Mariah Carey’s holiday reign continues to reach historic new heights. Just days before Christmas, the global superstar earned another career-defining milestone as the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) officially certified her 1994 album Merry Christmas Diamond, confirming 10 million certified units sold in the United States. The achievement places Carey in an elite and rarely matched category of female artists.
With Merry Christmas now Diamond, Carey becomes only the third woman in music history to hold three RIAA Diamond-certified albums, joining Whitney Houston and Shania Twain. Her previous Diamond releases include Music Box (1993) and Daydream (1995), two cornerstone albums that helped define the sound and commercial power of 1990s pop and R&B.
Originally released in November 1994, Merry Christmas was initially met with modest expectations, as holiday albums rarely achieved blockbuster success at the time. Over the decades, however, it evolved into one of the best-selling and most influential Christmas albums of all time. The project’s crown jewel, “All I Want for Christmas Is You,” has grown into a cultural institution, fueling the album’s continued sales through physical formats, digital downloads, and streaming platforms.
The Diamond certification arrives just hours after Carey broke another major record. “All I Want for Christmas Is You” reached a historic 20th week at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming the longest-running chart-topper in the chart’s 67-year history. The song has now spent seven different holiday seasons at No. 1, benefiting from the modern streaming era while maintaining cross-generational appeal.
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