From The Vault: Whitney Houston & Mariah Carey – ‘When You Believe’ (Live On ‘Oprah’)

Published: Sunday 20th Feb 2011 by Trent

Whitney Houston and Mariah Carey visited ‘The Oprah Winfrey Show’ in 1998 to promote the animated film ‘The Prince of Egypt’ and delivered the 1st televised performance of the Academy Award-winning track ‘When You Believe’. Fast forward 13 years and the rendition is remembered as one of the most memorable moments in television history thus making it a great choice for From The Vault.

Although many argue that this song was shockingly underwhelming considering the vocal gymnastics for which both women are known, it is obvious that there isn’t a single artist today who can compare to Houston and Carey. Indeed, some singers hay have expansive vocal ranges while other have technical skill but none of them have such a combination of both.

Watching this performance does encourage the question of why Houston and Carey have not performed (or even been seen) together in over a decade. While both women have long since passed their prime, to witness a reunion of the industry’s most celebrated divas would truly be a sight to behold.

Thoughts?

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  1. Matt February 20, 2011

    I hope they will do a song again!

  2. beyoncethebest February 20, 2011

    sit dowmmmmmm beyonce can sing too………

  3. ECSTATIC NIGERIAN BABE February 20, 2011

    TRENT JUST GIVE UP ALREADY, THE INDUSTRY AINT ABOUT VOCALS ANYMORE, SAD BUT TRUE, MARIAH AND WHITNEY ARE LEGENDS LEAVE THEM AS SUCH AND STOP TRYING TO MAKE THEM HAPPEN. YOU DONT SEE PEOPLE TRYING TO MAKE ARETHA AND DIANA ROSS HAPPEN AGAIN, DO U? EVERY ONE ACKNOWLEDGES THE FACT THAT THEY ARE LEGENDS…MOVE ON

    FOCUS ON NEW STARS WITH TALENT INSTEAD LET THEM ALSO GET SOME SHINE. EG. JANELLE MONAE

  4. Royalkev February 20, 2011

    These ladies taught the industry how to sing! Awesome!

    *All New*Check out: Thepagewithroyalkev.b*******.com (where there’s a place for EVERYTHING and EVERYTHING has it’s place).

  5. Dave February 20, 2011

    Why didn’t you show the one when Whitney completely drowned out Mariah’s vocals :D, but yes I can agree with the statement you made. All though… there are some coming up artist who can do both technical & soul.

  6. SHAD February 20, 2011

    @ECSTATIC NIGERIAN BABE

    This is called FROM THE VAULT fool! It is supposed to show great songs from the past. How the f*** do you expect to see Janelle Monae here? The b**** only came out a couple years ago. Y’all b****** talk some dumb s***.

    PS: Mariah & Whitney > Beyonce, Christina, Jennifer, Leona etc COMBINED.

  7. CustomMadeWayne February 20, 2011

    I just noticed Mariah was singing then
    how she sings now, only she sounded a little better
    than she does now.

    But whitney sang circles around Mariah
    and mariah seemed like she was struggling to keep up.

    Although they both shut it down….
    Aww thankx for posting this.

  8. FUTURESTARdelux February 20, 2011

    I feel like this performance was underhwelming and not “one of the most memorable moments in television history” like Trent us trying to hype it up as but i do think the song is one of the best ballads ever, everytime i listen to it get goosebumps.
    I still think that once Mariah has her babies and loses weight she can come back with annother album as big as “Emancipation…” but only if she gets a better team around her and treats it like a big deal. The way “E=MC2” & “memoirs…” & “MCIIY” were handled compared to “Emancipation…” is a joke, during that era everything was on point all the video’s looked slick and every single was a great choice and then after that her team dropped the ball and havn’t picked it back up yet.

    P.S @ECSTATIC NIGERIAN BABE, i love Janelle Monae i have her EP and just bought her album “The Archandroid” the other day, both are amazing and she is so underrated 😛

  9. February 20, 2011

    Whitney has a stronger and voice louder voice then Mariah, but that doesn’t mean she is a better singer. I like Both, but Mariah more is more vocally skilled and she has more range. Beyonce can sing her ass off, but she is nowhere near Mariah and Whitney level.

  10. Stephen February 20, 2011

    Thank you for posting. I love them both. I still think it is amazing they
    even did a song together. They sound very good together. Neither one
    of them is done yet, though, no way! No way, no how, not done!
    Stephen

  11. Shoediva February 20, 2011

    GREAT vault post Trent! I get goosebumps because yes, both were still in their prime or had a good day and I LOVE THEM BOTH!!!! Thanks!!!!!! Those that can appreciate this for what it is and how UNTOUCHABLE these LEGENDS ARE will of course IGNORE the DUMMIES who posted here that cannot do the same!!!

