Countdown: Top 5 Contemporary Contraltos

"Alto" should have read Contralto

The operatic contralto range usually spans from an F3 to a G5 but amazingly our lovely pop Divas can do better than that, with many of them demonstrating the ability to reach at least 4 notes below the lowest requirement. Apart from the ability to reach an F3, contralto voices have other characteristics usually associated with them- though they are not always present- such as a smoky timbre, a lower access point to the chest register and a heavier weight to the voice. Below is a list of my 5 favourite contralto range capable Divas.

Note: Of course in reality comparing a pop singer to an opera singer is like comparing an apple to an orange so any opera aficionados don't bite my head off please...I need it for eating.

5) Mariah Carey: A singer who is associated more with the extreme highs of her voice rather than the lows its capable of. Her version of Stevie Wonders' You and I has Mariah demonstrating her contralto chops admirably, but she gains a lower place on my chart because some of the lowest notes she hits are produced by improper technique.

4) Lalah Hathaway: Has a weighty, thick contralto voice, that though heavy, is still is able to sing beautiful and complex melisma.

3) Cher: I've said it before and I'll say it again, Cher is a vocalist that is constantly overlooked. Her voice has a clarity that the other contraltos on this list do not and her chest register starts relatively low but, despite its weight, is still capable of hitting the fifth octave.

2)Sarah Vaughn: Her contralto range was warmer and sweeter than any of the other singers on the list. Her voice also had a beautiful smoothness and richness along with an operatic quality.

1)Toni Braxton: Her voice has "contralto" written all over it, and produces the tone, timbre and colour most people would straightaway associate with the lowest female vocal range. Out of all the singers on the list Toni's is the one that sounds best, and most comfortable, in the lower ranges of the voice .

Let me know of your favourite contraltos in the comments below!

Duelling Divas: Mariah Carey Vs Celine Dion "Open Arms". Which singer is best?

At a recent show in Las Vegas Celine Dion gave a classy, subdued and restrained performance of Journeys' classic rock anthem Open Arms.

Mariah Carey, who had worked with both the band's bassist and drummer before that point in her career, also covered the song in her own inimitable style on her 1995 album, Daydream.


No doubt they're both stellar performances but if you were pushed to choose, which singer would you say sang it better? Celine Dion or Mariah Carey?  

Voting/ Comment after watching.

Want more DUELLING DIVAS? Click here

Annie Lennox Sings Mariah Carey's Praises.

Annie Lennox Looks on as Mariah Carey Sings in Washington

Who would have thought cool as a cucumber, tough, former Eurythmics singer Annie Lennox would be a fan of  the cleavage flaunting, Hello Kitty loving, woman child that is Mariah Carey? Not me for starters!



I'm a fan of both Annie Lennox and Mariah Carey but the two singers are at such opposite ends of the musical, personality, ideological, you-name-it, spectrum I would never have thought there would be any mutual appreciation between the singers. In fact when Mariah Carey performed O come all ye Faithful in Washington this month I was sure I saw disdain on Annie Lennox's face as she watched Mariah singing  (see the picture above). Well shame on me for coming to that assumption!

What with Annie Lennox being  a brilliant vocalist herself it was pretty naive of me to assume she wouldn't recognise and appreciate, even more so than those who aren't singers, vocal talent when she hears it! Even so, it was nice to hear a veteran singer giving Mariah some kudos for a change!

Annie Lennox Fire For Mariah Carey
Posted by Lynn at MariahDaily.com

Scottish powerhouse Annie Lennox admits All I Want For Christmas Is You warbler Mariah Carey is still her favourite fellow songbird.

Despite having her own festive album A Christmas Cornucopia in the shops, Annie still loves hearing Mariah's biggest selling Christmas song.

The 55-year-old told Magic 105.4: "Whatever you feel about Mariah Carey, when you hear her sing, ohh my God! I've never heard a voice like that!"
Source: Daily Star UK

Watch below as Mariah Carey Sings O Come All Ye Faithful with Annie Lennox watching  in admiration behind.

