Mariah Carey Warning: You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you log in or create an account, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.Anti-spam check. Do not fill this in! === Influences === {{multiple image | total_width = 230 | align = right | image1 = Stevie Wonder 1973.JPG | image2 = Aretha Franklin 1968.jpg | footer = Carey's major influences include [[Stevie Wonder]] (left) and [[Aretha Franklin]] (right). }} Carey has said that from childhood she has been influenced by [[Billie Holiday]], [[Sarah Vaughan]] as well as R&B and soul musicians including [[Al Green]], [[Stevie Wonder]], [[Gladys Knight]], [[Aretha Franklin]], and [[George Michael]].<ref name="black"/><ref>{{Cite web |date=November 30, 2018 |title=Mariah Carey: 'George Michael's death took a toll on me' |url=https://www.smoothradio.com/artists/george-michael/mariah-carey-tribute-interview/ |access-date=November 28, 2023 |website=Smooth Radio |archive-date=December 2, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231202051828/https://www.smoothradio.com/artists/george-michael/mariah-carey-tribute-interview/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Her music contains strong influences of [[gospel music]], and she credits [[the Clark Sisters]], [[Shirley Caesar]], and [[Edwin Hawkins]] as the most influential in her early years.<ref name="black"/> When Carey incorporated [[Hip hop music|hip hop]] into her sound, speculation arose that she was making an attempt to take advantage of the genre's popularity, but she told ''[[Newsweek]]'', "People just don't understand. I grew up with this music."{{sfn|Shapiro|2001|p=124}} She has expressed appreciation for rappers such as [[the Sugarhill Gang]], [[Eric B. & Rakim]], the [[Wu-Tang Clan]], [[The Notorious B.I.G.]] and [[Mobb Deep]], with whom she collaborated on the single "[[The Roof (Back in Time)]]" (1998).<ref name="vinsky">{{cite web|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jisEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA96|title=Higher and Higher|last=Willis|first=Andrew|work=[[Vibe (magazine)|Vibe]]|date=November 18, 1998|access-date=August 14, 2011}}</ref> Carey was heavily influenced by [[Minnie Riperton]], and began experimenting with the whistle register due to her original practice of the range.<ref name="vinsky"/> During Carey's career, her vocal and musical style, along with her level of success, has been compared to [[Whitney Houston]], whom she has also cited as an influence.<ref name="FOX">{{Cite news|first=Roger|last=Friedman|title=Mariah Calls, Whitney Falls|date=December 18, 2002|agency=Fox News Channel|url=http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,73318,00.html|access-date=April 25, 2009 | archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20090604210447/http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,73318,00.html | archive-date= June 4, 2009 | url-status=dead}}</ref> Carey and her peers, according to Garry Mulholland, are "the princesses of wails... virtuoso vocalists who blend chart-oriented pop with mature [[middle of the road (music)|MOR]] [[torch song]]."<ref name="Mul">{{harvnb|Mulholland|2003|p=57}}</ref> Author and writer Lucy O'Brien attributed the comeback of [[Barbra Streisand]]'s "old-fashioned showgirl" to Carey and [[Celine Dion]], and described them and Houston as "groomed, airbrushed and overblown to perfection."<ref name="Mul"/> Carey's musical transition and use of more revealing clothing during the late 1990s were, in part, initiated to distance herself from this image, and she subsequently said that most of her early work was "schmaltzy MOR."<ref name="Mul"/> Some have noted that unlike Houston and Dion, Carey writes and produces her own music.<ref name="James">{{harvnb|James|2010|p=74}}</ref> Summary: Please note that all contributions to Christianpedia may be edited, altered, or removed by other contributors. If you do not want your writing to be edited mercilessly, then do not submit it here. You are also promising us that you wrote this yourself, or copied it from a public domain or similar free resource (see Christianpedia:Copyrights for details). Do not submit copyrighted work without permission! Cancel Editing help (opens in new window) Discuss this page