Mariah’s mark: Big deal or not?

Here’s what readers had to say about Mariah’s milestone:

Quite funny. The Beatles did it in 7 years. No one will ever top that!

-- Ed C.

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Mariah and Madonna could never surpass the King if Billboard would give credit to him for his real chart toppers. They did not begin listing all his No. 1s until later and not from the beginning of his career.

-- Mozart

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Wow, what [an] utter waste of creative potential. A truly gifted vocalist, who relegated her talent to pure commercialism. Innovative? No. Original? No. Then again, unlike Elvis or the Beatles, she’ll never be considered an artist, just another pop star.

-- I_Slay_The_Dragon

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Now all she needs is 21 more No. 1 hits to top the real king -- Bing Crosby -- who is recognized to have had 38 No. 1 hits. I guess since it was stated that this is for the “modern pop era” he doesn’t count.

-- Stan Walker

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You go, Mariah. Stick it to that Elvis. Besides, most of Elvis’ big hits were sung by other artist before. Ask Little Richard.

-- Jon

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It will be a true shame -- indeed, a tragedy -- if this unoriginal and highly uninspiring artist breaks the Beatles’ record. “Touch My Body,” in particular, sounds like so many songs that I’ve heard again and again. . . . It really shows the dismal direction that popular music is taking nowadays -- incomprehensible wailing masked by raunchy lyrics and teeny-bopper beats.

-- no fan of mariah

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No one compares to Mariah! Her voice is one in a nation . . . she will be the best there ever was!

-- TheRealCritic

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OK, I’m not a huge Mariah fan, so my opinion is not biased or anything. I say, “Good for her!”. . . . Why do these message boards turn into something to rip people to shreds and try to discredit them for anything they do? Geez guys, let’s lighten it up a bit.

-- Tristan

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She may have 18 #1 hits, but only about 2-3 memorable classics. 50 years from now, people will still remember Elvis and Beatle songs, but Mariah songs are forgotten. She’s not a legend. She’s just a successful entertainer who never strayed from her safe formula.

-- jenglisbe

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As icons go, Mariah certainly has influenced a generation of “American Idol” prospects but, as you correctly pointed out, hasn’t really changed the culture so much as reflected it. The “# 1” or sales statistics themselves [don’t] provide much basis for comparison either. It’s like comparing Tom Brady to Johnny Unitas. . . . The game has changed too much. Think back to 1964 when the Beatles dominated the singles charts, but Louis Armstrong and Roger Miller also cracked the Top 10. Nowadays, we’re so compartmentalized. There’s probably a Mariah Carey channel on satellite radio! I have nothing against Mariah -- she looks a lot better 18 years after her first #1 than Elvis did!

-- Kim N.