.
On the positive side, Me. I Am Mariah… gives the singer her 17th top 10 album overall on the Billboard 200 album chart. It also debuted at #1 on the R&B album chart.
Me. I Am Mariah… was originally set to be released in March of 2013, but was then bumped to July. Then it was pushed to May 6 of 2014, and then, finally, May 27. However, Mariah has been releasing singles teasing the project since 2012.
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