Following criticism by critics and Carey herself about the decision to only include US number-one hits in her first greatest hits album, #1's (1998), Greatest Hits was developed as a double-disc album that allowed for a more comprehensive collection of songs throughout Carey's career, and was also updated to include two songs that reached number-one after the release of #1's. The album peaked at number fifty-two on the US Billboard 200 and number seven on the UK Albums Chart, and achieved platinum certifications in various countries, including double-platinum in the US, and triple-platinum in the UK and Australia.
Greatest Hits was re-released as The Essential Mariah Carey on January 10, 2011 internationally, as part of Legacy Recordings's Essential series, and features the same track listing. The US edition, released on April 24, 2012, replaces some tracks with extended mix versions and additional non-single tracks, selected by Carey.
Background and development
The release of Greatest Hits was part of a four-album deal to fulfill Carey's contract with Columbia Records, which led Carey to join Virgin Records in 2001. The four-album deal consisted of two greatest hits albums: #1's (1998) and Greatest Hits, a studio album: Rainbow (1999), and a remix album: The Remixes (2003).[1] The decision to leave Columbia was motivated by Carey's deteriorated working relationship with the label, and ex-husband and Sony Music CEO, Tommy Mottola.[1][2][3] Unlike #1's, her previous greatest hits album, Carey had little involvement in the development of Greatest Hits,[4] there are no personal messages within its liner notes, and both Carey and the label did not conduct any significant promotional efforts for the album;[5][6] when asked about the album on its release day by Entertainment Tonight, she remarked: "Does it come out today? Oh, ha ha."[7]
Critics criticized the choice of previously released material in #1's, which was limited to her then thirteen US Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles.[8][9] Carey was disappointed in the exclusion of various songs that she felt was her "best work",[10] which was even expressed in the liner notes for #1's, in an "open letter to [her] fans":
"First of all – this is not a greatest hits album! It's too soon, I haven't been recording long enough for that! This album is a 'thank you' and an acknowledgment of my gratitude to all of you out there for making these records #1 on the charts.
By contrast, Carey was more positive about the track selection of Greatest Hits, describing the new inclusions as "songs that needed to be really heard".[10] In addition to every track from #1's, except "Whenever You Call" and the international bonus track "Theme from Mahogany (Do You Know Where You're Going To)", it also includes seven songs released prior to #1's, and five songs released after #1's, including the US number-one hits "Heartbreaker" and "Thank God I Found You".[12]
Bonus tracks
The So So Def remix of "All I Want for Christmas Is You", the duet version of "Against All Odds" with Irish boy band Westlife, and "Never Too Far/Hero Medley" were not previously included in a Carey album. The So So Def remix of "All I Want for Christmas Is You" was first released through a Japanese re-release of the single in 2000, and features Lil' Bow Wow and frequent collaborator Jermaine Dupri.[13] Carey originally covered Phil Collins' "Against All Odds (Take a Look at Me Now)" for Rainbow, later reworking it into a duet with Westlife, which reached number-one on the UK and Irish charts, leading to its inclusion in the international editions of the album.[14][15] The Japanese edition was released the following week on December 12, and adds four more bonus tracks, including "Never Too Far/Hero Medley" and the original version of "All I Want for Christmas Is You". "Never Too Far/Hero Medley" was released on December 11 in the US as a charity single for the victims of the September 11 attacks,[10] and is included in the album as Sony Music Japan held distribution rights of Carey's Virgin releases in the country.[16][17] "All I Want for Christmas Is You" is her best selling physical single in the country, with 1.1 million copies sold.[18]
Greatest Hits was re-released as The Essential Mariah Carey by Legacy Recordings internationally in January 2011, and in the US in April 2012.[19][20] Carey contributed creative input to the track selection of US edition, resulting in an altered tracklist. In a press release, she stated: "I wanted to create a collection of some of my favorite songs, several of them are very big hits and some are more obscure favorites of mine as well as fan faves".[20] Carey selected four additional non-single tracks, "Vanishing" from Mariah Carey (1990), "Close My Eyes" and "The Roof" from Butterfly (1997), and "Bliss" from Rainbow, as well as the extended club remix versions of "Emotions" and "Anytime You Need a Friend", for the album.[20]
Greatest Hits generally received positive reviews from critics. Critics noted the timing of the album's release, in light of the personal and commercial troubles surrounding Carey's Glitter project, which released in September 2001. Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic commended the "archival" nature of the album, but criticized its long runtime, recommending the "more concentrated" #1's instead.[6] In an updated review in 2011,[c] Erlewine described the album as a "good and thorough retrospective of Mariah in her prime".[19]
Sal Cinquemani of Slant Magazine gave the album 3.5 out of 5 stars, praising the inclusion of "Make It Happen", "Without You", and "Underneath the Stars", stating that they "have certainly earned their spots next to hits" such as "Hero" and "One Sweet Day", and declared the album as Carey’s “first proper hits compilation”.[21] However, Cinquemani also negatively described the album as an attempt by Columbia and Carey's ex-husband to "cash in Carey's pre-borderline 'Columbia Years'".[21] Devon Powers of PopMatters also praised the album, describing Carey as a "pop princess, hammering out fast numbers with a zeal and determination" highlight that the album moves "chronologically through [her] remarkable career".[22] In a negative review, Sarah Liss of Now criticized the songs as "bland" and "hard to distinguish from each other".[23]
Commercial performance
Greatest Hits debuted at number 52 on the US Billboard 200, charting for a total of 13 weeks, and remained her lowest peaking album on the chart until 2020, when Mariah Carey's Magical Christmas Special charted at number 100.[24] It also debuted at number 46 on the UK Albums Chart on the week ending December 15, 2001,[25] but later reached a new peak of number seven on the week ending October 29, 2005, following the success of her tenth studio album The Emancipation of Mimi.[26] The album has charted for a total of 38 weeks on the chart.[27] On the same week, the album also charted its first of four non-consecutive weeks at number one on the UK Hip Hop and R&B Albums Chart; it is her seventh number one album on the chart.[27]
As of November 2018, Greatest Hits has sold 1,230,000 copies in the US, where it was certified double-platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for one million copies shipped.[d][29][30] It was also awarded multiple certifications in several other countries, including triple-platinum certifications by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) and Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA), signifying over 900,000 copies sold in the UK and 210,000 copies sold in Australia, respectively.[31][32]Greatest Hits also sold 177,945 copies in South Korea, as of 2002.[33]
* Sales figures based on certification alone. ^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. ‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.
^Though not included in Greatest Hits, "Breakdown" was later included in The Remixes (2003).
^ abAllMusic also reviewed the international edition of The Essential Mariah Carey in 2011, which shares the same track listing. The rating was lowered to 4/5.[19]
^Each disc is certified as an album by the RIAA, for multi-disc albums over 100 minutes.[28]