Mariah Carey's 'Here For It All' Becomes Her Most-Streamed Studio Album Launch in China

HANGZHOU, China, Nov. 7, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Mariah Carey's Here For It All made headlines in the U.S. with a No. 7 debut on the Billboard 200. It also landed No. 1 placements across Top Album Sales, Top R&B Albums, and Independent Albums. But in China, the album is charting a different kind of success — one that reflects strategic rollout, platform-native engagement, and long-standing regional resonance.

According to NetEase Cloud Music, Here For It All generated more than four times the volume of Carey's 2018 release Caution in its first two weeks. Debuting with record-setting first-day streams, by day 14, it had outpaced every studio album Carey has released in the past decade within the China market.

The album marks Carey's first independently released studio project, distributed via gamma., the artist-first media company founded by former Apple Music Global Creative Director Larry Jackson. Since its launch in 2023, gamma. has positioned itself as a home for culturally influential talent seeking flexibility, ownership, and global reach.

Carey's partnership with gamma. enabled a direct-to-platform strategy in China, including the high-visibility rollout with NetEase Cloud Music. Rather than relying on legacy distribution pipelines, the campaign was built around regional fluency — pairing Carey's brand with NetEase's youth-driven ecosystem and engagement tools.

Carey's success in China isn't inherited from global fame — it's the result of choices that resonate locally. While many Western artists struggle to gain meaningful traction in the region, Carey has built a foothold through emotionally direct ballads, consistent touring, and a brand that adapts well to visual-first, platform-native culture. She's performed over 30 shows across Asia, including five in mainland China, and her vocal style — theatrical, virtuosic, and emotionally legible — aligns with long-standing preferences in the region's pop sensibility.

She's also shown a clear instinct for what lands in the Asian market. In 2024, a short video clip of Carey climbing the Great Wall in 15-centimeter stilettos went viral across Chinese social platforms. The moment was glamorous, self-aware, and perfectly attuned to local humor and visual culture — sparking millions of shares and fan-led commentary. That same sensibility shaped the rollout of Here For It All, from the platform-native marketing to the strategic partnership with NetEase Cloud Music.

With over 200 million monthly active users, NetEase Cloud Music promoted the release through splash-page takeovers, hashtag events, and interactive comment section activations featuring Carey herself. The campaign exemplified NetEase's approach: pairing high-impact visuals with platform-native engagement to drive virality and sustained listening.

Vivian Wei, Vice President of Copyrights at NetEase Cloud Music, stated: "We are thrilled to have created a record-breaking launch with Mariah Carey and gamma.. Looking ahead, we are committed to deepening collaborations with artists worldwide, with a clear vision to play an increasingly significant role in the global music ecosystem."

NetEase has become a key player in bridging Western artists with Chinese audiences, working closely with a growing roster of international talent, including Stephanie Poetri, Jordann, BBno$, Corn Wave, Demxntia, and more. In 2024, the platform facilitated a cross-border collaboration between Canadian indie artist Jordann and Chinese megastar Joseph Zeng. The resulting track became the No. 1 song of Q3 in China, outperforming releases from every artist on the platform — including major and independent acts alike.

As Carey continues to explore new markets and formats, Here For It All stands as a blueprint for how artists, from developing acts to the world's biggest stars, can thrive in a global, digital-first music economy — pairing independent control with culturally attuned, platform-native strategy.

SOURCE NetEase Cloud Music