  12. MissImpartial February 20, 2011

    When Whitney sings it is so effortlessly and she is having fun and does not need to concentrate that hard. She just needs to sing and her amazing voice does the rest.

    But with Mariah if you look carefully you can see she is concentrating harder with each word. It does not come across as effortlessly. You can see how much Whitney is enjoying herself and interacting with the crowd and still she sounds so much better. Whitney has better vocal control and the better voice. Her voice is much more soulful.

    I also think after Whitney the second best vocalist is Celine not Mariah Carey. She has a better voice and a stronger one as well. I would love to have seen a Celine and Whitney collaboration.

    WHITNEY THE ULTIMATE VOICE AND SINGER.

    P.S. I also think that Beyonce and Christina should do a power ballad together.

  13. JohnVidal February 20, 2011

    Flawless!!! And neither of them were even in their prime vocally in 1998, so go figure how great they are.
    Their voices are like instruments, none of the people emerged after the 90´s have this. Vocal trinity is the last great vocal divas, specially these two.
    Dead at some trying to compare Beyonce to THIS. Please stop it. It makes you seem like fools
    In addition, Mariah has all that amazing songwriting skills (she just registered 5 new songs after Xmas and being a 7 months pregnant woman…)
    God, they are amazing!!!

  14. Prince&Queen February 20, 2011

    Whitney killed Mariah back then when it came to singing. These ladies will always be Legends to me and hopefully someday some1 bring Whitney’s voice back 1 day bcuz Whitney’s voice back then was too damn good to stay gone 4ever!

  15. Prince&Queen February 20, 2011

    Johnvidal dont start

  16. derek February 20, 2011

    the best singers of our time

  17. Phil February 20, 2011

    Are we watching the same performance? Whitney may have been louder but Mariah completely slayed. Did you hear her runs? She was pitch perfect!

    Both women were amazing but Trent I don’t think it would be a good idea for them to sing this today. Mariah’s could handle this easily but you dam well know Whitney would start coughing halfway through the 1st verse & start chanting hallelujah to distract people from her talk-singing ass

  18. Judge & Jury February 20, 2011

    The actual performance at the Oscars was better.. and YES, whitney won that. It’s too bad neither won the oscar as the songwriter gets the award and not the singers. Totally pathetic. The rules should of been changed long ago so the singers gets the award too.

  19. ITS XTINASDISCIPLE B****** February 20, 2011

    ONE OF THE MOST MEMORABLE MOMENTS IN TV HISTORY ?

    NO IT ISNT LMFAO

  20. Judge & Jury February 20, 2011

    The whole idea was a marketing ploy to begin with. Whitney said in the backgrounder that neither knew the other was to sing the song. She said she showed up at the studio as did F****** at the same time and they asked each other who was to sing. Then Babyface said it was a duet. Also, it killed the rumors that they were rivals and now all of sudden “friends”.

  21. ITS XTINASDISCIPLE B****** February 20, 2011

    AND WHY IS EVERY VIDEO “FROM THE VAULT”

    A DAMN MARIAH CAREY ONE ?

    WE GET THAT YOU WANNA STAN FOR HER BECAUSE SHE’S NOW IRRELEVANT TO THIS GENERATION BUT….

    YOU MAKE UP SOME CRAZY ISH…..

  22. LAMB 4 LIFE February 20, 2011

    Everytime i see this, i feel even more sorry for CRACKney. the way Mariah totally destroyed her…

    MARIAH >>>>>> EVERYONE ELSE

  23. Judge & Jury February 20, 2011

    @LAMB 4 LIFE

    MARIAH >>>>>> EVERYONE ELSE (except in sales!!!!!!!!!). TRUTH!!!!!

  24. Wake Up Six February 20, 2011

    They BOTH SLAYED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    LEGENDS!

    Nothing is left to be said.

  25. Kl February 20, 2011

    Mariah sounded way better than whitney in this performance..Mariah did the low, the high the better belt.

    btw both released cd the same week with this song on it. Mariah #1s and whitney a band new cd, My love is your love..Mariah debuted at #4 whitney outside the top 10

    America loves Mariah

  26. ITS XTINASDISCIPLE B****** February 20, 2011

    FATARIAH AND CRACKNEY HAVE BOTH DESTROYED THERE VOICES…….

    I COULD SEE BEYONCE AND XTINA SLAYING THIS, IF THEY COLLABD !!!

