The OFFICIAL Mariah Carey thread! [merged]

[MrWright]

Re: Not so long ago Mariah could blow

It is a pleasant sound, I think we've been force-fed it so long that I'm just sick of hearing it, though I have fun immitating it. It's really easy to mimick the sound and the average person won't be able to tell the difference between a fake tenor and a real one.

Oh I didn't mean falsetto. I hate to sing it (well actually I have a lot of fun pretending to be a soprano but my falsetto is VERY countertenoresque so it's only useful for classical and I don't really use it because excessive use hurts the chest register). I meant going really high in chest. My sounds very heady then and...intense.

I guess I like the workout involved with it (going lower is just so relaxed - which is fun/fine but sometimes I want the edgier quality?).

 

[MrWright]

Re: Not so long ago Mariah could blow

Hold on a minute, bitch. I will slap you. (I mean it with love but Mariah is a LEGEND and though shes not the best she still tops 80% of todays "vocalists"

Perhaps...but it's all downhill from here unless she's really nice to her voice and even then...unlikely. Her voice has thinned incredibly and it's just clearly damaged.

 

[MrWright]

Re: Not so long ago Mariah could blow

You must have a great ear for music, most people don't have the honesty to leave soul alone if that's just not their niche. Everyone thinks soul music is just singing loud and lots of runs throwing in a growl in the third beat of every measure. I think I lose at Broadway and Opera. My voice has this dark, gravely timbre that's hard to ignore. The best I can do is surpress it momentarily, but I get out of wind if I try to do it for too long. It's kind of futile, the only music I can do is soul/jazz/blues but I can't fill in the shoes of Louis Armstrong or Otis Redding or Lightning Hopkins.

My issue is that it's just heavy. It's a bit too middle-aged man for broadway (I'm stuck playing older roles about dying and not knowing what to do at 45 a lot which is tiring) and with Jazz it's a bit too idk...it's hard to explain as I have a rather unusual voice. However, it works for opera quite well so that's why I do that predominantly. The dark gravely timbre either has to do with vocal production or...it's just natural and if it's natural it can be used for effect (except you said you're a baritone). I'd just say in opera that a very earthy sound is perfect for the low basso-profundo roles. However, again the timbre, especially in baritones, is better suited to the lowlight jazz club.

 

[MrWright]

Re: Not so long ago Mariah could blow

Ahah...well yes.

Me no imitate tenor sound...can't really.

 

[HeyyJude]

Re: Not so long ago Mariah could blow

Still weak compared to her vocals when she came out in 1990.

 

[HeyyJude]

Re: Not so long ago Mariah could blow

No shit, Einstein.

So hostile.

 

[MCsNo1Fn]

Re: Not so long ago Mariah could blow

Perhaps...but it's all downhill from here unless she's really nice to her voice and even then...unlikely. Her voice has thinned incredibly and it's just clearly damaged.

Unfortunately, it's going to keep heading downhill. It's been reported by The-Dream that he's working with her in the studio producing some tracks for her next album. Ugh. She needs to slow down. I hope she changed the direction of this next album. Its odd to me that her voice sounded completely terrible in 2003 but in 2005 it was dead-on and then in 2008 it was off again. Her voice can't seem to make up it's mind.

 

[MrWright]

Re: Not so long ago Mariah could blow

It's easy, you basically just sing in an audible whisper, give your voice as soft a tone as possible. You don't have to reach higher, just soften your natural tone and people will compare you to Michael Jackson and Brian Mcknight.

You and I know there's a difference between a soft baritone and a tenor, but the average, musically illiterate person doesn't.

True, true, true...but that high, soft mixing of chest and falsetto register for prolonged periods done improperly is devastating to the voice...

 

[MrWright]

Re: Not so long ago Mariah could blow

Unfortunately, it's going to keep heading downhill. It's been reported by The-Dream that he's working with her in the studio producing some tracks for her next album. Ugh. She needs to slow down. I hope she changed the direction of this next album. Its odd to me that her voice sounded completely terrible in 2003 but in 2005 it was dead-on and then in 2008 it was off again. Her voice can't seem to make up it's mind.

It's because giving a voice a small rest and then doing again exactly what ruined it in the first place doesn't help. She needs to alter the style more - less grind, less flash...more focus on the tone.

