Why We're Concerned About Mariah Carey's Voice (2022) 

It just breaks my heart to see Mariah’s voice deteriorate significantly this year, which adds to the earlier wrenching news that Celine was diagnosed with a rare disease that put her voice and even life at risk. The golden era of vocal powerhouses is passing by so fast and we are not ready for it.

it's so disheartening to know that her vocal nodules from an early age, both gave her this otherworldly ability to access the whistle register, but also made the deterioration of her voice premature. she definitely needs to invest some serious time into vocal therapy, voice lessons and maintaining consistent vocality again if she wants to salvage her singing at all. i have always been blown away by her masterful and technical approach to singing throughout her career and it hurts me to see her struggle like this.

You can see in her eyes the frustration of can't sing how she wants to. I remembered one time she said that when the nodules are bigger the whistle it's stronger. And on this concerts, her whistles sounded almost like a heardvoice. Soooo maybe her nodules were absolutely enourmous that time, or she was sick :/ The stage fright and lack of confidence do their thing too. After the 2016 incident, everything has been down

I'm a Mariah die-hard, but I've lost hope in her changing anything at this point. For so many years (decades even), so many of us have been saying "stop lipping, find a way to sing your songs that is comfortable, start warming up, start seeing a coach," etc. And she's doubled-down on all of these problems by lipping MORE (even the simplest of parts are being lipped these days), saying her voice is in great condition when it very clearly isn't, and overall just pretending as if nothing is going on. This has been happening for at least 15 years and she hasn't changed a thing. I'm not mad at her for having a changing or even a failing voice, but I am admittedly a bit mad at her for how she has chosen to manage that. It's all linked to her compulsive fear of aging and her pride. Even if she fully lost the ability to sing I don't think she'd change anything. She would just lip EVERYTHING and squeeze some notes out in the studio.

I Agree, and as a lamb it’s so hard to see her struggling like this, and sadly it’s on her for not taking care of her voice and not having a vocal exercise routine, she even said it on her masterclass all she does is lip trills to see if her whistles are there like???? She is A VOCALIST is insane to me how she can be just fine with not being able to deliver a Bb4 in a sold out MSG show

This is a good video. As a lamb, I am concerned about her vocal health and I know she could do much better live. There are some really good moments that shows that her voice is still perfectly fine. But one thing about Mariah's voice is that it is really inconsistent even in the 90s. There are times where she couldn't belt at all (Music box tour, Rainbow tour) but there are times were her voice is otherworldly. I know her voice will still bounce back and hopefully she takes more time in warming up and polishing her technique just like you said.

Imagine being one of the best singers in the world, and then waking up one day that u can't do it the way u used to before. Must be heartbreaking, especially for someone who clearly loves her craft. I feel bad for her.

2022 is without a doubt her (one of, if not her absolute) worst year vocally. The only "redeeming" factor of 2022 is relatively nice tone compared to the last 2 years and some new live whistles, as well as a little bit of vibrato. Lambs should also not be delusional and make weak excuses for her lackluster performances this last year. Imo I think Mariah needs to do whatever she did for her Christmas concerts at Beacon Theatre 2014 (aka the first performances since the Rockefeller 2014 incident) to take a chance of reclaiming her voice. Great video btw!!💞

To be absolutely honest, what worries me the most isn’t her voice condition, but it’s the fact that she told us several times (during lambily spaces on Twitter) that her voice was in a condition that she felt was amazing and reminiscent of TEOM era… Is she delusional regarding her own voice?

This is a MUCH needed video because her fans pawn everything off on nodules and vocal rest where there has been valid technical criticism since 2000. I joined choir in 2001 and she was routinely used as an example for risky techniques, particularly the breathiness, glottal attack and glottal stops. 1:21 is a PERFECT example. Compressing your cords to a full stop and singing thru those "clicks" is sort of like opening a door without turning the nob - you damage the door rapidly. Same thing with airy vocals, everything dries out. People need to accept that she can be a legend and still be 100% responsible for her vocal decline at the same time. PS: I am curious if the nodules & injuries encouraged bad technique, I've notice Whitney acquired this habit after her nodules. Adele, Miley & Sam Smith are also singers who injured themselves and have this habit. I suspect that when your voice becomes damaged, there's a lot of pressure to compress things down but it's like quicksand, you do more harm in the long run.

Man it saddens my heart that the last two of the vocal Trinity is going through difficult times with their voices 😢😢

It is also concerning that she said she “got her voice back” during quarantine. It makes me think she doesn’t have a strong sense of what condition her voice is in. And if she doesn’t think anything is wrong, she isn’t going to do anything to fix it.

Patti labelle is a truly living legend

I’m annoyed at the scapegoating of the nodules. Nodules do not get worse on their own and they didn’t exist on their own, so what’s happening now is either something in the way Mariah is singing/speaking, her lifestyle or she’s been sick with something since September and it’s got worse. No one expects her to be doing Daydream vocals but she should be able to carry basic notes (I.e. fourth octave notes)

You nailed this critique in the utmost wholesome and authentic way. You kept a professional tone, and you held a very optimistic point of view. You are by far one of the best storytellers in this arena. I love Mariah's music! You stayed objective too! You came out on top as the expert, thank you!

