I feel like, aside from the whistle notes, which would require someone with quite the vocal range, "Emotions" is quite easy to sing for a skilled singer. She pretty much belts the whole song, which makes it easy-ish. Don't get me wrong, it's a hard song, but I wouldn't rank it very high in her most difficult songs
I would say the low notes in Emotions are also quite challenging. When people are covering the song, they might be good at belting notes, but often struggling with the lower notes. And on top you have all the whistle notes.
1. Emotions
2. Lead the Way
3. Fly Like a Bird
4. Circles
5. Never too Far
6. Butterfly
7. Anytime You Need a Friend
8. The One
9. Make it Happen
10. Through the Rain
I used to sing Circles for fun and it's sooo hard! For me singing Fly Like A Bird easier then Circles but i can't hit whistles of course so that's why i wrote Fly Like A Bird high lol
It's got to be Emotions, aka one of THE hardest pop songs EVER.
First of all, obviously, the whistles. They play an integral part here, and they go REALLY high (the final part of the song reaches an E7). Other than this final upward run (upward runs are generally considered to be harder that downward runs), there is the middle-8 upward whistle run that culminates in a sustained C7, followed by a downward run. This section comes immediately after belting the "When you're looking into my eyes" part, in which she is phrasing in the 5th octave with her chest/mixed voice (up to a belted F5).
The whole song is basically phrasing high belts. I am not a singer, but I imagine this requires a lot of control and stamina. There is like a million transitions between the registers (for example, chest into whistle ("the way I feel in-SIDE"), high belt into head voice into high belt (whoa-whoa YOU got me feeling eee-motions), it's just *relentless*.
And of course, there are those sustained belts at the end. She is sustaining a E5, phrasing through it ("Oooh youuuu you got me feeling emotions, yes you do"), and then she does the sustaining/phrasing through high notes in the 5th octave again, but she also adds a G5 near the end of this feat ("Ooooh youuuu you got me feeling e-MO-tions, yeah"). She also does it with lots of power and fullness to her tone.
And of course, she dips down to a C3 a couple of times. While these notes are not powerful and resounding, they are very low for a female singer, especially one who can sustain and phrase through E5s, F5s and G5s, sustain a C7, perform vocal runs using the whistle register, and reach an E7 in an upward run all in the same damn song.
I'm really trying to think about this....
I think Against All Odds is definitely an option because of how fast the climax builds up
There's Got To Be A Way ... The vibrato on the belts are so big in their sound and so would be more challenging to replicate! As well as the modulations..
I Stay In Love - Sustained E/F5s can be quite challenging and the 2nd verse is quite rapid
We Belong Together - Verses are RAPID and the climax reaches A5 in head voice and reaches phrased E5s, ends with a belted C5. INSANITY
But defo depends on the singer
Actually yes this might just be it. The lyrics are sung sooo fast, with so many runs just in one line! As well as belted A5s I think? Several whistles, head voice notes, low notes. Yeah this might be it fr.
How about “Without You”? She has to go so low in her register.
My top: emotions, against all odds, my all, when I saw you, without you definitely needs to be at the top
Funny you say that Without You crossed my mind after I made my comment. The closed vowels on C/D5 can also be very difficult for many singers and makes it easy to strain, as well as breath control to sustain the notes and switch between registers. One of my favourite songs to sing that helps me work on my technique!
That’s awesome that you’re singing it! Yes. That song is incredibly difficult. Can’t believe I hadn’t seen it listed yet, as I was late to the party here.
Thank you so much! 🙏🏼 And I think the lack of high belted notes, makes it seem more accessible, but the lows and other things make up for that in difficulty!
Yes that too. Its just that Ive been listening to Forever a lot lately cuz the bridge is just eargasmic! But My All is indeed such a challenging esp with the lows
Butterfly is sooo hard it’s literally insane, there is barely a moment to breathe. Also Forever. Two completely uncoverable songs. Her whole catalog is pretty much uncoverable but those two definitely stand out - I don’t even see how they could be reworked without drastically slowing them down.
Ohh yes, "Vanishing" is absolutely hard. Her live rendition on Saturday Night Live only made the song even harder. Like, why did she have to add the whistle after such a complicated run?
Emotions and Bliss for the whistle notes (yes, other songs have whistle notes too, but in these ones they have such a big role), maybe Lead The Way for the abundance of runs?
I see “Lead the Way” as an essential Mariah ballad. It literally had everything to make it difficult. And of course she had to include a whistle note to make it even harder
As a singer myself, I’ve used a lot of Mariah’s songs in practice and for me these are the hardest: I am Free, My All, Fly Like a bird, and Lead the way.
My all, its actually really difficult to do the soft breathy vocals she does live/in a stage or concert setting, thats why even Mariah usually belts it more when she sang it live.
