Although she self-identifies as "an alto with a five-octave range," Carey has "a range wide enough to cover all the octaves between an alto and a soprano and the agility to move between those roles with swiftness and aplomb",and her vocal trademark is her ability to sing in the whistle register. She has cited Minnie Riperton as the greatest influence on her singing technique and from a very early age, she attempted to emulate Riperton's high notes, to increasing degrees of success as her vocal range expanded. At one point, The Guinness Book of Records recorded that there was no other singer who could hold a higher note than Carey. In 2003, her voice was ranked first in MTV and Blender magazine's countdown of the 22 Greatest Voices in Music, as voted by fans and readers in an online poll. Carey said of the poll, "What it really means is voice of the MTV generation. Of course, it's an enormous compliment, but I don't feel that way about myself."
Although she self-identifies as "an alto with a five-octave range," Carey has "a range wide enough to cover all the octaves between an alto and a soprano and the agility to move between those roles with swiftness and aplomb",and her vocal trademark is her ability to sing in the whistle register. She has cited Minnie Riperton as the greatest influence on her singing technique and from a very early age, she attempted to emulate Riperton's high notes, to increasing degrees of success as her vocal range expanded. At one point, The Guinness Book of Records recorded that there was no other singer who could hold a higher note than Carey. In 2003, her voice was ranked first in MTV and Blender magazine's countdown of the 22 Greatest Voices in Music, as voted by fans and readers in an online poll. Carey said of the poll, "What it really means is voice of the MTV generation. Of course, it's an enormous compliment, but I don't feel that way about myself."