Merry Christmas Everyone: Silent Night Diva sing off

Merry Christamas y'all! To celebrate both the Holiday season and the excuse it gives me to listen to Christmas music without looking like a total nutter here is a collection of some of my Favourite Diva's singing the classic carol ,Silent Night.

The styles Range from country- Faith Hills and Taylor Swift- to gospel- Mariah Carey and Aretha Franklin- to pop- Beyonce and Britney Spears-and finally the traditional interpretation-  Celine Dion and Annie Lennox.

So get those song words printed and prepare for some Christmas carolling after the jump! 

Britney Spears: Silent Night


Mariah Carey: Silent Night



Taylor Swift: Silent Night



Beyonce: Silent Night



Annie Lennox: Silent Night



Faith Hill: Silent Night


Aretha Franklin: Silent Night


Celine Dion: Silent Night

Watch Mariah Carey's video for "Old Lang Syne": Laughs a plenty!

Mariah Carey in the video for Auld lang syne: seen the image, basically seen the video

Boy oh boy has the recession hit Mariah Carey hard if her current video is anything to go by. The video for Auld Lang Syne, from the Merry christmas ii you album, has got to be the cheapest video I have EVER seen from any singer, let alone an A-lister.

The video just has Mariah dancing- am i allowed to call it that?- in front of a green screen that has fireworks projected on to it while she mimes BADLY to the song. I think Mariah might have actually filmed this herself, maybe in her shed under the influence of all those pregnancy hormones, and released it online before anyone could stop her because the production values are next to nil. I especially love 2.45 when she twirls majestically onto the screen. Delightful.

Perhaps Mariah has just decided to inforce some austerity measures on her spending habits, she has got a baby on the way after all. Besides why should she still  spend huge amounts of money on her videos when it's not converting into sales for her.

Loving Mariah even more after this video. What do you think?

Mariah Carey ABC Christmas Special 2010: Watch and Read the review (lip-synced or not)

Mariah Carey and the stage set up for her ABC Christmas Special

Mariah carey and her mother
embrace after a rousing duet of
Come All ye Faithful

Set List:
1)Oh Santa
2)O Little Town Of Bethlehem / Little Drummer Boy Medley
3)Oh holy night.
4)Here Comes Santa Claus/ Housetop Celebration
5)Charlie Brown Christmas
6)When Christmas Comes:
7)O Joy to the World
8)Christmas time is in the air again:
9)O Come All Ye Faithful/Hallelujah Chorus


Mariah Carey's Christmas Special extravaganza aired on the ABC Network yesterday- much to my excitement- and contained material from both her new (Merry Christmas ii you) and old (Merry Christmas) holiday albums.

The show was clearly a high budget affair with a stage that was decorated beautifully with trees, lights and plenty of glitter. The production also featured a live band, a strings section, a choir and occasional dancers, as well guest appearances from Randy Jackson and her mother, Patricia Carey.



There was some trepidation from me in viewing these performances because, as commented on the review of the Merry Christmas ii you,I feared as the vocals on the album has been enhanced with studio magic she'd be unable to recreate them live. However, not ready to believe that little voice of doubt in the back of my head, I deferred a conclusive opinion until I'd heard her sing the songs live. That moment has arrived. Time to find out if my questioning of her vocal abilities prove unfounded,


Videos and Reviews From Mariah Carey's ABC Christmas Special 2010:


Oh Santa:Best performance of Oh Santa yet. Surprisingly the whistle at 1.49, which i thought was autotuned on the album due to its odd trajectory up and down the scale and tinny quality, may not have been so. She sings it almost exactly the same here live but changes it a bit by stoping it on an ealier note to allow her to catch her breath.

O Little Town Of Bethlehem / Little Drummer Boy Medley: The crowd rose to their feet after this one, but the those belts were too pristine to be live. Right? At 2.53 is an example of why this performance is making me waver in deciding if lipped or not.That vocal is clearly live but sounds so in keeping with the tone and texture of the the belt that leads up to it-which I suspect is lipped- that I don't quite know what to think any more. .

Oh Holy night: An almost carbon copy of the 2000 version of the song. Was convinced this was lipped untill the head note that starts at 2.24 and the wavering that happens at the end of its run. However still not convinced with the liveness of the belt that proceeds it.

