Mariah Carey is No. 1, and she can prove it 18 times. She has more No. 1 singles than any other solo artist and has sold more than 200 million albums. Out of all the top female artists in pop music, including Madonna, who continues to reinvent herself, and Barbra Streisand, who steadfastly remained a demure powerhouse, it’s Carey who succeeded in bringing a more sensual side to music.

From the first glimpse of the young charmer in the 1990 music video for her first chart-topper, “Vision of Love,” to the blossoming of a diva in 1997’s music video for another No. 1 single, “Honey,” Carey’s metamorphosis has matched the power of her musical career for more than two decades.

With Carey’s new Caesars Palace residency, #1 to Infinity, which kicked off May 6, the audience is taken through all 18 hits, from songs like “Someday” that captivate listeners with the introduction of her five-octave vocal range to her breathier, more seductive tone in “Heartbreaker” and “Touch My Body.” The show coincides with the release of Carey’s first single in years, “Infinity,” off the album that bears the same name as her Caesars residency, a chronological collection of her Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 singles.

Throughout the ’90s the songstress ruled the airwaves and MTV, and just as her No. 1 singles like “Dreamlover” and “I’ll Be There” soundtracked many people’s crushes, relationships and breakups, so, too, did Carey’s music follow changes in her own life. Each song seemed to tip off a new, more tenaciously sure side of the singer by nurturing a confidence in her sound.

Carey’s Caesars show, a high-tech concert experience that was designed exclusively for The Colosseum, promises to be a grand affair. Her arrival in Las Vegas at the end of April was an over-the-top sensation as she pulled up to the property and was later hoisted atop the shoulders of Caesars’ centurions and carried through the property to the steps of The Colosseum. It was an entrance fit for a queen, as Carey takes over ruling the Caesars kingdom throughout the month of May. (She returns for a set of July dates, too).

Although the height of Carey’s career can be contained within the timeline of her 1990 self-titled debut album to her last No. 1 single in 2007, it’s her meteoric rise, influence on pop culture and her embrace of her own history that makes Carey a mega musical star despite a break from the spotlight. But now, the lights are turned back on, and Carey proves once again why she’s No. 1.

Caesars Palace 8 p.m. May 10, 13, 16-17, 20 & 23-24, $55-$250 plus tax and fee. 866.320.9763