As a lamb since 1993, I was recently called a hater by her sheep fans because they continue living in this fantasy world that she "sounds amazing". I knew something was wrong after the global citizen concert. She sounded more rested in Saudi, but the range was VERY limited. After seeing her Christmas shows, it was clear that something is really wrong with her voice. I really hope she gets the help that she needs, because she still has a full life in front of her to perform and give millions of fans what they love. I pray 2023 is the year of vocal rest and slayage for MC.

I honestly agree with a lot of this and i feel like a problem is that no one on her team is talking to her about any of this. It’s just not being addressed. I think Mariah is ignoring her vocal issues and Someone on her side needs to come to her from a place of love, care and concern and talk about the state of her voice and what she can do to get it back to a healthy place.

the problem with Mariah doing the removal of her nodules is because her technique and singing style, since ever, were developed around them presence. With the surgery, Mariah may lost her deep lows, her airy breathy tone will require more tension and her whistles too. She would have to take a really intense vocal rehabilitation to learn to sing consistent and natural again, and I think she's really afraid of not be able get through this. Mariah is a legend and a non-stop worker and artist, but she needs to sit down a little and reconsider what she have to focus now.

i totally agree ! her inconsistency is caused by her not warming up AT ALL before shows anymore. and its weird because she got almost 2 years worth of vocal rest but still sounds worst than 2019 and before

I've been a loyal lamb for many many years. Heck, I even have a butterfly tattoo with "hero" under it which is very directly inspired by Mariah. I've made countless excuses you mentioned for her vocal state in the last several years, but I just cannot anymore. Listening to the 2022 performances was just painful to me, I've never been more concerned about her vocals. I really wish she would properly take care of herself and her instrument, start vocal therapy, get to the core of the problem and work on it. I wasn't blessed to get to know Mariah's music when she was in her prime since I'm just 21, but I want to enjoy her art for as long as possible and I want her to enjoy creating new material too. For all of this to be done, action needs to be taken and I hope for that. Great video nonetheless!

I'm a Lara Fabian fan and it did hurt to hear her 2016 vocals sometimes, but she shaped up, changed the approach, kept on training daily with a vocal coach and voilà - her recent vocals rock. Mariah could do the same if she wanted too.

If Mariah wanted to retire, I would not be mad at her. She has given us alot over these decades and I'm thankful!! She is a living legend!!! I'm sure if researched well and pros and cons are weighed she can get her vocals back or just in a better state. I pray everything works out for her❤️🤗

It HURTS watching this. I really want the best for her and her voice. :(

Right finally someone big saying it and not living up her arse. She is my favorite singer that has ever been and ever will be. But that doesn't mean we can't scrutinize and let's break it down like he did. Confidence: barely there in my eyes. The energy that she has around stage screams of someone trying to compensate for something that they haven't got. In her case a working voice from around g4 to e5 which is around what I think she needs to do a good concert with her songs. And I think the lack of confidence show's in the amount of tension in her current singing. If she found a way to mix a bit more and stop pressurizing the voice when belting. Some problems will go away. Dresses are a problem too. YOU LOOK GORGEOUS MARIAH STOP THINKING YOU DON'T. The menopause will make her body fluctuate more so she needs to realize that she's not gonna be 1997 thin again and embrace it . Cause again you're beautiful and you're not ugly or fat in any way what so ever. Taom part 2: whistles are beautiful and the current tone of them are gorgeous compared to the last 5 years. But they can't be her get out of jail card all the time. They're a sprinkle not a cake. And high use of that kind of frequency can't be good. Playback/ lipped: I'm completely fine with it as long as I can tell she's sung those parts recently so it fits her current voice. I think it actually hinders a song like o holy night when the high belts sound so different. Use the magical Christmas 2020 vocals. Completely fine. Overall vocals: the tension is so hard to listen too. It's the main problem in my eyes as if you have it forget mixing cause you need to be relaxed. So that needs to happen. She needs to warm up. A classic Ferrari needs to warm up before you go fast in it. Or you run a high risk of breaking it. Same with her. She needs a coach for an hour at the very least that goes through some basic exercises and away from a live setting a coach that checks in once or twice a month to check it's ok. Also please don't say her tone is nice. I'd say apart from 2017 and then there we're good moments she's always had a beautiful sounding middle voice in the higher 3rd and lower 4th octave. But this isn't a nice tone in my eyes as it just does seem packed with tension and there is something wrong. Overall, I just want to see a Mariah who is genuinely happy and has a voice that in a large part she dictates not the voice controlling her into certain vocal places she doesn't wanna go. If I'm honest a voice like the Christmas 2019 tour is fine by me with a more legato sound and more confidence. I will take that. P.s. This is far to long 😂😂😂. And feel completely free to disagree with my opinion

Mariah got FAAAAR better in the later half of her xmas shows, she said she's been dealing with a cold or something according to her so I'll give her that. But otherwise, I can definitely see the argument of this year not being her best. Either way, I'm a stick beside her

