As of 2017, which solo artist has had the most US number one singles on the Billboard Hot 100?

Mariah Carey (born March 27, 1969 or 1970) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and actress. After signing to Columbia Records, she released her debut album, Mariah Carey (1990), which spawned four number-one singles on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart; "Vision of Love", "Love Takes Time", "Someday", and "I Don't Wanna Cry." Following her marriage to Sony Music head Tommy Mottola, Carey became the label's highest-selling act with the albums Music Box (1993), Merry Christmas (1994), and Daydream (1995). These albums spawned a string of successful singles, including the holiday track "All I Want for Christmas Is You" as well as "One Sweet Day", which became the longest-running US number-one single in history with a total of 16 weeks. After divorcing Mottola, Carey adopted a new image and traversed towards hip hop with the release of Butterfly (1997). Billboard named her the most successful artist of the 1990s in the United States, while World Music Awards honored as the world's best-selling recording artist of the 1990s.

Carey has spent 79 weeks at the number-one position on Billboard Hot 100, the greatest number for any artist in US chart history. She has accumulated 18 number-one singles, the most for any solo artist (and second after The Beatles). Carey has also had three songs debut at the top of the Hot 100 chart.