tamills95

Mariah has never sounded THIS bad. And just because she's passed, doesn't mean she's exempt from the conversation.

Speaking of "Vanishing", most lambs prefer the rehearsal or the 1993 MSG performance, but this is my personal favorite performance. The tone, the phrasing, etc. The only thing I I give the other two is that the whistle transition was smoother in the rehearsal, and the upper belts were more technically sound in '93. Overall, this one just does it for me, though.

Mariah, at her absolute best >>> everyone else, for me In her prime, Mariah sang with more range and agility/flexibility than just about anyone ever in popular music (the various textures and tonal variations across her massive range and her ability to employ them at will in each register and shift between them is peerless); her acoustics in her tonal quality are aesthetically superior in the upper fifth octave; and her melismatic phrasing, the fluidity and ease with which she weaves in and out of vocal lines and sheer speed is unmatched.

Mariah has sang much faster and melodically complex runs than Whitney did in that clip. Mariah bests Whitney in agility. That's just an anatomical fact. Mariah's voice is lighter and much smaller, so it's going to be more agile. Agility is more than just runs/riffs. Mariah's otherworldly agility is largely due to her use of registers and the multitude of textures she uses whilst riffing/running. Other vocalists who are known for their vocal agility tend to sing lines and vocalize in full voice. Mariah tends to incorporate more elements in her singing - she is often constantly switching, flipping and transitioning between and throughout different vocal registers. When Whitney transitions, it's always between a connected head voice and chest voice. Mariah, however, flips and switches between various disconnected registers, which is more difficult because they involve drastic and abrupt changes in the vocal coordination being used, requiring precise pitch and control- such as flipping or switching from breathy voice, falsetto and solid chest voice, and even full belt to falsetto, and transitioning out of whispery mixed voice to solid chest voice, virtually seamlessly without any discernible breaks. Agility is the totality of all of that, not simply just runs/riffs.

Hey, hi, hello! Just wanted to stop in and say I'm obsessed with "My Prayer". Probably my favorite vocal from her. She had the most magical tone of any singer ever.

I'm really curious as to just how many vault/unreleased tracks we're getting, since it's apparently more than just My Prayer

I honestly don't think that's "My Prayer". This sounds more like an unreleased club mix from that era. It's giving C+C vibes. Probably one of the other unreleased songs that hasn't been named yet.

Dubbing and lip-synching aren't the same thing. Mariah did NOT rely on lip-synch during her prime years (she did it on two TOTP performances because it was required), outside of that she eschewed lip-synching in her prime years, especially the early 90s, and always sang LIVE (1990-1996). You're mistaking her with Celine Dion. Y'all really just be saying anything without knowing what you're talking about.

Unpopular opinion: I actually don't think Whitney's discography is as bad as people make it out to be.

You are GATHERING him

This lowkey, if we're talking strictly vocals. VOL literally changed how people sang in pop/r&b.

As did Mariah. Just because live performing wasn't Mariah's strongest area doesn't mean she didn't know how to tell a story. Songwriting and studio musicianship wasn't Whitney's forte. Whitney chose to show off her gifts on stage, Mariah chose to show her best in the studio. That shouldn't be a knock against Mariah and it doesn't mean she didn't know how to tell story.

SCREAMING

This tbh

This is just my personal ranking. I know the question asked for five, but I'm doing a top ten for women: 1. Mariah Carey 2. Wendy Moten 3. Whitney Houston 4. Céline Dion 5. Brandy 6. JoJo 7. Jazmine Sullivan 8. Anita Baker 9. Puff Johnson 10. Deborah Cox / Shanna Wylie (tie) The guys: 1. Brian McKnight 2. Boyz II Men 3. Michael Jackson 4. Tevin Campbell 5. Luther Vandross 6. Stevie Wonder 7. Quindon Tarver 8. James Taylor