her — even if we didn’t know yet that “always” really would last this long." Ranking "Always Be My Baby" Carey's second best number-one song, Glenn Gamboa of Newsday noted that the song "still shows off her legendary range, but also shows that she can be chill and laid-back enough to make 'doobedoo oh' work as a chorus." Accolades Chart performance "Always Be My Baby" was released by Columbia Records on March 9, 1996, in Europe, and debuted at number two on the Billboard Hot 100 on the issue dated April 6, 1996, behind Celine Dion's "Because You Loved Me," which had replaced Carey's previous single, "One Sweet Day", at number one. "Always Be My Baby" stayed at number two for four weeks, and topped the Hot 100 on May 4, 1996, where it spent two weeks before returning to the number two position for an additional five weeks. At the end of its US chart run, the song spent a total of nine weeks at number two, the fourth longest stay in the chart's history. The song became Carey's 11th chart topper in the United States, tying her with Madonna and Whitney Houston as the female solo artist with the most number-one singles, a record she soon passed. After spending two weeks atop the Hot 100, the three singles from Daydream had given Carey a combined 26 weeks (six months) atop the chart, something never duplicated by another artist until Usher and the Black Eyed Peas in the mid to late 2000s. In Canada, the song became Carey's eighth chart topper, after it ascended to the number one position on the Canadian RPM Singles Chart during the week of May 20, 1996. While it charted well inside the US, the song didn't manage to chart as high as her previous two singles "Fantasy" and "One Sweet Day" elsewhere. In Australia, the song entered the Australian Singles Chart at number 28 during the week of March 13, 1996. The song spent 16 weeks fluctuating in the chart before spending its last week at number 47 on June 30. "Always Be My Baby" was certified double platinum by the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA), denoting sales and streams of over 140,000. The song debuted and peaked at number five in New Zealand, spending three consecutive weeks at the position. After 16 weeks, the song fell off the singles chart and was