  27. GangsterA February 20, 2011

    i think both of them did well whitney was louder but does that make her a better singer than mariah nope this is just like the xtina beyoncé thing xtina can scream louder but that doesn’t make her a better singer i care about the tone of the voice not just the range

  28. JohnVidal February 20, 2011

    @shad
    I can´t believe how right you are! I see we are not only two or three people here on TGJ taht has common sense!
    @prince&queen
    I didn´t start anything. Someone else did by bringing the names of those lessers. It´s the truth, noone can compare after these two or the vocal trinity

    I also want to say I loved what TRENT said. He is almost always so f****** right

  29. RosaRubbel February 20, 2011

    One of the most precious collaborations.

  30. ScouseHoney February 20, 2011

    I Love this song, they are both amazing singers, shame they aint any one half as decent as these two today.

  31. GREG February 20, 2011

    this was when whitneys voice had changed…if this has been anytime before “waiting to exhale” she would have blown Mariah off that stage….real talk.

  32. GREG February 20, 2011

    @KL, You’re right “my love is your love” was more of a hit globally than here in the states.

  33. Ariana February 21, 2011

    I love both ladies, Mariah is my fav but none can deny Whit’s amazing vocals. This was a lovely performance.
    I agree w/ Futurestar… Mariah needs to work with new people. No more The Dream, no more Tricky no more crap like that; fresh & different producers & songwriters would be excellent.
    Mimi should thank to Shaiman for bringing up some of the most beautiful melodies & lyrics in MCIIY. She’s a great composer but when she works with people equally talented you can expect wonderful things — this was their very 1st time working together and he certainly slayed! 😀
    I’m hoping loads of changes once she has the babies! Rooting for her.

  34. Nico R. February 21, 2011

    Old Whitney and Mariah could sing way better than any big artist today (even if some are really good)

    Whitney has a more powerful voice than Mariah but Mariah’s part is harder to sing. So in the end they are both excellent. Such a shame they can’t sing like this anymore and that nobody can. Beyonce and Leona’s voice are not powerful enough, Christina yells too much. Jenifher hudson’s is too loud lol.

  35. Galuda February 21, 2011

    Yea, this performance always gives me goosebumps but this is the first time I noticed how much Mariah’s breath control was off. She seemed to be struggling a little – in fairness the airy style she was singing is harder to replicate as flawlessly live than Whitney’s more chesty delivery.

  36. Meme February 21, 2011

    Whitney is EVERYTHING…. that is all ====>

  37. Nano February 21, 2011

    Is Sad that the music industry and the people don’t care anymore for “real singers” , todays music world is all about the beat, the videos, the costumes … putting aside the talent, is a fact that we would never have another singer like Mariah or Whitney, and a reunion between them is impossible, I wish the best for Whitney, at least Mariah keeps making music … which is a relief.
    Visit http://yowsworld.b*******.com for New Music!.

  38. JR February 21, 2011

    By far one of the greatest performances I’ve actually seen in a while. There are no artist that will ever be as good as Whitney Houston & Mariah Carey! I appreciated growing up with real singers that sings songs that have a real meaning. An inspiration and tells a great story! Too bad today is all about auto-tune and shaking your ass! Although I have always been a big Whitney fan, I always loved Mariah as well. Two talents cut from different cloths!

  39. Joe Ronald February 21, 2011

    WOW… AMAZING!!!

  40. ITS XTINASDISCIPLE B****** February 21, 2011

    POOR FLOPRIAH….

    AND POOR TRENTISHINAQUALEAHANDRESESHA

    HAVING TO LOOK TOWARDS MOOMOO’s RELEVANT GLORY DAYS TO GET LIFE….

  41. MaZ February 21, 2011

    Simply magical!

  42. Tru Voice February 21, 2011

    WOW, I hadn’t realized they haven’t even been pictured together since this. WHY? There are always event, Parties and such going on. IDK. I’d love to see them together again. It was this show, the Oscars they performed together, and that was it. Like they are always missing each other at award shows and events. It would be epic for them just to walk in an event together and just stare down the wannabes and fakes lol

    Love Whitney (THE VOICE)!!!!

  43. ad February 21, 2011

    Its a fantastic song and Whitney is the MOST FANTASTIC and perfect singer of all time! i was in a snooker hall the other day and this song and the video came on one of the music channels and i thought yes thats the queen… thats Whitney!

    She is miles ahead of any other singer and just is so magical! The mix of her voice, her love her soul and her emotion just makes her undeniably THE BEST !!!!!!!

