Is Mariah Carey's Wedding Just A Publicity Stunt To Oust Madonna's Album Off The Charts?

With her new album release just a few weeks before Madonna's, what's Mariah Carey got to do to win over the charts? Why, get married of course!

Carey's impromptu marriage to actor/rapper Nick Cannon in the Bahamas caused quite a stir, probably exactly what Mimi needs to steal Madonna's thunder, now that the latter's "Hard Candy" has just knocked out her "E=MC2."

It's still a mystery to everybody why the 38-year-old "Touch My Body" singer married the 27-year-old rapper in a hasty wedding on April 30. They had cited "love" as the reason but with album charts and music immortality on the line, one can't help but wonder if there's much more to it than what they cared to admit.

Carey's two-week reign as the industry's leading lady has just come to an end after Madonna's 11th studio offering becomes the nation's newest #1. Perhaps Carey and her publicity team had sensed this all along and thought the "Material Girl" as a threat. Not only did Madonna nab the top album spot, her single "4 Minutes" with Justin Timberlake has also given her her 37th top ten hit, the most from any artist.

Needless to say, Carey's "E=MC2" tumbled down to number two, suffering a 48% sales drop-off.

Now that Carey has admitted her secret wedding really did take place, would her second marriage photos complete with tattoos capture the people's interest back to her and away from her diva rival? Or does her marriage really have nothing to do with chart numbers?