Ever since Ariana Grande released her hit single, The Way, listeners couldn’t help but notice that her sound had a striking resemblance to none other than the icon that is Mariah Carey. She was able to hit those famous high notes, produce a carbon copy of her fantastic whistle note and also be classed a total diva.
Despite their similarities, the two were rumored to have had a serious feud, leading the internet and celebrities like Demi Lovato to constantly pit them against each other in a bunch of memes.
Let’s not forget this iconic fan-made video showing Mariah throwing serious shade at Ari.
In case you haven’t noticed it yet, Mimi’s influence on Ariana is very obvious, ladies and gents. We’ve even started believing Ariana Grande might officially be the new Mariah Carey.
So, to help Mimi and Ari’s fans settle the debate, we’ve listed a bunch of ways these two best-selling female artists compare. Let the Mariah Carey vs Ariana Grande battle begin!
1. They Both Slay the High Notes
We’re glad someone’s continuing Mimi’s legacy of high notes. Or at least, trying to.
Before the emergence of Ariana Grande, Mariah Carey was without a doubt, the queen of high notes. No one could replicate her vocal abilities until the Thank U, Next artist stepped onto the music scene, stealing Mariah’s crown and wowing all with her amazing whistle tone and vocal range. If you had to play a game of “guess the whistle tone”, it’d be hard to differentiate between the two.
It’s said that Mariah possesses a 5-octave vocal range, while Ariana has a 4-octave vocal range, which is still damn impressive.
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2. They Pretty Much Sound the Same
Ariana Grande may perfectly impersonate singers like Celine Dion and Britney Spears but when it comes to Mariah Carey, she isn’t just doing an impression – she naturally sounds like her. If it weren’t for their similar singing voices, the comparisons between Mimi and Ari would never have started in the first place.
But according to Quora user, Chris Ringgold, there are some differences in their vocals. Mariah can sing both a deep-voiced alto and a high-pitched soprano, while Ariana “primarily only sings soprano”. There are also many who complain about Ariana’s enunciation in songs, too.
Have you heard Ariana’s cover of Mariah’s classic, Emotions? Despite allegedly having less vocal skill than Mariah, it’s still amazing how good she is at matching her pitch, tone and range at times. It’s easy to forget we’re even listening to the dainty diva.
3. They’re Both Divas
Both Ari and Mimi are known for their diva demands! Mariah Carey has admitted that she preferred a particular angle of her profile (her right side). Funnily enough, so does Ariana! The Dangerous Woman asks only to be photographed from the left side of her face!
Mariah has been rumored to be quite the savage when it comes to other celebrities, too. She famously threw shade at Jennifer Lopez when she claimed that she “didn’t know her” and almost had beef with Demi Lovato after the singer inclined that they preferred Ariana over Mariah.
The Sweetener star on the other hand, hasn’t had many famous feuds with celebrities, but she was critisized once for licking donuts in a store and saying she “hated America”. Divas will be divas.
4. They’re Their Own Generation’s Pop Princess
Mariah is the most prolific female recording artists of all time – it’s hard to compare her to anyone else. It’s safe to say she’s had immense influence on several artists today. But when it comes to Ariana Grande, the two are sometimes indistinguishable.
Just as Mariah was the pop princess of the 1990’s, Ariana Grande is certainly one of, if not, the pop princess of today. No one can argue against the fact that the pint sized popstar is the vocalist of our generation. As much as we love her, we hate to say it, but Mariah is pretty much “so yesterday” when it comes to today’s charts!
5. They Have Similar Songs
Mariah Carey has sung legendary songs that are more iconic than anything Ariana has ever recorded. In fact, she has co-written and co-produced most of her own music.
SEE ALSO:
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There’s no denying however, that some of Ari’s music sounds ever so similar to Mimi’s. If you’ve heard Too Close, you’d know exactly what we’re talking about. This has earmarks of Mariah’s I’ve Been Thinking About You, wouldn’t you say?
6. They’ve Both Won Several Awards
Mariah’s been in the music scene much longer than little Ariana (since 1990, to be precise), so comparing the number of awards won between them might seem unfair. But in a battle of the popstars, it’s got to be done. According to Wikipedia, Mariah Carey has won a total of 217 awards, while Ariana has nabbed a whooping 81. She hasn’t got far to go until her award shelf is stacked with more than one hundred!
If we were to compare Grammy Awards (as they’re the most prestigious in music), there’s clearly no room for a battle as Mariah outshines Ariana with 5 wins – Best Female Pop Vocal Performance (1991), Best New Artist (1991), Best Contemporary R&B Album (2006), Best R&B Song (2006) and Best Female R&B Vocal Performance (2006).
Ariana, on the other hand (bless her heart) has been awarded with just one Grammy statue so far – Best Pop Vocal Album (2019).
7. They Both Have a High Net-Worth
Both Mariah Carey and Ariana Grande are rich AF. Mimi has a reported net-worth of $300 million, while Ariana is said to be worth a grand $50 million. That’s a lot for a star who’s only been around for the past few years, right? Mariah’s huge net-worth comes from a rich history of selling 15 albums, being a judge on American Idol, starring in a few movies and signing a Vegas gig.