Here Comes Santa Claus (Right Down Santa Claus Lane)/Housetop Celebration:Randy Jackson joined Mariah on stage for my least liked song on the album. Performance was vocally on point and the crowd seemed to enjoy it, getting up to dance. The hamming up of her actions on certain parts screams lipped.

Charlie Brown Christmas: Just Mariah and no backing vocals to fall back on or blend into.Fully live, fully awesome. Perfect example of the improvement in texture and quality of Mariah's mid-range (whisper register).

When Christmas Comes:"It's Christmas right?" love the contrast at 1.52 between Mariah's low, thick, alto speaking voice and the light, bright, whistle note that follows. The belts are lipped but Mariah gets a get out of jail free card for this since it contains a lot of high and sustained belted part that could have exhausted her voice mid-way through the show.

O Joy to the World:  Loved the arrangement and the vocals were strong and almost effortless, but you can see they were live with mistakes such as 1.55 where the note didn't quite make it out. My favourite performance of the song after her BET performance a few years back.

Christmas time is in the air again: A live performance that is virtually a copy of the studio version.The high noted "time" at 2.25 going off key for a split second is for anyone who doesn't think it is.

O Come All Ye Faithful/Hallelujah Chorus: The moment anyone who has listened to the album was waiting for; the duet with Mariah and her mother! Unsurprisingly, but surprisingly at the same time, it was spectacularly live and near enough note perfect. Watch how Mariah runs out of breath at 3.20 after the belt, so has to come in late, if you need proof of it being live.
Patricia's voice was stunning, and she made singing looking effortless-especially in contrast to Mariah, who was making some odd faces in the introduction as she navigated her voice- but you'd expect no less from a retired opera singer.Mariah and Mother need to record an album together.Nuff said.

Conclusion:This ABC special proved something important. It wasn't that she could hit practically ever note on the piano-because we knew that- but it's the improvement of the quality of the voice that's doing the hitting of the notes that is shockingly good. It sounds well

Mariah Carey and Jazz band backing
singing Charlie Brown Christmas.

defined and even in texture and tone throughout the range; all qualities that have been in decline since the Charmbracelet album.

But there were still suspicions in the back of my mind that parts of the vocals had been pre-recorded. For every small crack in the voice and off note that showed it was live, there was a high E or F that was so strong and consistent that it couldn't have possibly been live if going on past performances.

Live or not, the most important thing is that Mariah convinced me that the vocals on the Merry Christmas ii you album were all hers and unaided by studio wizardry. This was quite an early Christmas present- as well as a relief- for any Mariah fan to receive this holiday.

DOWNLOAD HERE: Memoires of An Imperfect Angel's Jump Smokers Remix Album

Remember Mariah Carey's last studio album Memoires Of an Imperfect Angel? Well if you do, you may not know that the album had two accompanying remix versions of it recorded that were cocked for release. However since the album barely managed to register a heart beat before it died an untimely death (NB: review), the remixed recordings were scrapped before a release date was set.

1_Memoires of an Imperfect Angel RnB Remix album:

An Rn B inspired take on the album was to feature different guest artists, such as Mary J Blige and R Kelly, duetting with Mariah on each song. Two of the remixes, Up out of my face featuring Nicki Minaj and the Angels Cry duet with Neo, managed to sneak out of the album before it was locked away but their failure at the charts pretty much guaranteed none of the other songs were to be released.

Not wanting to deprive the world, Mariah has said of the songs that she is looking into avenues of how to make these, eventually, available to the fans. She's even considering giving them away for free, which I think is highly unlikely. Anyone else smell a remix compilation album with all her other biggest remixed hits from yesteryear...oh wait!


2 Memoires of an Imperfect Angel Dance Remix album:

Cd cover for Auld Lang syne Remix

The second album had the Memoires tracks remixed by, dance DJs of the moment,  the Jump Smokers. Lucky for us this album has been released for free here. Particular stand outs of that album include More than just Firends,Betch gon know and H.a.t.e U.

