38-year-old singer Mariah Carey’s album e=mc square may be No. 1, but her opening sales tally doesn’t come close to this musician. Who is he? Mariah Carey’s E=MC2 opens at #1 with sales of 463,000–the fattest opening-week total of her career. E=MC2 has now also topped Jack Johnson’s Sleep Through The Static for the best opening so far in 2008. Johnson debuted with sales of 375,000 in February.

There has been are reports that is coming from Billboard which say that the Mariah Carey is tied with Madonna and Janet Jackson for the second most Number One albums among female artists, after Barbra Streisand, who leads the pack with eight. Carey’s album features the hit single “Touch My Body.” Carey’s previous top opening (404,000) was made by her most recent album, The Emancipation Of Mimi.

Ever wondered what it is like to be a female in the music industry; well, it must be pretty good feeling…at least in terms of money earning potential. There aren’t many female as much as male there is in the music entertainment industry, so their chances of making a bunch of money is higher.

Madonna made $72 million. She is an ever-morphing singer still outsells artists half her age. She tops the Cash Queens list thanks largely to her record-breaking Confessions tour, plus income from album sales, an apparel line with retailer H&M and a deal with NBC to air concert footage.

Barbra Streisand made $60 million. She is a 65-year-old legend, with 145 million albums sold worldwide to her credit, drew legions of die-hard fans to her short (and rare) concert series that wrapped in Europe last summer. Some tickets sold for upward of $1,000 apiece.

Celine Dion the Canadian diva made $45 million. Her landmark Las Vegas concert drew some 3 million fans and grossed upward of $450 million during its five-year run, which ended in December.

MTV has put a ban on Gnarls Barkleys’ music video. MTV wouldn’t not air Gnarls Barkley’s video “Run,” and it had nothing to do with sex or violence. That’s because of its strobe effects, which caused the clip to fail the Harding Test — guidelines established to prevent TV images from triggering epileptic seizures. The background behind the singer and the stage suddenly morphs into a strobing series of black and white shapes and patterns as the dancers continue to boogie.

However, the video is available on various online outlets, and Gnarls Barkley member Danger Mouse was hopeful the situation could be resolved shortly. But MTV UK asked Gnarls to recut the video, which they did in time to debut on Thursday’s edition of MTV’s TRL show. The video features a cameo by Justin Timberlake.

ALBUM OF THE YEAR: River: The Joni Letters, Herbie Hancock

RECORD OF THE YEAR: ”Rehab,” Amy Winehouse

SONG OF THE YEAR: ”Rehab,” Amy Winehouse, songwriter (Amy Winehouse)

NEW ARTIST: Amy Winehouse

RAP ALBUM: Graduation, Kanye West

ROCK ALBUM: Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace, Foo Fighters

ALTERNATIVE MUSIC ALBUM: Icky Thump, The White Stripes

POP VOCAL ALBUM: Back to Black, Amy Winehouse

COUNTRY ALBUM: These Days, Vince Gill

R&B ALBUM: Funk This, Chaka Khan

CONTEMPORARY R&B ALBUM: Because Of You, Ne-Yo

FEMALE POP VOCAL PERFORMANCE: ”Rehab,” Amy Winehouse

MALE POP VOCAL PERFORMANCE: ”What Goes Around…Comes Around,” Justin Timberlake

POP PERFORMANCE BY A DUO OR GROUP WITH VOCAL: ”Makes Me Wonder,” Maroon 5

SOLO ROCK VOCAL PERFORMANCE: ”Radio Nowhere,” Bruce Springsteen

ROCK PERFORMANCE BY A DUO OR GROUP WITH VOCAL: ”Icky Thump,” The White Stripes

HARD ROCK PERFORMANCE: ”The Pretender,” Foo Fighters

ROCK SONG: ”Radio Nowhere,” Bruce Springsteen, songwriter (Bruce Springsteen)

FEMALE R&B VOCAL PERFORMANCE: ”No One,” Alicia Keys

MALE R&B VOCAL PERFORMANCE: ”Future Baby Mama,” Prince

R&B PERFORMANCE BY A DUO OR GROUP WITH VOCALS: ”Disrespectful,” Chaka Khan Featuring Mary J. Blige

R&B SONG: ”No One,” Alicia Keys

RAP SOLO PERFORMANCE: ”Stronger,” Kanye West

RAP/SUNG COLLABORATION: ”Umbrella,” Rihanna featuring Jay-Z

RAP PEFORMANCE BY A DUO OR GROUP: ”Southside,” Common Featuring Kanye West

RAP SONG: ”Good Life,” Kanye West Featuring T-Pain

FEMALE COUNTRY VOCAL PERFORMANCE: ”Before He Cheats,” Carrie Underwood

MALE COUNTRY VOCAL PERFORMANCE: ”Stupid Boy,” Keith Urban

COUNTRY PERFORMANCE BY A DUO OR GROUP WITH VOCALS: ‘How Long,” Eagles

COUNTRY SONG: ”Before He Cheats,” Carrie Underwood

BEST COMPILATION SOUNDTRACK ALBUM FOR MOTION PICTURE, TELEVISION OR OTHER VISUAL MEDIA
Love, the Beatles (George Martin and Giles Martin, producers)