Appreciation for the Empress of Pop, Royal Queen of RnB, Divine Deity of Christmas, Musical Hero and flawless majestic Diva Mariah Carey! Part 1

Trust me, that title was supposed to be a LOT longer since I wanted to include the words "Butterfly", "Charmbracelet", "Glitter", "Daydream", "Emotions", and "Rainbow."

Any way, a while back I explained why I love Beyonce Giselle Knowles, aka the Creole Wigsnatcher Diva that's been slaughtering basic bitches and hanging their stuffed carcasses in her hunting cabin since 2003. Now its time for me to acknowledge the OTHER HBIC in my life as far as musical taste goes-and trust me, she has pulled off her share of scalps as well.


But first, I gotta make some distinctions (and a confession).

I like Beyonce and Mariah equally. This sounds unacceptable to Beyonce stans who will name-drop Michael Jackson and Tina Turner and talk about how much of an epic legendary performer Beyonce is to the point where is is at their level (true). This sounds like nonsense to Mariah's lambs who have been with her since 1994 and have documented every moment in her undeniably prolific career and have (tried to) drag Whitney Houston (praise her) over the years for her shade against Mimi herself. The thing is, I don't consider Beyonce and Mariah to be the same kind of artist-they are both divas, but not the same kind of diva.

Mariah Carey is what I call a "pure" diva, since she relies foremost on her voice and generally vibrant yet aloof personality. Whitney, Celine Dion, Aretha Franklin and (I hope some of you still remember her) Chaka Khan were these kind of divas. Pure divas don't dance and are generally acknowledged for all the high notes they can belt. Their performance style is almost entirely dependent on vocals. 

Beyonce is not a pure diva. I know, this is blasphemy, but I personally think that Beyonce will be remembered for being a performer, and not for being a diva. She's what I call a "hybrid diva" since she CAN hit high notes and she CAN dance whilst doing so. Some of Beyonce's singles are very much dependent on high notes in the vocals (Halo, Listen, Love On Top) while some of her other singles possess more of a pop-ish element since they are more catchy and dance-able (Crazy In Love, Run the World, Single Ladies). Some artists I consider to have this dual specialization are ..nobody, actually. Nobody can sing AND dance the way Beyonce can. It's for this reason that I don't consider those in the dance-oriented spectrum of pop music (Ciara up to Janet Jackson) and the catchy music-oriented spectrum of pop music (Britney, Lady Gaga, Madonna) to be hybrid divas since they should only be called pop stars. (For what it's worth, I think Gaga and Britney are exemplary pop stars.)

Does this mean Mariah Carey is somehow less of an artist and performer because she doesn't dance? Does this mean Beyonce is a so-and-so vocalist and dancer since she tries to do both at the same time? No. I think their special skills given their own little niche (if one could call the fan/stanbases of both these ladies to be little) accentuate their capabilities instead of revealing their shortcomings. And that is why I am perfectly qualified to love Mariah Carey as one of the ultimate singers and love Beyonce as one of the ultimate performers and still be able to call them both divas.

Now, on to Mariah Carey, the real reason why I started this post.


SHE IS FLAWLESS, GORGEOUS, PERFECT, EPIC, LEGENDARY, ICONIC, BEAUTIFUL, KIND, CARING, ETC. AND YOUR FAVES CAN ONLY DREAM OF BEING AS SUCCESSFUL AND RENOWNED AS HER.

I could have started out with less capslock, but no. This is now I feel when I think about Mariah aka when I feel like Beyonce needs me less. I'm dead serious.I can't even start on how I find it amazing how she has preserved her career for two decades and watched lessor artists' careers flop and subsequently crumble into nothingness. I find it amazing how classy she is without sacrificing any of her humor and vibrant personality. I find it <insert a kinder adjective regarding the emotion one feels when watching basic bitches get trampled on by real pros> how she still out-sings all of your younger faves despite existing past 30 (I don't wanna mention Madonna right now). And I find it spectacular that she has paved the way for other artists to mix in RnB WITH Pop music instead of without. I could rattle off numbers describing all of her triumphs in the music world. I could come up with a long, scathing essay on how her voice was the magical power to make your faves feel like they just got pulled by the hair into a pit filled with cutting-room floor reject albums. I'm not going to.

The truth is, there are not words to describe how Mariah Carey has slayed the music industry since her coming into it. Her career speaks for itself.

Whew. That was a lot of words and not enough pictures.

This post part 2 will fix that.