As a lamb I'm actually glad you made this video. For the past few years, Mariah has been saying her voice is in the best condition and that it hasnt sounded this good in years. After watching majority of her performances this year, I don't really hear it. If I'm being completely honest it actually disappointed me as a lamb, because how shes been sounding this year isnt what I was hoping and it feels like I was lied to. I wasnt expecting her to sound like she did in her 20s or 30s of course but it's just that shes had a lot of moments where she struggled and it saddens me. What doesnt help is other fellow lambs keep making up damn excuses for all these recent performances and it's so aggravating. If she sounds a bit off they blame the nodules. If it's not her nodules its the nerves. If it's not her nerves they claim it's because shes been singing in the studio all night. If it's not that they just keep using other excuses. It also doesn't help how delusional they are. In one moment she could struggle to belt and in the next she could lip an incredibly resonant powerful belt and lambs would eat it up saying "omg that was live she sounds amazing" A lot of these lambs are just in la la land that they cant see that we're just trying to help and want Mariah to feel comfortable with her voice again. She has the confidence but her voice just isnt doing exactly what she wants. It's just evident she doesnt take any lessons or training. What also doesn't help is how lambs usually say (especially with these recent christmas shows) "oh just enjoy the show" or "just be grateful shes still here and performing" because it's such a cop out if I'm being honest. Because she had a lot of moments where she struggled throughout the christmas shows and I feel like as someone that attends a concert you dont wanna pay money just to watch the performer struggle, especially if you paid a lot, it's just not satisfying. I get some lambs just wanna go just to say they've seen her in person, but other people wont have that mindset, they want to actually hear her SANG. She had some decent (Live) moments like that but not many. If I'm being completely honest I feel part of it is also her and not just the lambs. I feel like shes just at a point in her career where she feels she doesnt need anymore training or lessons or maybe it would make her seem like a lesser vocalist or maybe she just doesnt want to, but I think she could really benefit from this. A lot of fellow lambs will probably hate me for this comment and think I'm a hater but I'm saying this because I just want Mariah to have freedom with her voice and be comfortable and not constantly struggle. I dont want her to be seen as someone that only sung amazingly 20 years ago. Because what I don't want is for her to keep singing like this and something terrible or unreverseable happens to her voice. At this point if the best option is to remove the nodules, so be it. I love Mariah, I'll always be a lamb, I just want her to do whatever it takes to keep her voice in great shape, whether it's the surgery or training or exercises. Also these are just my thoughts, if you dont like what I had to say then just keep scrolling.

The biggest issue with Mariah’s voice is inconsistency and nerves. I’m sure in a controlled environment, such as the studio, where she’s free to explore her voice, she still sounds very strong. The CAUTION album is a testament to this.

I’m a lamb and I can’t even disagree with the title. Yes it’s very concerning. She didn’t perform for almost 2 years and had plenty of rest and comes back with even worse vocals than 2020??? And I know everyone is gonna use the “she’s been in the studio excuse” but we haven’t even gotten any new music from her so what is she even doing in the studio??? I just think she needs to get her nodules removed and maybe start taking vocal lessons so she can fix a lot of her voice issues that’s been going on for years. Her breath support, technique, phrasing, tone, placement are just all over the place and so inconsistent. It’s gotten to the point when even the playback sounds bad. Like how could you use prerecorded vocals and somehow they are still pretty subpar?? Yes she IS a legend and she has nothing left to prove, but I just wish she would take better care of her voice because it’s clear that she doesn’t. I’m not a hater just a concerned fan and just want her to do better :(

This was exactly the video I needed. It’s obvious her voice last year was not in good shape. She needs vocal therapy asap. She can’t go on like this. She needs to start taking better care of her voice. Fans saying aging is the main reason for her vocal decline. But her voice at her age should not sound this weak. Many singers like Celine still sound amazing and are older than Mariah. Patti Labelle still sounds amazing, and shes like 78. She needs voice therapy and to practice consistently and do vocal warmups consistently. But nodules over the years are obviously a big factor, and do continue to deteriorate her voice.

I’ve been saying it all the time! She still has great capital in some parts of her vocal cords, but not in some other parts. And to overcome those areas where she doesn’t, she substitutes and pushes through and unfortunately develops a very bad singing habit, where she often times shouts her notes. I really hope she gets a credible vocal coach and remedies her vocal cords.. No matter what I’m still a lamb and that’s a fact no one can take away from me.

YES, I AGREE. her lyrics remember me that i should stay strong, I'm sad when she faces so many vocal problems and even worse, it's her fault and we only can hope she gets it. as a lamb, we always try to be optimistic, but we're looking quite hard to see the good parts.

