Mariah Carey finally seems to be getting some recognition from the music industry she has pretty much been on top of for over two decades- we won't mention the "G" word.
Last year Mariah was honoured by BET, where Patti Labelle and Kelly Rowland paid tribute to the 5-octave singer with their performances of Hero and Fantasy [See here]. This year it was the turn of the BMI Urban Awards to celebrate Mariah Carey and her skill as a lyricist.
Here's what the Diva had to say about receiving that award:
Amongst these festivities, Joe, Fantasia and Karen Clark Sheard took to the stage to sing their own renditions of classic Mariah songs.
Performances:
Joe's We Belong Together was a bit "meh" until the closing half of the song. It wasn't because it was bad, it was more that his version was missing that frantic emotion that Mariah Carey captured so well with her masterful manipulation of rhythm and tempo.
It's interesting that when a man sings this, and attempts the octave jump at the end, the real difficulty in hitting those belted notes becomes apparent.
I'm not a big fan of Fantasia's raspy tone when she gets too loose with it, but being an accomplished vocalist it's no surprise she hit all the big notes in Mariah Carey's Hero. Problem is she did so with all guns blazing: you're either going to love it or hate.
Also, I hear there's a half finished pack of Strepsils being offered by the singer to whoever can catch the crook who nabbed her shoes....
Karen Clark Sheard is a gospel singer, whereas Mariah is considered a pop singer, so you would expect Mariah's Gospel infused Anytime You Need A Friend to be a better fit for Karen's vocal styling. This performance suggests otherwise.
There was definite vocal gymnastics going on here- that run at 1.12 was perfection- but by the end she sounded as if she was fighting with the music rather than working with it. If there had been a little more restraint, and focus on the melody, it could have been amazing.
Still, I know Mariah Carey is a big fan of the singer, so it must have been a treat for her.
Like I said above, it's great Mariah Carey is being recognised for her work in the industry, but I think it's now time for the big award shows to wake up and start following suit
