How To Sing Like Mariah Carey (5 Brilliant Tips)

The name Mariah Carey evokes the blonde haired innocent looking beauty who has made a name for herself with hits like ‘Fantasy’, ‘Emotions’ and ‘All I Want For Christmas is You’. 

Having had an early intro to music right from childhood, Mariah went on to maximize her singing abilities over time and this has earned her commercial success as well as record breaking award wins and achievements.

It is the dream of every girl to be able to sing like Mariah Carey and in this article we will discuss how to sing like her, her voice type and impressive vocal range as well as how she started singing. 

What Are The Steps Needed To Sing Like Mariah Carey?

1. Work On Your Posture

Posture is a factor that affects singing a lot and most untrained singers are not even aware of this.

A bad posture will affect your voice and you will come out all wrong even when you have the right voice.

Work on your posture and you are on your way to Mariah Carey level.

2. Improve Your Vocal Range

Not everyone is born with a five octave vocal range but that doesn’t mean you can’t work towards building up your range.

This is especially where voice lessons and professional help is required.

By expanding your vocal range, you have the ability to hit more notes clearly without strain.

3. Always Warm Up Before Singing

Do not ever try to start off a performance without warming up your voice.

Your larynx is also a muscle that needs to be exercised to avoid strain and potential permanent damage to it.

4. Learn Mariah Careys’ Technique of Singing

Mariah Carey has her distinctive way of singing which differentiates her from every other person out there. Some of her techniques you can employ include:

• Work on holding notes for a long time. Mariah can hold noted for 20 seconds
• Sing with airy notes as opposed to breathy tunes.
• Learn to belt and pull your chest voice into your head voice. 
• Work on always producing a clear tone.

There is no doubt that replicating Mariah Careys’ singing ability would be a daunting challenge for anyone, however with the right practice and consistency you would be able to wow your singers and reach your goals. 

Here is an article I wrote on how to sing like Christina Aguilera

What Voice Type Does Mariah Carey Have?

Mariah Carey has been classified as light lyric coloratura soprano with a range spanning 5 octaves and 4 notes.

Mariah Carey has one of the most beautiful and distinctive voices of all time. 

Her voice is exceptionally rare and born of a raw, innate talent as well as astounding self control and athleticism.

Mariah Careys’ voice has stayed perfect over the years and she has continued to wow the audience with her extraordinary instrument. 

What Makes Mariah Carey’s Voice So Unique?

Mariah Carey’s voice is exceptional in almost every way, from the use of complexities, melisma, and wording to the durability of her registers, including the high, upper and low ranges. 

While she is well-known for her wide and impressive five-octave vocal range, which is largely due to her whistle register, her abilities are far beyond that alone.

Remarkably, she can sing in a specific register for an extended period of time without experiencing vocal fatigue.  

Mariah Carey can not only hit high notes, but she can also produce incredibly well articulated words at those high pitches as well as providing a smooth transition in a short period of time between the registers. 

Can Mariah Carey Actually Sing?

You don’t have to be a musician to appreciate the beauty in Mariah Carey’s voice.

She has indeed been consistently characterized as a magnificent singer, which I believe is an understatement. 

She is a rare type of singer, one of the few who have maximized their abilities.

We see Mariah Carey going from an elevated octave to a couple of octaves without the need for a gradual approach in many of her songs and performances. 

She doesn’t always do vocal runs like other singers, but when she does, they’re so precise that it’s as if she was conditioned to do music alone.

With all these abilities it would indeed be difficult to  deny that Mariah Carey is a queen of music and melisma 

How Did Mariah Carey Start Singing?

Mariah Carey was born in New York in 1970 and her mother was a vocal coach and former opera singer and Mariah started performing as a young child.

After high school, she moved to New York city to kick start her singing career.

She recorded a demo tape, which prompted Tommy Mottola, a Columbia Records executive, to sign her in 1988.

Mariah Carey’s debut album, Mariah released in 1990 displayed her amazing vocal range and fused several styles of music, including pop, gospel and R&B. 

It was a huge success, and Carey received Grammy Awards in 1991 for best female pop vocalist and best new artist.

The opening track from her sophomore album, Emotions, became her 5th straight chart-topping single for that same year.

She continued to record commercial success with her consequent albums selling millions of copies in the US alone.

In 1997, she switched up her style from the sweet girl image to something more sensual and sexual. With her album ‘Butterfly’ and single ‘Heartbreaker’, she became the first singer to hit number one on the Billboard for each year of a decade.

Her career has steadily remained on track and she is still very much relevant in the music industry. 

Also check out this article I wrote on how to sing like Ed Sheeran

What Is Mariah Carey’s Vocal Range?

Mariah Carey is gifted with one of the most widest and powerful vocal ranges in the world today.

Her vocal range has been classified as F2 – G5 – G7 and spans five octaves and four notes. Impressive right!!!

Mariah has been ranked second on the list of greatest vocal ranges of all time, outranked by Axl Rose of the Guns N’Roses band. 

What Is The Highest Note Mariah Carey Can Sing?

Mariah Carey can consistently hit the G7 note and she was able to go a whopping twenty seconds on her hit song ‘Lead the Way’, and that is her longest recorded note till today.

Mariah Carey’s crooning voice, particularly in the lower half, is perhaps the best part of her range.

It possesses a brilliant tonality and emerges with a lot of suppleness.  The sound thin out as she moves up the belting register, but the clarity remains constant. 

She also makes effective use of voice cracks to convey her emotions in all her performances. 

What Are Some Classic Mariah Carey Songs To Practice?

• We Belong Together: Mariah Carey, famous for not being the queen of understatement, gave us a mid-2000s comeback and it was exactly what you’d expect from her. We Belong Together was named the most popular US single of the decade by Billboard, and combined  heartbroken ballad with R&B rhythm track which was immaculately delivered. 

• Emotions: The successful outcome of Mariah Carey’s debut album, which sold 15 million copies, ought to have made her subsequent works seem challenging.  The title track and lead single from its follow-up album, however, sounds seamless with its slick dancehall pop fuse of music.

• All I Want For Christmas Is You: Released in 1994’ the christmas special is one that immediately won hearts and has now become as much a part of the season as christmas jingles and family rows on Boxing day.

Conclusion

Mariah Carey has in the 2 decades of her musical career won several Grammy awards, sold over 200 million copies of her song and broken several records.

The image of a sweet innocent lady was the first thing that sold her to the audience and her voice cemented it.

Over time, she had a hiatus in her singing career but she was able to bounce back with her comeback.

Mariah has also earned a name for herself with her impressive singing voice and vocal range.

With one of the most rare voices on earth, she has successfully established herself as being one of the greatest vocalists to grace our stages.