I'm a lamb and I agree with this video assessment. No more excuses. IMO, at this point, there are only 2 options: *1. Get a vocal surgery.* Yes I know it's risky and it's probably too late at this point. She should've gotten the surgery many many years ago when her nodules were still small and easily manageable. Nowadays, I'm just afraid that her nodules have already gotten too big and hardened. But alas, I still think surgery is the only way to go to salvage her voice. I don't think a simple vocal retraining/therapy and vocal rest might help her significantly at such latent phase of her nodules. *She needs surgery.* Pronto. I honestly can't imagine how much longer Mariah can keep continue singing with such deteriorated vocals. It has gotten to the point where she can't even hit simple notes without struggling. It's that bad. And therefore IMO it's best that she gets invasive treatment for her voice, not just a vocal lesson or resting. *2. If she still refuses to have that surgery, then sorry to say this, but perhaps it's time for Mariah to officially retire from singing.* Doesn't mean she should quit music for good. We all know that Mariah is also a talented songwriter and producer. She can still write songs and produce music for other artists. She can still lend her talent in some capacity. As a fan, I will always support her no matter what. Should she choose to retire from singing, I can totally understand that. I'd wish her luck in her future endeavors and whatever projects she has in store. But more importantly, Mariah needs to realize and be aware that she has vocal issues to begin with. She needs to humble herself and admits that "yes I do have problems, yes I need help". We can all offer our advices but as long as she won't acknowledge her own problems, then all the best advices in the world would do her no good. I see her recent interviews where she talks about her voice and how quarantine has really helped her voice to rest and that it's in the best shape in years, bla bla bla. But tbh I don't see much improvement in her singing and her vocal performances throughout 2022 leave nothing to be desired. It's like either she was lying to herself or she really felt that nothing was wrong with her voice. I mean, if she can't even acknowledge that her voice has significantly changed and become worse throughout the years, then how can we expect her to get some help? We can only help her *if she asks for it.* If she doesn't even feel like she needs help, then all our comments here won't matter. I sure hope Mariah realizes this and gets all the help that she needs before it's too late.

I agree with you, love her hope she can get better and heal 🙏🏿

that is beautiful how you show that quality singing has no age limit love this. I love Mariahs vocals before and dont mind it now. I got used to it and always will love the queen

I was at the Christmas concert. It literally sounded amazing. The clips with the red dress and the white dress are from the concert that I went to. There was smoke in the air and she addressed it. She literally choked on concert fog/smoke a little before that.

Another thing worth mentioning is that Mariah's voice significantly deteriorated around 1997. Her voice became hoarse and her upper belts didn't have the same ring she had in prior years. And starting from Rainbow onwards she has been depending heavily on studio vocal editing like pitch shifting, cut&paste and etc. This is why she always lip syncs many parts of her songs (mostly but not limited to climaxes). She's somehow belting up to A5's with ease in her studio tracks when she didn't even do that during her prime 💀. But when it comes to live singing, she's struggling even with simple vocals and sound like a completely different person singing. And the amazing parts that resemble the studio vocals are obviously just pre recorded studio edited vocals but the delusional lambs will say it's all live 🤦

luckily Mariah is not just a voice. She is music. Your creative ability, your gift, your musicality will never get old... the difficult thing will be to find someone to sing your songs.

Sounds like it's painful for her to sing! Retraining her voice with a great voice teacher, plus actually going on actual vocal rest in the way Celine did (with *healthy lifestyle habits* ) could help. When the Fantasy remix with Latto came out, I wondered why she sounded so rough..but when Latto confirmed that she was drinking while they were recording in the studio, it added up.

Her whistle is surprisingly her most intact and consistent (barring her 3rd octave) part of her voice. While this is a testament to her whistling ability, it is also rather bleak look for the rest of her voice. Yes, I understand that her nodules sometimes literally cut of a part of her voice especially her belts, but I can't help but notice it seems that the other parts of her voice is starting to, for the lack of a better word, struggle. Her falsetto/hv is quite limited in range, and recently she's putting the sound way up her nose. And imo the saddest part is, while she struggled with anything above a C5, the middle part of her voice is absolutely gorgeous. When she shoots out those Bb? Stunning. The tone, the ringing, everything. And recently, she seems to be throaty even at an A, especially while phrasing, with inconsistent vibrato to boot. I truly wish the best for her. Her voice, be it in her best or worst, has the tone that I consider to be top on my list, and with her gradually being lifted as an icon even outside us lambs' circle, I hope what others see and hear of her is truly the best it can be.

Exactly! People are ignorant to the fact that it may be or surprisingly not is her lifestyle that has affected her vocals so bad. I hope she really figures it out before it's too late.

The nodules make your voice hoarse and change the sound of your voice, it goes away if you sleep and since Mariah didn’t sleep for 3 days during her xmas shows, thats why her whistle register was so easy to access for her, same thing happened back in 2006, there’s some videos of her struggling to even say a few words but her whistle register was really accessible

It all comes down to the foundation of technique. In her early years, given the pressures of being the preeminent pop/R&B woman on the block, she constantly sang outside of her natural range, and not having safe techniques to protect her voice. She talked about how David C. of C&C Music Factory had her do so many takes of "Emotion" that she lost her voice. It's heartbreaking those years of turmoil are catching up to her in such a devastating way.

I would never underestimate her voice, we had some moments where we probably thought that she was over like in 2014 Rockefeller or 2017 NYE but after those disasters, she came back wonderfully like in 2014 Beacon Theatre and many 2018 performances. I put no big expectations of her but I am still hoping

As a huge MC fan. I agree with everything you said for most of the part cause you did your research (but I know MC is doing vocal practice and warm-ups too except that they are just hard to be mastered and done in one takes as per her nodules). I really hope her technique would flourish more! It's Mimi we're talking about so yesss to her!

As a true fan i wont be blinded,Last night i watched her cbs Christmas special though it’s overall amazing i really felt her struggle and as a hardcore mariah fan it pains me to see her struggle , trying hard to finish the songs. I’ll always love her, i can bare to watch her lipsync an entire show cause that is still her voice than see her struggle. I have faith that her voice is still there but our Queen really needs to put it all together , she probably doesn’t feel the need of proving herself anymore unlike when the first time she started in the industry but more than anything else i hope she’ll prioritize taking care of her voice, sleeps well , practice cause after all though we accept her whatever she can do we are still hoping for an amazing performance.