Ariana made her millions in similar ways including selling 5 albums, being a well-known Nickelodeon star, marketing her own merchandise and owning her own fragrance lines.
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A Timeline of Ariana and Bieber’s Relationship
Despite the constant comparisons and pitting against each other, Ariana Grande and Mariah Carey have put the feud behind them. Believe it or not, they’re not at it like cat and dog.
Following all the memes, it wasn’t long before Ariana and Mariah started showing more love and respect towards each other, making the internet feel foolish for a while. Ari wished Mariah a Happy Birthday on Instagram and the diva publicly gave her thanks to the young starlet, telling the world that the feud was officially over (perhaps non-existent).
Either way, you should still have your say! Who do you choose as the winner of the Mariah Carey vs Ariana Grande battle? Let us know in the comments below!
Originally published April 2016.
Ummm first of all Mariah Carey can sing 5 -octaves. Ariana sings 4. That’s still impressive but she’s in the same vocal range as like, Beyoncé. That explains why she can hit some really high whistle notes. Ariana has a vocal rank of a soprano. A “light lyric soprano” to be exact. Mariah, with a 5- octave vocal range has the ability to reach notes in the 7th range, with the ability to go right back. It should NOT come as a surprise that Mariah is at the top. She hits the highest, most war piercing notes of all time. She can literally make everyone’s hair stand on end. Her natural sense of rhythm, Mariah can create complex, musical phrases effortlessly. She’s not just a Light Lyric Soprano, she’s also a coloratura. She can also utilize lighting fast trills and extended melismas. She has the most impressive vocal range mostly because she has a lot of versatility in classical range terms. Her very agile and light upper range allows her to perform vocal leaps effortlessly. She’s claimed in the past that her incredible vocal range is due in part to her vocal nodules. I guess it allows her to have that high belting register and still be husky. All in all Carey takes the prize for the best vocal range of them all.
I feel like Ariana Grande is just trying to be a replica of Mariah Carey. And yes, although Ariana Grande is an amazing singer, Mariah Carey is on a whole other level. Mariah has also had a longer history of singing and producing songs (1990’s). It is also said that Ariana Grande has a vocal range of 4 octaves while, Mariah has a vocal range of 5 octaves.
But’s it’s not really fair to compare these 2 *ICONS*. And there is no feud between them believe it or not. They always congratulate each other on their successes.
Love both their music, then and now. But there is absolutely no comparison. Mariah is an icon and legendary. Everybody knows her music and her very distinct voice. Both Young and older generations. Ariana is more a fade, less iconic. Love her music she has a beautiful voice for the new generation, clicky songs until their not. Ariana is also a bit grungy/dirty with herself and music/videos where Mariah is much more wholesome. I believe people love wholesome more everyday. ❤️
Ariana is just a trend that is already dying down. She is ok. At least better than today’s auto tune singers but she is nothing in front of real singers like Mariah, Whitney, Brandy, Mary J Blige or Jazmine Sullivan. You guys know I’m speaking the truth. Right?
Ariana needs a tag of “new mariah Carey” Because she wants, to be mariah Carey.
That’s explains everything.
All of you suck my d**k… Ariana grande is baddest than Mariah nowadays 2021. We are not in the 1990’s anymore and that’s what people don’t realize! The f**k! And we can fight
There a few mistakes here and the entire amount of information is not presented. Ariana Grande as was mentioned has diversified her career to make more money, Mariah up until 2001 (11 years into her career) had not pushed for anything other than releasing music, no TV commercials, no fashion lines, no movies, not even many tours, she did not start touring in her career up until her 4th album Music Box, but to quiet the rumors that she was a studio only artist she did MTV Unplugged and up until today is the most spinned one and released the first live performance to become a #1 a cover from I’ll be there. Music Boc (3rd studio album) was a huge worldwide success with 32 million copies sold, (Hero, Without you and Dreamlover come from this album) so she was required to leave her stage fright behind and start touring, 2001 she did Glitter and left that alone for 4 years until she worked with Pepsi Commercials, and during The Emancipation of Mimi she worked with Intel. So most of Mariah’s net worth which is actually reported 520 million and not 300 million comes from her music, massive sales and concerts only. Nothing wrong with what Ari did it has given her huge sums of money and that’s amazing! Proves her versatility as well. Vocally speaking is more than just range 4 octaves for Aria and 5 octaves with 2 semitones for Mariah, so perhaps they may be somewhat similar is based upon the fact that in a pitch so high the human ear stops hearing certain harmonics so most voices start to sound the same (Liza Fischer, Tamar Braxton, Christina Aguilera and Jessica Simpson) so what sets them apart is how they use it, clearly Mariah is far superior in this case and Ariana can’t mimic all of her by the simple fact that Mariah can sing higher so it will not be the