Mariah Carey has rendered her technically versatile vocals to a number of hits since her debut album released in the year 1990.
The powerhouse vocalist, who started gaining worldwide popularity through the 90’s for her broad range (spanning over 5 octave of notes on the piano) has a certain tone and resonance to her voice, that has become her USP over the years. And no matter how ‘exasperating’ some critics might find the usage of her trademark whistle register, it remains iconic in her hits like ‘Emotions’, ‘Someday’ and ‘All In You Mind’ – to name a few.
Today, we’ll be looking at a few other female singers in the popular music scene, whose tonal quality, range or techniques remind us of this Billboard chart-topping queen.
Singers that came after her rise to prominence or the ones who’ve been covering and singing her songs over the years, displaying a similar tonality or using similar vocal acrobats.
Here are ten singers who sing/sound like Mariah Carey (in no particular order):
1) Ariana Grande
Ariana Grande, who’s often cited Mariah as one of her vocal inspirations, also has that whispery tone and echo in her voice when she sings. She also famously makes use of the whistle register and has covered a number of Mariah songs over the years.
2) Jessica Simpson
Jessica – who was musically active during the early 2000’s, did give you a Mariah vibe – with the big wavy hair, sensual revealing gowns and hand gestures. Oh, and she too, has been pretty fond of singing in a high voice, just like Carey.
3) Leona Lewis
During her advent into the scene, after winning the X Factor UK, more than 10 years ago – Leona Lewis was quickly cited as the “new Mariah Carey”. Leona has a vibrant sound to her tone and belts out those big ballads, reminding you of a young Carey from the 90’s.
4) Wendy Moten
A comparatively lesser known vocalist, with a very big and powerful voice. Wendy Moten – apart from her powerhouse chops and range – had this fragile glass-like sound when she would reach for those notes, just like Carey did in her vocal prime. They both came around the same time, and Mariah found more success with her songs, but Wendy too could produce some jaw-dropping vocals!
5) Regine Velasquez
A popular Filipino singer, who gained popularity in her country by covering multiple Mariah Carey songs back in the 90’s. Regine could tackle all of Mariah Carey songs with almost exact vocal precision, minus the whistle registers. Even a song like Butterfly, the climax of which often required Mariah to take help of her background singers, Regine sang entirely on her own.
6) Kelly Clarkson
A young Kelly Clarkson had the range and belting abilities of Mariah Carey – and in fact went past Carey’s high notes in chest voice. Clarkson is gifted with an astonishing range in her chest-register, easily able to belt out even the high Soprano C’s.
7) Deborah Cox
Although Cox has cited the late Whitney Houston as her idol and vocal inspiration, her vocal tone really does sound more so similar to the Mariah Carey of early 90’s. Her big notes – sound like a tearful outburst, just like Carey’s, which is one quality that makes her more similar to the Vision Of Love singer.
8) Christina Aguilera
Although Christina Aguilera has developed a different kind of singing style over the years. Her early recordings are really more in line with that Mariah-sound, with the whistle registers, high notes and excessive usage of melisma.
9) Tamar Braxton
While sister Toni Braxton had a pretty unique sound among the whole of Braxton clan, Tamar Braxton’s voice is really more like Carey – and so are her wavy-haired wigs, big earrings and those hand-gestures.
10) Jordin Sparks
Former American Idol winner and another singer who cited Whitney Houston as her inspiration, but sounded more like Mariah Carey. Jordin has a light, agile voice – allowing her to easily belt out top-end notes of the fifth octave, with the same kind of resonance as Mariah Carey.
There’s clearly a long string of female singers and performers who give us a Mariah-vibe.
Honourable mention to – Gabriel Henrique, a YouTube cover-artist, who can basically hit all notes of MC, including the whistle notes of her songs.