I love the age section. So true. Nodules, stress, and perhaps lack of consistent vocal coaching could be the culprit.

This is a well put together video. Thank you! I would love to see Honest Vocal Coach to make a video like this also :)

I’m glad as REAL lambs we’re able to be REAL about our queen and hold her accountable in these comments. She will forever be the best vocalist of all time

Seeing Mariah’s voice last year was heartbreaking. I thought that after 2 years she would work on her voice but from the sound of it shes even worse then 2020 vegas residency. I think one of the big issues is her pride in the fact that she didn’t need a vocal coach to learn how to sing and thats one of the reasons i feel that she’s avoiding getting a vocal coach and vocal therapy.

The tea drinking when you talked about avoiding alcohol consumption 👀I'm dead. For real though, why do so many singers get wrapped up with things that directly damage their instrument? On a more serious note, out of curiosity, I began listening to Mariah's discography after this past Christmas season. (Currently on E=MC²) The difference between her debut album and where she is now is so noticeably drastic. I do hope she is willing to take a step back, to reevaluate where she currently is vocally, and to seek some help for her voice.

Mariah's voice right now is very similar to the Rainbow/Glitter era... No strength in the belting, difficult in accessing falsetto, but amazing strong whistles. I guess that's just the nodules acting up, and lack of vocal exercises. Sometimes she she accesses different registers easier some days than other days, but what worries me is the choppy 'not connected' vocals, that's a serious vocal issue.

As a lamb, I cannot deny that these things have been in the back of my mind. I don't speak out about them thinking they're not really gonna change what she does with her life but I do hope that she finds the interest to take care of her voice.

No one besides non-fans/media who recall her big hits from the 90’s (but haven’t kept up with her since) expect “Music Box” vocals. True fans who love Mariah and are fully aware of her issues with nodules etc. are also the same fans who have watched her technique/discipline deteriorate over the years (note I said “technique” and not “her voice”). I highly doubt Mariah’s voice is irreparably damaged, as some well-meaning fans believe. The reason I believe this is because Mariah is still capable of “lucky” moments where her muscle memory kicks in and she either places a live note well or nails a riff. That isn’t possible with an irreparably damaged instrument. What it does suggest (which could be considered good news) is a lack of training/diaphragmatic support, which Mariah could remedy if she cared to. Mariah is a workaholic who wears many hats; songwriter, producer, business woman etc. so it’s understandable if she simply can’t be bothered with the physical labor required to upkeep her voice. However, I don’t think she realises that a bit of effort on her part would go a long way to restoring her voice to an instrument she can control. She has always rebelled against formal voice training and unfortunately the chickens are now coming home to roost😪

Great video!

I hope this video reaches her... its time for her to take good care of her voice. Pandemic is actually good for her because she manage to rest her vocal chords but we still dont know if she talks a lot. She shouldve took advantage of the pandemic to reset and rethink everything with regard to her voice, vocals, and performing on stage. She is the only healthy diva we have from the vocal trinity. Celine dion has health issues and we hope she will be healed and recover fast. We already lost whitney. So we have to protect mimi at all cost. Infaireness to her Christmas performance, i was amazed that she did sing it live for the most parts except for the impossible parts... come on lambs, we know if she is lipping or not. We just have to accept that. I hope one day she can sing her songs live confidently and that look on her eye "i did sing that live. Nailed it!"

It’s just hard to see how connected to her voice she used to be … I don’t like seeing her not be able to do what she wants to do with her instrument.

getting older. Mariah lost her good voice at a 1990s performance. Now She can't hit the high notes anymore. it's not interesting to me anymore now I'm starting to forget about it.

I think her problems boil down to her not re-training her voice to sing with it in it's current state. Advancements in speech therapy and vocal technique have reduced the need for surgery to deal with nodules and they can sometimes even be reversed,I don't think it would be the case for Mariah given the ammount of time she's had them, but the impact they have on her voice could be dramatically reduced. Adding possible menopause hormonal effects (assuming she's reached that point in her life) that would impact the voice, she just needs to rethink her approach to singing at this stage in her life. A lot of what is essential to her voice is still there, even if it's not always reliable, getting more consistency in her lives is the only thing she needs but that woul require work with a speech pathologist and vocal coach.

5:16 this clip just blew me away! amazing!