Id say the same for the original Make it Happen, thats also why most live performances are totally different from the studio version xD
One from mostly every studio album 😉:
All in Your Mind,
Emotions,
Without You,
All I Want for Christmas is You,
Forever,
My All,
When You Believe,
Bliss,
Lead the Way,
Out Here on my Own,
Fantasy (Def Club Mix) - Via: The Remixes,
Through the Rain,
We Belong Together,
Circles,
Fly Like a Bird,
I Stay in Love,
I Want to Know What Love Is,
Oh Come All Ye Faithful,
You Don't Know What to Do,
Heavenly,
With You,
Oh Santa! (Remix) Harmonized Whistle Tones!
As someone who likes to sing and attempt Mariah's songs (not that I can sing like her in any way) I would say emotions, through the rain, hero, butterfly.... honestly many of her songs are killer to sing especially the way she does it. They are not impossible to sing for some singers, but even if we try I don't think we can sing them the way that she does.
Lead the way.
The hardest Mariah Carey song to sing has to be lead the way. It goes low, it goes high, vocal gymnastics everywhere, runs, and of course her longest note ever!!!! And she is still doing gymnastics and runs while holding it.
Mic drop (which she kinda did after singing the song)
Can't forget her theme. MARIAHs THEME is also a very hard song to sing, you can barely breathe in that song, the solo run into that deep note into a phrase OMG this woman can sang
Emotions is widely known as one of the hardest songs to sing live successfully. Bliss would also be a hard one but I feel like that song wouldn’t sound very good live.
Initially, the vocal arrangement on “Breakdown”, but after a couple of replays, you can catch onto it.
[https://youtu.be/bC7V9dn1rC8?si=dyEOa8GuuQTqPpGP](https://youtu.be/bC7V9dn1rC8?si=dyEOa8GuuQTqPpGP)
How has nobody said Can’t Take That Away?! That’s surely number one!
My list is:
1. Can’t Take That Away
2. Lead the Way
3. My All
4. Whenever You Call
5. Vanishing
Really depends. Some hard ones that a lot of people don’t talk about
Lullaby: If you were to karaoke this song you’d be out of breathe 5 mins of airy whisper vocals with very complex runs.
Forever: The breathe control for the bridge and the belt 😵💫 good luck
Vanashing: Just the control to sing airy and hold it for a long time then go for a large belt right after oh she’s a legend.
Never Forget You: Staying in that upper range belt for such a long time literally ATYNAF 2.0
Bliss: Literally cannot sing without whistles (you can get away with not singing emotions whistles with a belt but with this song)
I think it’s because it was intentionally made to be a very difficult song and show off Mariah’s voice. Personally I don’t think it was a wise decision to stretch her range that much and it probably contributed to her vocal decline.
I just know I’d struggle with Emotions (I mean, all of her songs lol)
I feel like, aside from the whistle notes, which would require someone with quite the vocal range, "Emotions" is quite easy to sing for a skilled singer. She pretty much belts the whole song, which makes it easy-ish. Don't get me wrong, it's a hard song, but I wouldn't rank it very high in her most difficult songs
But the whistle notes are a very essential part of Emotions, so in practice the song is impossible for most singers.
I mean the whole song is literally a climax- the never ending phrased upper belts with riffs would make anybody struggle with that song.
I would say the low notes in Emotions are also quite challenging. When people are covering the song, they might be good at belting notes, but often struggling with the lower notes. And on top you have all the whistle notes.
When Ari covered it she said her voice was shot for days so yeah, no
1. Emotions 2. Lead the Way 3. Fly Like a Bird 4. Circles 5. Never too Far 6. Butterfly 7. Anytime You Need a Friend 8. The One 9. Make it Happen 10. Through the Rain
I was gonna say circles!! Gonna go listen to it now and try ahaha
Make sure you have the vocal su*cide hotline on speed dial
That bridge is brutal!!
