A handy guide to Mariah Carey’s #1 hits

With her current single, “Touch My Body,” topping the charts, Mariah Carey notches her 18th No. 1 single, putting her in second place among all artists in the rock era, only two behind The Beatles. How many of these do you remember? (We offer some handy five-word summaries if you don’t.)

“Vision of Love” (1990, four weeks at No. 1): Big ballad. Realize the duh-ream.

“Love Takes Time” (1990, three weeks): Big ballad. Not Whitney, OK?

“Someday” (1991, two weeks): Dancey, sorta. Ooh, ooh someday.

“I Don’t Wanna Cry” (1991, two weeks): Big ballad. Acoustic guitar plinking.

“Emotions” (1991, three weeks): Funky, sorta. Dog whistle scream.

“I’ll Be There” (1992, two weeks): Michael Jackson remake. Cute, unplugged.

“Dreamlover” (1993, eight weeks): Midtempo. Dreamlover, come rescue me.

“Hero” (1993, four weeks): Big ballad. See the tuh-ruth.

“Fantasy” (1995, eight weeks): Dancey. Poppy. “Genius of Love.”

“One Sweet Day” (1995, 16 weeks): Sorry, I never told you …

“Always Be My Baby” (1996, four weeks): Do doo do doodoo down.

“Honey” (1997, two weeks): Hip-hoppish. Diddy. Mariah, on fiah.

“My All” (1998, one week): Big ballad. Remix was better.

“Heartbreaker” (1999, two weeks): “Fantasy”-like. Only with more Jigga.

“Thank God I Found You” (2000, one week): Big ballad. With 98 Degrees.

“We Belong Together” (2005, 14 weeks): Oh babybaby, we belong together.

“Don’t Forget About Us” (2005, two weeks): Smooth R&B. Speaking from experi-uh-ooh-unce.

[Newsday, 4.13.08]