Great video! I'm quite a fan of Mariah Carey, but even I can tell that perhaps she isn't the most technically skilled or knowledgeable when it comes to her vocal delivery, as like you said, she's signing just as she feeling it. That being said, she has a wonderful gift, and I think all the advice you gave are pretty solid. I would also add that perhaps focusing on singing some of her more ballady/jazzy records during live performances is a great way to help train her vocals in a way, as from experience I always felt that singing these types of stripped down songs is not too challenging but allows one to be as creative with the vocal styling, and perhaps even find what vocal style/delivery is suitable to her state of voice at this point. I think she could do stripped down/rearranged versions of songs like If It's Over, Can't Let Go etc. would be quite good for her tbh, but that's just my opinion. I do want to ask though, one of her signature signing style is the 'whisper' register, where she sings in a falsetto in her lower chest region (around C4-G4), but do you think this kind of singing style/technique is healthy and good for her. I tried doing it before, and I have to say, my throat was pretty wrecked after doing just 5 mins of that. I always wondered whether her overdoing it, especially since 1997 with the Butterfly album, was a reason for her vocal decline, or that perhaps this vocal styling is another result of her nodules? I honestly don't know. Oh, and speaking of vocal therapy, I don't know if you know this, but Brain from the Backstreet Boys have been doing that ever since the early 2010s after discovering he had vocal tension dysphonia and dystonia. You can tell from his performances during that time that his voice was in pretty bad shape, but more recently, while he hasn't recovered to the point where he sounded like how he was in his prime, I do think he sounds a bit better. I was wondering maybe you could make a video analyzing his vocal progression, and perhaps see what artists like Mariah who have a relatively damaged voice could improve upon their vocal techniques. Of course, each case is very different, but I was just wondering what do you think of this?

The way people will go in on her over her vocals is irritating and also heartbreaking, I wish people could be more sympathetic, I rlly wonder how she feels ab her own voice

As a lamb, I don’t disagree with any of this. Love Mariah, but taking care of the voice and her health are the most important things rn.

I agree with you about her voice. It's very sad. But can we say how amazing she looks and how fabulous her sense of style is? ✨

Awesome 🎉, please make a video on the new rolling stone 200 vocalist of all time. It’s crazy

Shirley Bassey suprised me the most . Her voice is so powerful with 80 . I hope i can Walk ,when i get 80 😄

Can we get someone on her team to see this and show her! Cause ultimately we all want her to sing more healthier

Her last 2 shows this Christmas reminded me of Whitney’s vocals from Nothin But Love tour

Mariah's vocal state is a reflection of her unwillingness to really put in the work towards her condition. Simple as that! I think she has a nonchalant attitude towards her vocal condition and for whatever reason (I personally think it's laziness) she refuses to warm up, vocal train, go to vocal therapy or even opt for surgery. Her motto is "doing her best with what she got" but she doesn't realize that only SHE has the power to reclaim back her vocals to the golden standard she set years and years ago. If she sets her ego aside, chooses to care and attacks the root of her problem:nodules through therapy, lessons and even surgery, she'll be in shape soon enough. Having that said, I'll support her no matter what. She is a living legend who doesn't even have to raise a finger anymore for the rest of her life just from the revenue she earns each Christmas. Nevertheless, she still gets up there and tours every year, comes up with new songs and performs at different events. She is one of the few left of her caliber and should be given the respect she deserves.

as one of her die hard lambs,i totally agreed with u

I agree, this year in particular has probably been the first ever that I’ve actually been concerned and would say she’s been consistently more off than she’s been on. Absolutely some bright moments this year, some genuinely great whistles and confidence, but I was at the first MSG Christmas show and her head voice was 99% nonexistent. As a diehard lamb for probably 8-9 years now, I was shocked at how many things she lipped (like Emotions Intro) that have been relatively easy for her, with some adjustments, up until this year. 2020 got some strong live IG moments and her studio vocals in 2020/2021 were solid albeit a bit robotically over-produced at times. Every year in the last decade has had some challenge areas - 2012/2014 pitch, 2017 tone, 2018/2019 breathiness - but all of those years have had really, REALLY strong points too - 2012/2014 creativity and Beacon Theater, 2017 VOL + great belts, 2018/2019 tone and great agility. So far, this unfortunately feels like maybe it was the first year ever that many aspects of her voice have been frustrating and heartbreaking to witness as a fan. I loveeee Mariah and I pray, I pray she will do what’s in her power to work through this past year! Again, a few great moments. But not many.

As a lamb, for life, I have to completely agree with everything you said. I was at the Madison Square garden show on December 13th and her nervousness was palpable. She knows that she can't sing like she used to, and as you said with training she could possibly be more comfortable on stage and therefore sing better. The staccato notes don't fool any of us and her phrasing was not good. I texted another lamb who was on the other side of the stadium and said boy is she struggling... He agreed. The show itself had a wonderful feel, but it was in no way an outstanding performance. There were definitely wonderful moments, but all in all it was a lackluster performance.

Yeah, Many lambs says that Mimi starts to lost her voice from #1's era (1998) which is kind of true but the fact that she can still compete with the newer artists and hit the billboard was amazing. We will always love you Mimi! ❤️🥰

Man i still just think she drinks too much plus her sleep pattern which is not healthy. When she was pregnant her voice was super recovered.

You can see the frustration in her face tbh

cool analysis

I know a technic to recover her voice, the sad part is that she will never know about me... but the fact Is, was suffering the same thing and I was loosing my confidence...then I never give up and started to get information and find myself with a simple excersice, I tried it and then my voice...is back... better than before...