In related news, to prove how much she loves these guys, Mariah has just revealed she has commissioned the Jump Smokers to create a remix - WITH NEW VOCALS- of All I want for Christmas and OH Santa (from Merry Christmas ii you).  


LISTEN HERE


Tweets by Mariah and the Jumpsmokers Revealing the news:

MariahCarey Coming VERY soon! : "Oh santa all I want for Christmas is you" Jump smoker's re mix!!! #stone festive!!!! Merry Christmas again!!!

JumpSmokers in the lab working on our huuuuuugggeee TOP SECRET project...ya'll should be hearing it very soon...just in time for the Holidays!!!

JumpSmokers Mariah Carey just let our "secret" out via her Twitter: she has us doing a remix mash-up of "Oh Santa! / All I Want For Christmas Is You" - she even gave us NEW vocals!!!!!!!!!!! Ummmmmm...somebody please pinch us!!! lol

Review and Compeition: Mariah Careys "When Christmas Comes"

Mariah Carey, Nicki Minaj and B scott in the video for Up out my face.

Review of When Christmas comes:
When Christmas Comes is the new single from Mariah Carey's seasonal offering, Merry Christmas ii You. The song is a mid-tempo, retro affair, that has been refreshingly composed entirely with live instrumentation. All these things, and of course The Voice, make When Christmas comes a rarity in contemporary seasonal songs in that its clearly been created  not to cash in on the holiday season, but to celebrate it.


Competition :
To promote its release, the awesomeness that is B Scott-  who you may remember from the video for Up out my Face earlier this year- has teamed up with Mariah and launched a competition to see which fan can create the best video for the single. The ultimate winner will  receive the unbelievable Prize of being featuring in the actual Mariah Carey video!

Below  B scott gives you guys some inspiration with is an example of a tribute video he created himself. So sit back and watch B Scott do his thing visually while listening to Mariah Carey do hers vocally.

'When Christmas Comes' L+L (Lambs+Love Muffins) Competition Guidelines

• Watch and comment on the B. Scott 'When Christmas Comes' video via Youtube.
• Create your own 'When Christmas Comes' video.
• Subscribe to the official B. Scott Youtube channel: youtube.com/lovebscott
• Post your 'WCC' video as a response to the B. Scott 'When Christmas Comes' video on Youtube.
• Follow Mariah Carey (@MariahCarey) / B. Scott (@lovebscott) and tweet them the following: "Please watch my #WCC video! I hope I win! (insert your video link)"
• If selected as a winner, your video will be featured in the official Mariah Carey 'WCC' video, plus you'll receive an 'Extra Festive' signed prize from Mariah Carey and B. Scott.
• Remember that this is your opportunity to express yourself in your own unique way. Your videos can be as simple as holiday snaps shots, animation, home holiday footage, anything that represents how you feel in your heart 'When Christmas Comes'.

More B Scott here

Watch the video for Mariah Carey & Patricia Carey - Oh Come All Ye Faithful / Hallelujah Chorus

Mariah Carey and her mother Patricia
Carey perform "Oh Come all ye Faithful"

The video for one of my favourite cuts from Mariah Careys' Merry Christmas ii You album, "Oh come All ye Faithful" has just been released. The video features both Carey and her mother, Patricia, singing the medley in a Christmassy studio environment.

Though the video is clearly low budget and is pretty much trading on watching mother and daughter together to carry it, the song itself is pure gold with stunning production and a rousing vocal from both.It's sure to brighten anyone's Monday with festive goodness.

Do you agree? Comment below or by clicking here!

Did Jessica Simpson rip off Mariah's "All I want for Christmas"?

Did Jessica Rip off Mariah?

Jessica Simpson has just released her first single from her new Christmas album "Happy Christmas" called "My only wish" and boy oh boy does it sound like Mariah Carey's "All I want for Christmas". It has the same lyrical content, the same melody and the same overall sound as Mariah's hit, with the only real change being the middle eight.

Listen to them both below. what do you think? Rip off or coincidence?

 

9

Should Mariah Carey be worried about Rihanna stealing her Crown?

