Since her return to the scene a year ago, Carey has won a number of awards for her CD The Emancipation of Mimi. Rapper 50 Cent came in a close second with The Massacre, selling only 32,000 less than Carey in North America.
In total, Carey sold 4.86 million copies of her comeback CD. This makes her only the second female in history to be the biggest seller at year-end. Previously that title was held only by Alanis Morissette in 1996 with Jagged Little Pill.
The third position in sales for 2005 has been taken by Kelly Clarkson. The American Idol star sold 3.4 million copies of her CD, Breakaway.