Her biggest issues vocally, I believe, have to do with her addiction to alcohol. From like 97 to 2000 she made a lot of comments about alcohol “foiling” her voice. There is a direct correlation between her leaving her controlling marriage to Tommy, where her alcohol/other substances consumption might have been monitored, to being set free to do as she pleased and this is the point that her voice started to have issues. She started partying her ass off and I don’t think has ever really stopped except for maybe a few years after the Stella situation. Right after that she looked her absolute best and sounds good for a while… but at the end of the day, sure she sounded rough this year but she is still better than most of the singers of the day. I feel bad for her sometimes because she set the bar so high for herself and now people can’t just enjoy her performances and presence, they have to pick it all apart constantly. Mariah is EVERYTHING! Let us not forget and pass so much unnecessary judgment on someone who has given us so much over the years.

around 2008 a friend of mine told me that he knew a guy from the inner circle of Mariah and he told him that she was actually did a nodules removal twice. The second time she almost lost her whistles and imo still to this day are not recovered completely and sound totally different. Also when you see the imancipation of Mimi tour her voice was so tired and raspy and weak but her whistles where on fire and she was using them so much like she knew that she might lose them.. a few years later her belting became stronger than ever but 99% of the whistles were prerecorded and different. The same person said that she has a chronic hormonal issue (hormonal issues effecting the voice tone/color/depth/quality maybe thats why each era she sound so different tonal vise). Also the same person said that she already had 2 miscarriages (before Mariah confirms anything about the one we official know). When you have nodules i assume you need to have alot of vocal rest but at the same time you need to do a certain amount of vocal exercises, maybe it was too difficult to keep up with the studio,performances etc to do everything right..maybe she was slacking i dunno. But What i see is she is starting to having the natural "oldish" vocal decline. when she attempt to go higher she immidietly break it seems almost impossible to control her voice above b4. in this christmas live she seemed so eager for the lip part to come cause she was unable to do the know live parts. up to B4 it seems to be her sweet spot. what she need to do is to accept her vocal decline/condition and adjust her songs and her way to sing. she need to understand that noone like when she squick and trying to emulate a girlish voice. we all prefer her lower darker richer tone that she actully can do completely live.. even the most obsessed lambs that cannot accept she does lip ALOT when they show performances on their channel they cut out almost all the lipped parts and we can all agree when she do sing live its amazing.. her whole body its different. when she wait for the lip parts she going hectic,nervous like she wanna run away from there. when she importu a bit she seems and sound amazing! she need Vocal Training/vocal excersise avoid lip so she can gain confidence. she does not have confidence because her voice is not well but its partly because she doesn't take care of it. another example its that she prefer to look pretty and show her boobs and she never protect her chest and throught erea like for example opera singers always use scarfs etc. Mariah with -15c decide to go with boobs out to sing at christmas and while she is singing a hairdresser starting putting hazardus hair products to her hair/face that is really bad for the voice. She Need to focus more as a singer rather than a diva,glamorous persona. its really too oldish style,too tiring and takes away the elegance of a respectful artist that she actually really is! Also people that are not lambs (even some lambs as well,including me) starting to have enough of this childish and unprofessional behavior. I hope she can come from that weird place she is and reclaim the true artist she is!

I’m a die hard Mariah fan - but I remember getting E=MC2 when I was teenager and think that her voice sounded different. Her voice did change substantially since Butterfly… but honestly it wasn’t since that album imo where her voice had major damage. But I still love her

I think what’s happening is that she has a inflated ego in a sense, where she kinda feels like she doesn’t have to “try” anymore because she’s a legend. Like it truly sounds like she isn’t taking care of her voice, her voice sounds dry and “stiff” most of the time. Sometimes it sounds like all she needs to do if properly hydrate and do vocal warmups. But we know that she barley does rehearsals sometimes and the last time I heard of her having a vocal coach or vocal doctors was in the mid 2000s…

Finally a realistic perspective. Every time I say this I get chewed out and attacked by lambs. Mariah needs to work on her voice with professionals and humble herself enough to admit it’s time to get a coach.

Finally an honest video commentary about her voice

I think it’s fair to say Mariah’s voice reflects her choices, she seems an incredibly insecure person, terrified of ageing and in a constant battle to present an image of herself that clearly isn’t real. I have heard she drinks a lot of alcohol, and is very self focused & neurotic at the best of times. Personally I think this makes it difficult for her to make choices that aren’t self destructive in some way. Allowing the “propping up” of her voice by ever increasing voice tracks over the years, believing people who tell her she’s amazing and still sounds great & not having the discipline to enter into serious vocal work are all symptoms of her growing mental health issues. I admire MC a lot and respect her place in the musical hall of fame but the time is surely coming where no amount of foundation under garments, makeup, strategic lighting and lip syncing are going to disguise the fact that she is now in the autumn of her career & her performances are just not good enough to keep her relevant. If it hasn’t already started, this is going to trigger a huge crisis for her, as this is the reality she is constantly pushing away. I hope that she chooses to grow and come out the other side a stronger, wiser & happier person & that her final decades on the planet see her voice & her mind get the work it deserves. The alternative unfortunately is not pretty.

She sounded sick to me on her Christmas tour. Hopefully she proves us wrong again and comes back even stronger like she does every other time. Her voice is definitely a mystery.

I’m totally by your side. Have y’all heard miss Yolanda Adams or miss Patti Labelle? They’re at least twenty years older than Mariah and are better than 98% of modern vocalists who are in their prime. Mariah’s age in not an excuse. At all

I honestly think it would have been awesome if she had kept up with the COVID era type posts. They were great. If she had posted a handful of them a month I wouldn’t have been mad if she stopped performing live. The album anniversary snippets she was posting on her Instagram were not tweaked at all. I’d rather have little tidbits and snippets of her really trying than … MSG 2022. Love to you, your channel, and MC. :)

Absolutely LOVE Mariah and it pains me to say it but I totally agree.

well, she was legitimately sick for the first three shows (the director confirmed it on Twitter). The fourth show was much better, but it's clear her voice is pretty far from even 2016. The comparison to people like Patti seems a bit pointed, though.