Mariah Carey has had the most number one singles on the American Billboard charts of any solo act, but with Rihanna scoring her tenth Number one with the Britney Spears featured S and M , should Carey be worried about the young upstart stealing her crown in the near future? Perhaps more worrying for Carey is that it took her till the age of 25 to score her 9th Number 1 with Fantasy where as the Barbadian singer had already scored the equivalent at the tender age of 22.

Do you think Mariah Carey needs to be worried about Rihanna?
Comment here and let the world know.

Mariah Carey's Number 1s:

1. "Vision Of Love" 1990
2. "Love Takes Time" 1991
3. "Someday " 1991
4. "I Don't Wanna Cry" 1991
5. "Emotions" 1992
6. "I'll Be There" 1993
7. "Hero" 1993
8. "Dream Lover" 1995
9. "Fantasy" 1995
10. "One Sweet Day" 1996
11. "Always Be My Baby" 1996
12. "Honey" 1997
13. "My All" 1998
14. "Heart breaker" 1999
15. "Thank God I Found You"2005
16. "We Belong Together" 2005
17. "Don't Forget About Us" 2008
18. "Touch My Body" 2008

Rihanna's Number 1s:

1. "SoS" 2006
2. "Umbrella" 2007
3. "Take A Bow" 2008
4. "Disturbia" 2008
5. "Live Your Life" 2008
6. "Rude Boy" 2010
7. "Love The Way You Lie"2010
8. "What's My Name" 2010
9. "Only Girl (in the world)" 2010
10. "S and M" 2011

Why Mariah Carey is Better Than Madonna.

MARIAH CAREY VS MADONNA

Slightly misleading post title because I'm not sure I believe that. To make up my mind once and for all I am going to pit the two Diva's against each other in a number of bouts with the overall winner being decided by who wins the most categories.It's handbags at dawn! DING DING: bout one!

Madonna and Mariah Carey in 2010

Style: Mariah makes this easy for me since she's been stuck in stripper mode since the Rainbow album. High heels, micro dress- regardless of weight- and giant hair are her fashion staples. Madonna, however, has constantly been reinvented herself and and setting fashion trends with her canny ways since before I was born .
Winner: Madonna

Voice: Sorry Madonna, this has never been your strong point. Mariah, on the other hand, could sing the phone book and make it sound like an angel whispering in your ear. Her voice is more than just a human piano; it has excellent tone, brilliant dynamics and is incredibly versatile.
Winner: Mariah Carey

Legacy: Madonna is a living legacy who's impact on not only music but popular culture can not be underestimated. If you were lucky enough to live through Madonna's career growing up in the 80s and 90s you'd remember how every release was a maelstrom of controversy and hysteria. She gave the female population and the disenfranchised a voice and an icon to aspirer to. Songs like "express yourself" about personal expression, "erotica" about sexual liberation, and "what it feels like for a girl" about sexism, are just some of the varied themes shes sung about.

I'm disappointed to say that Mariah's legacy will only be a realised after she pops her clogs. Her impact on singers is undoubtedly huge, and can clearly be seen on talent shows around the world, but frankly, at this moment in popular culture Mariah's seen as a bit of a a joke, with stories about her demanding puppies and practically worshipping butterfly exacerbating this.

However people need to remember that Mariah single handedly created the pop-hop genre with her remix of "Fantasy" by featuring the ODB. Back when Mariah released this track she was the white- yes I know she's "bi-racial", I'm just telling you how it was- girl next door and America's sweetheart. Next thing you know, totally out of the blue, she's released a song with a scary black gangsta rapper and a hip hop beat! The end result was it breaking down barriers between genres. Nowadays people take for granted the Diva/rapper combination but when Mariah did it it was unheard of.
Winner:Madonna.


Sales: Despite there not being any reliable figures pre 1991 I dont think anyone will argue with Madonna selling more. She's been going for almost an extra decade, and she was selling in the decades when albums routinely sold 10 million plus. She's also way more popular worldwide, thus having a bigger audience to buy her music.
Winner:Madonna.

