Mariah Carey has become only the second artist to score 18 U.S. number one singles – beating the late Elvis Presley into third place.

The singer’s new song, Touch My Body, surged up the Billboard Hot 100 countdown to take the top slot after being made available as a digital download.

Carey has now claimed her 18th number one single, leaving her just two short of The Beatles’ record. The Heartbreaker star was previously tied in second place with Presley – who topped the U.S. pop charts 17 times. But Carey, who celebrated the news while on a promotional tour in London, insists she could never compare herself to musical greats such as Presley and The Beatles; she’s just pleased to still be enjoying success 18 years after releasing her first album.

She says, “I really can never put myself in the category of people who have not only revolutionized music but also changed the world. That’s a completely different era and time … I’m just feeling really happy and grateful.”

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Mariah Carey at Claridges in London, England, yesterday.

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Mariah Carey arrives at the Four Seasons Hotel George V Paris in Paris, France, yesterday.

Je parle diva?

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Mariah Carey departs “The Hills” Season 3 Premiere at Gotham Hall in NYC. She is seen wearing Hello Kitty bandaids on her hand.

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Mariah Carey has hit out at critics who accuse her of making music solely to enjoy the perks of fame – insisting she’s far more focused on releasing good tunes than banking multi-millions.

The Hero hitmaker takes offense at suggestions she only makes records to fund her pampered lifestyle and is adamant she is not interested in the fame that comes with working in the music industry. And Carey, 37, insists she is still as committed to her work now as she was at the beginning of her career.

She says, “I never really felt famous. I don’t do it just because I want to make money or I want to be famous. I need to make music. If I didn’t have this, I don’t know where I would be.”

When you have people that tend to your champagne glass when it gets under 1/4th of an inch low, you’re addicted to the money. She has people that are trailing behind her at events to brush and her hair and make up. So I don’t buy this for a minute.

Mariah Carey is glad she suffered hardships in her youth – because her turbulent childhood has made her an icon for social outcasts.

The Heartbreaker diva claims her mixed-race heritage meant she wasn’t accepted by her peers as white or black – but hopes her meteoric rise to fame will allow bi-racial fans to see their own potential.

She tells U.S. magazine Parade, “I felt very much like an outcast when I was younger. No matter where I went, there was always this sense of not really falling into place or into one category. I moved around a lot when I was growing up, so nobody knew me and I was never one thing or the other. Being biracial, I didn’t really have somebody to look at and say, ‘Okay, this person is exactly the same as me, and they’re out there.’”

And the singing sensation claims she will never grow up – so as to never forget the struggles she went through to become successful. “A lot of kids have said that to me, ‘Until you put your first record out, I didn’t feel like there was anybody that was the same as me.’ People who don’t feel like they fit in can identify with me. I promised myself when I was a little girl that I would never forget what it felt like to be a kid. I never wanted to grow up and be out of touch with what that feels like.”