Beyoncé vs. Mariah Carey
New feature. Biggest divas in the music world today, head to head. Let’s get to it.
There aren’t a lot of people who haven’t heard of Beyoncé and Mariah; they’re only two of the biggest selling female artists ever. Both multi-platinum artists came from well-documented (and marketed) beginnings: Beyoncé pulled a Justin Timberlake and after leading Destiny’s Child to all-time-best-selling-female-group success, branched out into an even more lucrative solo career, while Mariah Carey owes much of her earlier success to the sharp eye of music mogul and ex-husband Tommy Mottola.
The fascinating thing about these two artists is that they’re not just all-glitter and no-talent like your average pre-packaged pop star. They have pipes. Mariah is famous for her ability to break glass with her high notes, and even though Beyoncé doesn’t have quite as great a range, her vocal virtuosity has always earned much acclaim, even since the Destiny’s Child days. That doesn’t stop these two women from flaunting what they’ve got though; a few seconds of either’s music videos is enough to notice that sex appeal is just as strong a selling point as talent (who would’ve thought Mariah would still be going this road as she’s nearing the big 4-0?), and don’t they know it. Well, at least their management people do.
Tight race so far, but I have a feeling this debate can be settled by looking at how disgracefully divalicious their backstage demands are. Or… maybe not, since no list of outrageous requests made by divas these days is complete without Beyoncé and Mariah. Oh, I’ve got it now – this will definitely decide the winner of this Catfight: arm-candy. That’s right. Jay-Z may not be much to look at, but he’s certainly intriguing, and by intriguing we mean dirt-rich- all-powerful-hip-hop-king. Nick Cannon, on the other hand, can be counted on for a good laugh – he is (was?) a comedian after all. I think we can safely say that Beyoncé has chosen well, based on the Eminem Test: Eminem may enjoy picking fights with people, but he probably won’t be messing with Mr. Sean Carter anytime soon… at least, not in the way he disrespected Mimi and Nick. With her husband’s less than stellar career, her own waning popularity, and B’s sheer overpowering star power, Mariah Carey loses out by a hair in the battle of the divas.
Winning cat: Beyoncé