Live act: Now I have been fortunate enough to have seen both artists live. I attended Mariah's "Rainbow" concert in the late 1990's and went to see Madonna's "Sticky and Sweet" concert a few years back. Which you prefer is subjective but it goes to if you prefer to "see" or "hear" ie do you go to see a show or to hear a singer. For me I'd rather listen to a singer than watch a show.
Winner:Mariah.

Likeability:Madonna has never had the likeability factor. She's renowned for being ruthlessy tough and demanding of those around her, and someone who you don't want to upset. To be fair that's probably how she has achieved the level of success she has, but to me its not an endearing quality. Mariah on the other hand not only is she genuinely funny and able to make fun of herself- demonstrated when she hosted the "Friday Night Project" and on her last visit to Alan carrs' "Chatty Man"- but the level of warmth she showers on her fans is touching. Bottom line is who would I rather go to dinner with?

winner:Mariah Carey
( And for those who don't believe shes funny watch the video on the left and watch out for the laugh at 0:46).

Who I listen to more: Madonna for me is more a treat and someone who I listen to sporadically because I suddenly have a craving for one of her songs. However, Mariah is someone who I pretty much listen to everyday at some point.
Winner:Mariah Carey

VERDICT:
Suprise, surprise its a draw, with 3 a piece! So everyone needs to grow up, get over this feud and respect these two artists for what they've done! One is a performer and one is a singer and just to prove that point I've never heard anyone say they wanted to sing like Madonna, and no one has ever said they wanted to dance like Mariah. They are two sides of the same coin!
Now if only we could genetically meld their talents together, what would we get? Highlight Beyonce?...?for the answer. Lol. I kid. Long Live The Divas

The origin of all the hate between

MariahCarey and Madonna fans.

Mariah Carey vs Christina Aguilera (Falsetto/Whistles: Note By Note)

Video and blurb by Trent jones. Check out his Youtube channel for more brilliant videos.

trentnjones | 19 August 2008

Mariah Carey and Christina Aguilera both possess incredibly rare voices that have a mix of expansive range and power. Christina boasts a stunning 4 octave range (C#3-C#7) and Mariah wields her legendary 5 octave capacity which climbs from G#2-G#7. Over the years these women have had their differences but no one can deny the similarity between their voices. This video demonstrates these commonalities in their famed upper registers as well as several differences. I hope you like it!

This one goes out to all the haters who try to bring down one to promote the other.

Keep in mind that a lot of the notes contain melisma and heavy vibrato so even though I have highlighted them as G6, for instance, the vocal run may also include F6's and F#6 depending on the technique used by the singer.

Whistle Register: Eb6, E6, F6, F#6, G6, G#6

Mariah Carey on Ellen 2010 talking about her Baby and "Merry Christmas ii u"

Mariah Carey - "Merry Christmas II You" review.

Mariah Careys' Merry Christmas ii you

Mariah Carey's second Christmas album Merry Christmas II You has been released, but can it match the  runaway success of her first, Merry Christmas to you. Being a bit of an old Scrooge, it doesn't look good for the album even before its had a listen but this collection, minus Oh Santa and Auld Lang Syne (which is a terrible 90's club throwback), sound so evocative of the Christmas of yesteryear -think Bing Crosby and Dean Martin- that they even melted  my cold heart.
   
The Stand-out song has to be  "Come All Ye Faithful-Hallelujah" which is a duet between Mariah Carey and her opera-singer mother, Patricia Carey.To hear Patricia's thick, steadfast, soprano being danced around by Mariah's nimble melisma  is a wonder to the ears and the meeting of the classical style of singing with its contemporary counterpart is a Christmas present come early.

Mariah's voice is in fine form, and in similar strength and texture to the late 90's. The most noticeable improvements will be apparent to any fan in  the quality and amount of vocal runs Mariah Conducts, and the use of  a solid vibrato on many of the belted notes (something which has been sorely missing since her Emancipation).The vocal quality is so improved from her last album, Memoires of an Imperfect Geisha,  that one has to wonder if any studio trickery has gone into the vocals on the album. I suppose we shall know soon enough when it comes to the live renditions of the songs during the promotion period.