 

[Littleathquakes]

Re: Not so long ago Mariah could blow

Hold on a minute, bitch. I will slap you. (I mean it with love but Mariah is a LEGEND and though shes not the best she still tops 80% of todays "vocalists"

That doesn't make her better, it just says more about the way the music industry works, which is to say, it's not what (talent) you got, it's who you know. So of course she's going to sing better than those "vocalists" - they were shitty to begin with.

 

[HeyyJude]

Re: Not so long ago Mariah could blow

No shit, Einstein.

It follows that you are fat and/or ugly. And I would know, I am Einstein.

 

[MCsNo1Fn]

Re: Not so long ago Mariah could blow

Sure she needs to, but I doubt she'll ever take serious heed to it anytime soon. Mariah for some reason feels that after almost 15 years in the industry that she still has to prove to the world that she's an extraordinary vocalist. By over-belting out songs is her way of staying above the pack and protecting her crown.

I know. I don't get why she still feels that way. She's very insecure when it comes to that. I think it's because you have people like Kelly Clarkson and Christina Aguilera and Carrie Underwood, and she feels like she still needs to prove to everyone "look, I'm still here, I can still hit this note!"

 

[MCsNo1Fn]

Re: Not so long ago Mariah could blow

I don't remember her making any comments about Leona. In fact, I heard they got along well at the Stand Up To Cancer event.

 

[AngelFromAbove]

Re: Not so long ago Mariah could blow

Mariah's tone, or lack thereof, was another reason I did not enjoy E=MC2 as much as The Emancipation of Mimi. The production on some of the songs was great, but I think G-Lex said it best in another thread by stating that the production was used to distract from her voice.

 

[MCsNo1Fn]

Re: Not so long ago Mariah could blow

Mariah's tone, or lack thereof, was another reason I did not enjoy E=MC2 as much as The Emancipation of Mimi. The production on some of the songs was great, but I think G-Lex said it best in another thread by stating that the production was used to distract from her voice.

Uh, last time I listened there wasn't anything wrong with her voice? The production isn't that overbearing, well, not to me anyway.

 

[Fucker29]

Re: Not so long ago Mariah could blow

Mariah's an EXTREMELY insecure person, she said it herself, and she needs the approval of others about whatever she does in order to feel good and secure, hence why she keeps trying to remain in the game, even though she doesn't have the voice to remain on top of the game anymore...she needs that.

 

[MCsNo1Fn]

Re: Not so long ago Mariah could blow

Celine Dion comes to mind, as well. But thats a better example of someone who enjoyed a long, successful run, and then just fell off. But, the main difference, is Mariah had a massive album several years after she fell down. She seems to be an exception to artists who fall from the radar, and out of nowhere comes back with a huge success and massive radio hits (not so much this time around).
Celine has tried it many times, and it fails. But she doesn't really care if she's massive. It seems that's Mariah's problem. She's doing whats current to stay relevant, instead of doing something that she can just relax and go with the flow, like Celine. Meh. I don't care if she makes another popular album, as long as she keeps making music. If everyone wants to hate about how she's a has-been, fine, but unlike her, they're "never-were's"

 

[Fucker29]

Re: Not so long ago Mariah could blow

You've just described so many singers who have already seen the pinnacle of their career and are now generally below the radar. It's definitely not limited to Mariah by any means. Actually there are a slew of artists that were extremely popular just five years ago and have fallen off much harder than Mariah. But they still continue making music, even though it seems no one cares. Ashanti comes to mind...

Did I say it was limited to Mariah? No. But it's certainly her case as well...and extremely obvious! More notorious than Ashanti and such...for obvious reasons.

 

[AngelFromAbove]

Re: Not so long ago Mariah could blow

Uh, last time I listened there wasn't anything wrong with her voice? The production isn't that overbearing, well, not to me anyway.

How can you not hear the decline in her voice, especially from when she first began in the music scene? I never said that the production was overbearing, but there was enough of it to distract from her voice.

 

[danniflava]

Re: Not so long ago Mariah could blow

How can you not hear the decline in her voice, especially from when she first began in the music scene? I never said that the production was overbearing, but there was enough of it to distract from her voice.

I don't think the production on E=MC2 was overdone to compensate for her voice. I think it's her live singing that is suffering nowadays. However, it's completely different when she's recording for an album. All she needs is one decent take of a song, & she has her song.

Songs like I Stay In Love & I Wish You Well are difficult to sing, but not after 30 takes! She can still hit the notes when she's prepared, but it's difficult for her, & anybody else, to hit the notes consistenly during a live performance.