She's more than just an imperfect angel

Mariah Carey at the pinnacle of her performance of “I Want to Know What Love is” while belting her “whistle register.” This is a screenshot of a video, which was captured during one of her live performances. The video is posted on YouTube.com. To view so, click here.

HER MOST RECENT ALBUM is titled Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel.

Mariah Carey (MC), unquestionably, is an unparalleled artist. When people in the music industry converse about whistle register, MC is the very first name to emerge in mind.

Conversely, a "whistle register" is also known as the “flute tone,” “whistle tone,” or “flageolet.” According to VocalFocus.com, “Flute register starts usually around B above the staff for women and B on the staff for men. This can also be found a bit lower in the voice for lower voice types.” (Click here for more information and facts about the whistle register.) In the case of MC, she can reach until F7#.


As well, it’s stated on Wikipedia that the whistle tone is the highest register of the human voice lying above the modal register and the falsetto register. The rationale why it is called such is that the timbre of the voice sounds like a whistle. According to other researches, the same register can only be reached by one mammal in the world—the dolphin. Multitudinous striving singers have tried to reach for that note such as Nina, Jonalyn Viray, Rachelle Ann Go, and Lani Misalucha, among others in the Philippine music industry. As well, hilarious rumors that started with YouTube say that Kyla also has her whistle register. (If you desire to hear the flageolet versions of the aforementioned artists, click on their hyperlinked names as I’ve posted. Doing so will automatically direct you to their respective links.)

All of them are good singers, fairly speaking. (Well, I'm not a good singer that's why I said so. Back in high school, the only place where I can sing was inside our rehearsal room in a music school where I took my voice and piano lessons. Even though I have played piano, I wasn’t able to actualize my voice lessons.) The best, however, who can also reach for that highest note perfectly—excluding MC—is Adam Lopez. Opinionatedly speaking, it is absolutely astounding for a male to be able to reach for that note. (I abruptly recall my high school days. Once in my life, I was able to reach for that note. One rationale, perhaps, as I illicitly and unscientifically conclude, is the "missing" laryngeal prominence, which should have been bulging on my throat.) Adam Lopez is in the Guinness Book of World Records for having reached the highest note ever reached among human beings—which is, of course, the same note that MC can reach when she whistles like a dolphin. Thus, in an interview with Adam Lopez, he confessed that he views MC as a threat to his record!

Two nights ago, candidly speaking, I’ve had my first time watching MC's version of I Want to Know What Love is, which was originally sang by Wynonna Judd. This is one of Mariah’s songs in the album Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel. After hearing her own version, through YouTube.com, in a live performance, I suppose she didn't give justice to her album's title. I guess the title of her album should have been Memoirs of a Perfect Goddess.

Definitely, MC is the most superb of them all! She’s a living legend.

(Plus an X-factor: she’s absolutely appealing…)