Whatever the case, this is a solid Christmas album that, although may not be able to reproduce another classic single like All I want for Christmas,  is certainly a more enjoyable and classy listen as a whole than her previous effort.


Download: Come All Ye Faithful-Hallelujah, The First Noel-Born is the King Interlude,  Christmas Time is in Air Again
Avoid: Auld Lang Syne
Summary: The voice has returned, a Christmas miracle perhaps? Must have Christmas album.

4/5

Merry Christmas II You  vocal range : Bb2- Bb6 (4 octaves)

 

Low Register: Bb2, C#3, E3, F3, F#3
Upper Chest Register: Bb4, B4, C5, C#5, D5, Eb5, E5, F5, F#5, G5,G#5  
Head Voice Register: G5, C#5, A5, Bb5, B5, C6, C#6, D6 ,E6  
Whistle Register: Eb6, E6, F6, F#6, G6, G#6,Bb6  
Sustained Notes (Seconds): 9, 13,14
source:calvin999999999

Madonna has outsold Celine Dion, Mariah Carey, Janet Jackson, Madonna and Whitney Houston

Top-selling downloads for the following acts since Nielsen SoundScan began tracking digital data: Madonna, Whitney Houston, Janet Jackson, Mariah Carey and Celine Dion. Madonna (two) and Carey (four) are the only artists of the quintet with songs that have each shifted more than a million downloads:

 

Madonna

2,814,000, "4 Minutes"

1,224,000, "Hung Up"

493,000, "Like a Prayer"

366,000, "Sorry"

347,000, "Material Girl"

Whitney Houston
739,000, "I Will Always Love You"
447,000, "I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me)"
267,000, "Greatest Love of All"
215,000, "How Will I Know"
206,000, "I Have Nothing"

Janet Jackson
242,000, "That's the Way Love Goes"
235,000, "All for You"
212,000, "If"
179,000, "Call on Me"
155,000, "All Nite (Don't Stop)"

Mariah Carey
1,591,000, "All I Want for Christmas Is You"
1,563,000, "Obsessed"
1,467,000, "Touch My Body"
1,362,000, "We Belong Together"
718,000, "Shake It Off"

Celine Dion
871,000, "My Heart Will Go On"
508,000, "Because You Loved Me"
462,000, "Taking Chances"
307,000, "A New Day Has Come"
300,000, "It's All Coming Back to Me Now"

But do you think sales are any indication of how good an artist is?

Mariah Carey confirms in interview with MSNBC she is pregnant and how she previously miscarriaged

Congratulations

to Mariah Carey and Nick Cannon who announced today (oct 28th 2010) that they're  pregnant. She revealed her delay in revealing the good news was due to a previous miscarriage and  her being "superstitious". These worries are clearly still present with Mariah because, even though undoubtedly happy, she did not seem entirely comfortable  revealing the news to the interviewee. Watch the video of her announcing the exclusive news below and judge for yourself.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Fully live vocals by Mariah Carey of "Fly like a bird"

I'm incredibly impressed and heartened by this performance. I'm pretty sure this is 100% live and it surprised me because I never really believed she was able to hit those high chest notes without relying on playback.

Mariah Carey trips over- Watch how a real diva handles a fall.

It was bound to happen eventually, what with the 20 inch heels she insists on wearing, as concert goers witnessed the long overdue public fall of Mariah Carey during a performance of Make it happen in Singapore! But in typical Mariah fashion the diva hammed it up, and even managed to look as if she'd fallen onto a decadent chaise lounge by the time she'd reached the bottom!

Mariah Carey comments on her changeable voice

Finally an interview that asks Mariah about the inner workings of her voice!

So can you just stop on a dime and hit those whistle-register high notes?
Sometimes I wake up and that's the easiest thing for me to do. Because I'm still kind of raspy. [Purrs in soprano] I like to do that.

It cleans out the pipes?
Yeah. But sometimes, when my middle register is more clear, those notes are harder to hit. I have a three-dimensional vocal cord situation. The breathy voice is its own thing. It requires a certain amount of sleep.

source:http://newyork.timeout.com/articles/hot-seat/81629/mariah-carey-hot-seat-interview