Mariah Carey tops Elvis Presley's No 1 mark

With her 18th chart-topper "Touch My Body", Mariah Carey has overtaken Elvis Presley on the list of artists who have had the most No 1 singles on the Billboard Hot 100, and is now second only to the Beatles.

But while Carey was in full celebration mode after learning of her latest milestone, she was quick to put her feat in perspective.

"I really can never put myself in the category of people who have not only revolutionised music but also changed the world," she said. "That's a completely different era and time ... I'm just feeling really happy and grateful."

Her single is top of Billboard's sales chart and is also No 1 on the trade magazine's digital download chart after a precedent-setting 286,000 downloads in its debut week.

Carey had been tied with Elvis on 17 No 1 singles; the Beatles have had 20. Madonna also beat an Elvis record this week, surpassing the King for the most top 40 hits – she had her 37th for "4 Minutes".

Carey said being in such company was gratifying not only because of her personal success but what it meant as an example for women and minorities.

"For me, in my mind,the accomplishment is just that much sweeter," she said. "In terms of my ethnicity, always feeling like an outsider, always feeling different ... for me it's about saying, 'Thank you Lord, for giving me the faith to believe in myself when other people had written me off'."