Mariah stated in her masterclass that she was told to not remove the nodules. But as usual great content

As a longtime lamb, thank you. A direct and level headed perspective

I will love her until I die. She’s an iconic legend. In the ‘90s, she was unstoppable. In the early ‘00s, she took on a whole new tone. TEOM era provided some strong live performances… again taking on a new tone in E=MC2 era. Her vocal confidence is shattered and shows in her “live” performances and nervous rambling. I serious question if the gig is up? Is “the voice” gone?

I'm curious to know the opinions of doctors regarding the effectiveness and potential risks of surgery to remove Mariah's vocal nodules as a solution. Despite the inherent risks, is the potential benefit worth it? Adele had a successful surgery, and like he said in the video, medical advancements have significantly improved since Julie Andrews' surgery that resulted in the end of her singing career.

Mariah said in Masterclass that she doesn’t warm up. She does one scale to check for her whistle and then goes out to sing. In her recent concerts she was adding all this unnecessary breathiness to every note and she sounded winded. She’s also jutting her jaw forward and placing a lot of tension on her mouth. Two unconventional takes, I think Mariah is sometimes too concerned with her appearances when she sings and moves her mouth in ways that look more pleasant in footage and photos. The second is that since she had her gastric sleeve surgery in late 2017, her voice has never returned to its full and resonant state like it was even in the months preceding the surgery. Core muscles are such a pivotal part of singing and that surgery notoriously weakens your abdominal muscles when they place the sleeve.

Of course it’s not age. It’s simply the result of dehydration, acid reflux, lack of coordination and focus due to alcoholism and lack of physical training. She’s very wealthy and just wants to do what she wants in order to avoid any bleakosity. It’s a pity for fans but it is what it is and if there was an easy solution she’d have approached it already.

What everyone does not understand is that Mariah is a virtuoso and musical genius that from an early age treated her gift and voice in a very experimental way. It was grounded in operatic techniques but she went beyond to try and produce various sounds. She has always said that she is a natural 'alto' that experiments with her higher register - meaning the higher registers are not natural for her. The techniques shes used to create her one of kind angelic voice have over the years pushed her to the limits. If she had just sang within her natural and comfortable range, she would not have this problem and she would last just as long as Patti or Aretha. She pushed her body to its very limits for TWO DECADES before her body (vocal chords) changed forever.

Let's be honest. Had she not overworked and actually took care of her voice - by vocal therapy, lessons, and try not to sound girlish (back in the days vocals and embraced her mature full voice), that voice could have lasted longer. Yes, she had nodules. Yes, she's still better than most singers nowadays, but it's becoming a lazy excuse when it's all the reasons thrown when somebody points out her vocal decline. Even if vocal damage is inevitable, it could have been slowed down. She always tries to sound like her prime counterpart, which isn't a good thing. This is apparent when, ironically, she sounds free and better doing the stage adlibs wherein she could sing in her comfort range and current vocals. I do understand that she's very insecure due to the different standards for her, on why she always try to appeal to people using her prime gimmicks but how I wish she could be honest to herself and comfort that powerful mature sound and blow wigs once again. Also, I don't understand why she would conform to being a sex symbol. Yes, yes, I get it. It's her expression, but I don't think she's doing it just for herself. I'm pretty sure that some of her sentiments are to ride the coattails of sex imagine selling, which I don't think is effective for her. I know that I'll be called a hater now, but I've been a fan of her classics for 6-7 years now. You can even see comments of me defending her. It's just that some pills are hard to swallow, and I'm giving those pills. Peace

As a diehard lamb, her 2019-2022 vocals IS concerning. 2018-below vocals were somewhat acceptable with good moments specially on her impromptu social media posts and live concerts. The thing with Mariah is she grew up really insecure, her voice is one of the only thing that makes her feel validated. Now that her voice is not on it’s best shape, she still thinks that her voice is okay when in fact it’s not. She doesn’t want to admit that her instrument isn’t great anymore. She refuses to really focus on just taking care and practicing her instrument. I mean we do not expect her to sound like her youth. Look at Patti and Céline, they do not sound perfect but they practice and adjust their technique to sound and perform the best with what they have left with their voice. I understand that it’s hard to practice with nodules because they’re really unpredictable. Idk i just really hope she does her best with her instrument.

She's been dealing with bronchitis apparently according to her. It just sucks because performances are scheduled way in advance so when a singer does get something as bad as bronchitis they can't just not sing .

One thing I will say, I think she purposely used to/wears corsets because it does actually help with breath control. She doesn't seem to be wearing them anymore but when she was, I think she's very aware Opera singers use it for breath control. The truth is we are not sure what she is doing and isnt doing behind the scenes. Her tone seems to be improving compared to previous years. I like the tone of her voice right now

During the 90s Mariah was an extreme workaholic! She came from nothing and worked extra hard to keep everything she gained. If only she took sometime and took care of your sleeping schedule and voice resting during the 90s than she would be in a better situation concerning her voice.