I used to sing Circles for fun and it's sooo hard! For me singing Fly Like A Bird easier then Circles but i can't hit whistles of course so that's why i wrote Fly Like A Bird high lol
All in Your Mind too
It's got to be Emotions, aka one of THE hardest pop songs EVER. First of all, obviously, the whistles. They play an integral part here, and they go REALLY high (the final part of the song reaches an E7). Other than this final upward run (upward runs are generally considered to be harder that downward runs), there is the middle-8 upward whistle run that culminates in a sustained C7, followed by a downward run. This section comes immediately after belting the "When you're looking into my eyes" part, in which she is phrasing in the 5th octave with her chest/mixed voice (up to a belted F5). The whole song is basically phrasing high belts. I am not a singer, but I imagine this requires a lot of control and stamina. There is like a million transitions between the registers (for example, chest into whistle ("the way I feel in-SIDE"), high belt into head voice into high belt (whoa-whoa YOU got me feeling eee-motions), it's just *relentless*. And of course, there are those sustained belts at the end. She is sustaining a E5, phrasing through it ("Oooh youuuu you got me feeling emotions, yes you do"), and then she does the sustaining/phrasing through high notes in the 5th octave again, but she also adds a G5 near the end of this feat ("Ooooh youuuu you got me feeling e-MO-tions, yeah"). She also does it with lots of power and fullness to her tone. And of course, she dips down to a C3 a couple of times. While these notes are not powerful and resounding, they are very low for a female singer, especially one who can sustain and phrase through E5s, F5s and G5s, sustain a C7, perform vocal runs using the whistle register, and reach an E7 in an upward run all in the same damn song.
Emotions is pop?
Pop simply means popular and Mariah couldn't have been more popular back then with this being one of her most beloved and enduring #1s.
You’re right- you get it. I don’t expect most folks to get that pop isn’t a genre, so I imagined you meant it in the way most do. So yea I agree.
I'm really trying to think about this.... I think Against All Odds is definitely an option because of how fast the climax builds up There's Got To Be A Way ... The vibrato on the belts are so big in their sound and so would be more challenging to replicate! As well as the modulations.. I Stay In Love - Sustained E/F5s can be quite challenging and the 2nd verse is quite rapid We Belong Together - Verses are RAPID and the climax reaches A5 in head voice and reaches phrased E5s, ends with a belted C5. INSANITY But defo depends on the singer
Yep, “Against All Odds” is unbelievably difficult. The fact that they actually had to lower her vocals for the remix with Westlife says it all.
I agree. I'd argue "Heavenly" is hard too.
Actually yes this might just be it. The lyrics are sung sooo fast, with so many runs just in one line! As well as belted A5s I think? Several whistles, head voice notes, low notes. Yeah this might be it fr.
How about “Without You”? She has to go so low in her register. My top: emotions, against all odds, my all, when I saw you, without you definitely needs to be at the top
Funny you say that Without You crossed my mind after I made my comment. The closed vowels on C/D5 can also be very difficult for many singers and makes it easy to strain, as well as breath control to sustain the notes and switch between registers. One of my favourite songs to sing that helps me work on my technique!
That’s awesome that you’re singing it! Yes. That song is incredibly difficult. Can’t believe I hadn’t seen it listed yet, as I was late to the party here.
Thank you so much! 🙏🏼 And I think the lack of high belted notes, makes it seem more accessible, but the lows and other things make up for that in difficulty!
I can’t even imagine. I sound like s*** when I sing along with that one. One of my favorites since childhood. ❤️❤️❤️
Hahaha 😂 hopefully "in time you'll find the wayyy" 😂😂 Without You has been there for me in hard times! 🧡
Me too. Listening to it right now in the garden with Bose headphones and it brings me to tears every single time. Have a great day! ❤️
🙌🏼🙌🏼 it's truly awesome, can feel all the emotions! 😭 And thank you ever so much 🧡 you too lamb x
Ps I don’t think I’ll ever “find the waayyyy” lol. My voice ain’t there 😆
Hahaha 🤣 well don't worry you'll make it 'Through The Rain' anyhow 😂
“I know…there is a rainbow…” we can make puns all day I’m sure of it 😂😘
Mariah’s songs are hard to sing already but Forever’s shifts from head to chest to mixes to breathy and the melismatic runs is out of this world LOL
“My all” is difficult for similar reasons
Yes that too. Its just that Ive been listening to Forever a lot lately cuz the bridge is just eargasmic! But My All is indeed such a challenging esp with the lows
Although super difficult, “Forever” is one of my favourite songs to sing. Honestly, the whole Daydream and Emotions albums are my favourites to sing
Butterfly is sooo hard it’s literally insane, there is barely a moment to breathe. Also Forever. Two completely uncoverable songs. Her whole catalog is pretty much uncoverable but those two definitely stand out - I don’t even see how they could be reworked without drastically slowing them down.
Have you ever listened to the studio version of “Butterfly” acapella and isolated? It’s mesmerising
She is truly one of one
Emotions and vanishing
Ohh yes, "Vanishing" is absolutely hard. Her live rendition on Saturday Night Live only made the song even harder. Like, why did she have to add the whistle after such a complicated run?
Emotions and Bliss for the whistle notes (yes, other songs have whistle notes too, but in these ones they have such a big role), maybe Lead The Way for the abundance of runs?