same and Ariana’s diction hurts her afye a C5. And below a D3 however Mariah has shown resonance even in notes as low as an F2 (in a phone call not even a stage) and as high as a Bb7 (important to say is that Mariah can sing actual words with good diction in her whistle unlike Ariana), Mariah can jump live in the space of a syllable from a D3 to a G6 like nothing, Mariah’s diction is never affected regardless of the register she is using and has higher stamina, Mariah has done 55 notes runs in her whistle register right after belting an A5 like nothing, Ariana is a modern artist, younger and starting Mariah makes music now for the live of it and not the sales anymore, she already did what had to be done, she paved the road for Ariana, Mariah does not even consider herself a pop singer and certainly she has more status than a pop princess, she is a real Music Diva (Ariana will probably become one as well, she is still in the early stages of her career), a woman that has created genres that dominate modern day music, biracial, one of the most accomplished vocalists ever with duets the likes of Whitney Houston, Brian McKnight, Aretha Franklin, Luther Vandross, Luciano Pavarotti, Jay Z, Missy Elliot, Nicky Minaj, Patti Labelle, Snoop Dogg, Boys II men, West life, ODB etc, her catalogue is what artists aspire to have, you can find rap, reggae, RnB, rock, ballads, Latin pop music, hip hop, RnB, Jazz, Soul, electro pop, disco, funk and even after moving around genres seamlessly she does not loose her músical identity, you can always tell is a Mariah Carey song, she has a unique signature and so does Ariana now. But it’s a fact that at Ariana’s age and career stage Mariah was much more successful than her and has superior vocla skills, Ariana is in her vocal prime and still struggle with many inconsistencies yet Mariah didn’t, she was not perfect but pretty close to perfect she indeed was, up until today at 51 Mariah can sing under the table anybody she wants to, write the hell of a beautiful adult contemporary lyric and produce a master song, but she does very little promotion and the press does much more in staining her legacy which should be respected as one of the most important ones in the industry because nobody will ever be able to replicate her repertoire, nobody can even attempt to perform it let alone redo it
They never had a real feud. Mariah simply doesn’t like to be compared to anybody and she hates when people say “The next Mariah Carey” for she is “The Mariah Carey” Ariana is a newbie compared to Mariah who has been in the business for 30 years now. Ariana is a good singer, no doubt about that, her diction is much better and improving too, but we have to be honest here Mariah is not just about hitting the high notes or singing the low sultry notes. Mariah uses her whistle in ways nobody else’s do. She does not simply write her music she also produces it and she finds ways to give different textures to her whistles, usually uses it to create an ambiance in the song or to evoque an emotion not just to whistle, plus she can sing entire phrases in her whistle Ariana can’t (We belong together chrus in her kitchen 2020), Mariah con do runs in her whistle of over 55 notes live (Live Shinning through the rain special, The One 2003) and she does not need to reach the notes all the time she can transition between registers in the space of a syllable, from the 2nd or 3rd octave all the way to the 6th and the 7th (Stevie Wonder homage BET awards 2003, You and I or Vanishing SNL rehearsal 1990) so what I mean by this is that they might be similar but when you come to the juice of it and actually compare Mariah Carey at Ariana’s age their styles may be similar but vocal superiority is clear (in no way taking away any accomplishment Ariana has or talent she posses)
They never had a “fued.” it was the stupid media trying to put them against each other please do some research. Ariana is good but doesn’t compare to Mariah, even if she’s in her prime now.
This article is ridiculous. lmaooo. How are you going to try to compare a legend to a new artist in her prime.
Ariana is talented but to compare her to Mariah Carey is ridiculous. People saying Mariah cannot sing as well when she was younger is really ignorant considering the fact that Mariah at Ariana’s age in the 90s was an undeniable and unmatched force that couldn’t be trifled with. Also, Ariana emotions cover was only sung in the studio and she never sang it live from that moment on. She can’t even sustain high notes or even whistle easily when Mariah was her age. Ariana is Ariana and Mariah is Mariah, there is no discussion or argument. If comparing both, add in factors such as their age. Both are unique but different in how they execute their artistry. “Often imitated, never duplicated!”
Ariana is way better. Mariah can’t sing anymore!!
Mariah is “so yesterday” on charts? where you live?, MARIAH IS ONLY SOLO ARTIST TO HAVE 19 top billboard, not even Beyonce, Whitney , Celine or your ARIANA have that
Comparing Grande to Carey is like comparing a cheeseburger to a steal. Ariana will never be in Mariah’s league. Sorry not sorry.
HELL NO!
SHE’S FUCKING NOT.
BY THE TIME MARIAH WAS ARIANA’S AGE SHE ALREADY HAD 4 NUMBER 1 HITS, 2 GRAMMYS AND SANG IN THE WHISTLE REGISTER LIVE.
ARIANA HAS 2 ALBUMS OUT, THE THIRST IS GOING TO BE RELEASED VERY SOON AND SHE HAS NO GRAMMYS, NO BILLBOARD NUMBER 1 HITS AND NO LIVE WHISTLES.
COME ON, MARIAH WAS A HUGE FENOMENOM WHEN SHE DEBUTED, SHE PRODUCED AND WROTE HER OWN SONGS…