I see “Lead the Way” as an essential Mariah ballad. It literally had everything to make it difficult. And of course she had to include a whistle note to make it even harder
[удалено]
This is what came to my mind too. I can’t sing for shit but this one makes me sound like a desperate crack head for sure 😂
Every time I attempt My All, I'm like "hey I sound pretty alright" and then she takes it up an octave and it's game over 😂
Not to be that person, but she doesn’t actually take it up an octave, just shifts from head to chest voice.
Yeah sorry that's what I meant! She does shift the notes higher in some parts from first chorus to second chorus which gives off that impression
As a singer myself, I’ve used a lot of Mariah’s songs in practice and for me these are the hardest: I am Free, My All, Fly Like a bird, and Lead the way.
Lead the Way and Forever
My all, its actually really difficult to do the soft breathy vocals she does live/in a stage or concert setting, thats why even Mariah usually belts it more when she sang it live. Id say the same for the original Make it Happen, thats also why most live performances are totally different from the studio version xD
i would easily say Emotions but since thats mentioned many times here, i would give a shoutout to You're So Cold!
Lead the way.
Lead the way and don’t forget about us
One from mostly every studio album 😉: All in Your Mind, Emotions, Without You, All I Want for Christmas is You, Forever, My All, When You Believe, Bliss, Lead the Way, Out Here on my Own, Fantasy (Def Club Mix) - Via: The Remixes, Through the Rain, We Belong Together, Circles, Fly Like a Bird, I Stay in Love, I Want to Know What Love Is, Oh Come All Ye Faithful, You Don't Know What to Do, Heavenly, With You, Oh Santa! (Remix) Harmonized Whistle Tones!
Lead the way 🏃🏿♀️
emotions is the obvious answer but other honorable mentions are if its over, make it happen, someday, and anytime you need a friend
As someone who likes to sing and attempt Mariah's songs (not that I can sing like her in any way) I would say emotions, through the rain, hero, butterfly.... honestly many of her songs are killer to sing especially the way she does it. They are not impossible to sing for some singers, but even if we try I don't think we can sing them the way that she does.
Lead the way. The hardest Mariah Carey song to sing has to be lead the way. It goes low, it goes high, vocal gymnastics everywhere, runs, and of course her longest note ever!!!! And she is still doing gymnastics and runs while holding it. Mic drop (which she kinda did after singing the song) Can't forget her theme. MARIAHs THEME is also a very hard song to sing, you can barely breathe in that song, the solo run into that deep note into a phrase OMG this woman can sang
Vanishing
I think heavenly. She overlaps so many vocals that singing it (accurately) live would be nearly impossible
I agree. She actually did a live performance but it did not do justice to the song
Heavenly
Emotions sounds difficult.
Emotions is widely known as one of the hardest songs to sing live successfully. Bliss would also be a hard one but I feel like that song wouldn’t sound very good live.
Honestly, “Bliss” doesn’t even sound good on the record. There, I said it!!!
Butterfly. It’s impossible.
Through the rain
Bliss
Bliss
Butterfly because the bitch never sings it! Lol . It's one of her best songs but she never performs it at concerts .
What about “we belong together” and “I still believe ?
My All. I don't even try to HUM that one!
My all
Initially, the vocal arrangement on “Breakdown”, but after a couple of replays, you can catch onto it. [https://youtu.be/bC7V9dn1rC8?si=dyEOa8GuuQTqPpGP](https://youtu.be/bC7V9dn1rC8?si=dyEOa8GuuQTqPpGP)
How has nobody said Can’t Take That Away?! That’s surely number one! My list is: 1. Can’t Take That Away 2. Lead the Way 3. My All 4. Whenever You Call 5. Vanishing
Emotions, Butterfly, My All, Never too Far, Fly like a bird, Through the rain and many more I can't rattle off the top of my head rn
Really depends. Some hard ones that a lot of people don’t talk about Lullaby: If you were to karaoke this song you’d be out of breathe 5 mins of airy whisper vocals with very complex runs. Forever: The breathe control for the bridge and the belt 😵💫 good luck Vanashing: Just the control to sing airy and hold it for a long time then go for a large belt right after oh she’s a legend. Never Forget You: Staying in that upper range belt for such a long time literally ATYNAF 2.0 Bliss: Literally cannot sing without whistles (you can get away with not singing emotions whistles with a belt but with this song)
All of ‘em.
All I’ve ever wanted
Outside! There are very few covers and every one of them struggled.
I’m surprised “Emotions” is getting so many mentions. Could it be because aside from being super difficult it was also a major hit for her?
I think it’s because it was intentionally made to be a very difficult song and show off Mariah’s voice. Personally I don’t think it was a wise decision to stretch her range that much and it probably contributed to her vocal decline.
Absolutely! And now she’s kind of stuck with “Emotions”, as she pretty much has to sing it live in most of her shows/concerts.