  44. Matty February 21, 2011

    @MISSIMPARTIAL

    The reason this song worked SO well was because these two legendary women have such VERY different voices, which similar qualities. Of course Mariah concentrates more on each word, hear how her notes are suppose to come out compared to Whitney.

    Whitney had the quality to her voice, like Celine Dion or Christina Aguilera –
    Mariah’s a vocal technician, with a much more delicate voice – If someone so much as smokes in the same room as Mariah, there will be side effects to her voice.

    Pairing these two was like paring a ying and yang, they go together perfectly because they fulfil two different element/types of ‘power voices’ – Just cause Whiney can sing louder then M.C means s***, MC can sing higher & sound more ‘unique’ … Soooo there’s nothing to say but, this is the perfect ballet pairing!!!

  45. MCLAMB February 21, 2011

    “The way “E=MC2″ & “memoirs…” & “MCIIY” were handled compared to “Emancipation…” is a joke, during that era everything was on point all the video’s looked slick and every single was a great choice and then after that her team dropped the ball and havn’t picked it back up yet.”

    Umm, the person that said this I have to disagree. And you’re most definitely wrong about Merry Christmas II You not being able to match up with Emancipation of Mimi. Mariahs VOICE alone in Merry Christmas II You was 10x BETTER than her voice in 2005, which was considered her vocal prime of the 00s – she had both clarity and the ability to do the same vocal acrobatics that she could back in 93/94. On top of that, it was a CHRISTMAS album, not an ACTUAL album you nuthead. So I have no idea where you got the the idea that MCIIY was compared to Emancipation track/single-wise. MCIIY was being compared to ONE OF THE BEST SELLING CHRISTMAS ALBUMS OF ALL TIME, HER OWN. That’s pretty big for her, especially considering the fact that she hasn’t sounded the same in over a decade. E=MC2 was HIGHLY anticipated and it did pretty well, MUCH better than Memoirs, which, if you ask me, was almost a flop. E=MC2 was R&B centric, and although her voice wasn’t as good as her voice in TEOM, the R&B songs were much better and had more rhythm. As for Mariah’s music videos…i don’t know about that. Oh Santa, Obsessed, Touch my Body, I’ll Be loving you long time, were all good 1st singles with good music videos. Everything after those were poorly made.

  46. music market February 21, 2011

    i miss old whitney its so sad that she doesnt have that voice aymore…..same goes for mariah except she has a little bit of voice left

  47. Andreas Greece UK February 21, 2011

    Oh my god….. be happy we have Mariah and Whitney on planet earth….

    ps. it was Whitney who said about Mariah that she has her own thing and its PATHETIC that people put two divas with amazing voices against each other (when they were promoting the Prince of Egypt).

    Its all gud.

  48. Justin February 21, 2011

    MissImpartial I agree with you 100% This can only be surpassed by the performance they did at the Oscars.

  49. FUTURESTARdelux February 21, 2011

    @MCLAMB, don’t be such a d*** i never criticised Mariah at all in fact i think all those albums have been great (I have “Memoirs…) i just said the way the albums were handled by the label were crap compared to the way “Emanciption…” was handled.

  50. OLW February 21, 2011

    I’m just wanting for a rihanna and jlo duet of that song… LMAO

  51. Mariahthefire February 21, 2011

    I love this performance, both did a phenomenal job, but Mariah’s range is utterly ridiculous! That’s all!

  52. NJay Maldito February 21, 2011

    Whitney Houston had already established her vocal prowess in the music industry even before Mariah’s 1st record album sale. Hence, no way to compare an artist to an establsihed artist for half-a-decade already.
    One of Mariah’s musical influence is Whitney and there is no way Mariah influenced Whitney because Whitney’s first years were the during the 1980’s.

  53. THEMAN February 21, 2011

    MARIAH TORE THIS SONG UP. WHITNEY DID GOOD TO BUT SHE WAS RUSHING A BIT. MARIAHS CHRISTMAS ALBUM IS BRILLIANT, THE SECOND ONE. SHE RECEIVED RAVE REVIEWS AND HER VOCALS WERE AMAZINGGG. THEY ARE TWO HUGE MEGASTARS. THEY BOTH SALE RECORDS. THEY BOTH MAKE THINGS AN EVENT WHEN THEY COME AROUND.

    WHITNEY SAID THAT MARIAH IS A HELLUVA VOCALIST THAT SOUNDS SIMILAR TO HER. TRENT DOESN’T HAVE TO MAKE ANYONE RELEVANT THEY JUST ARE TO THE IDIOT THATS TALKING THAT NONSENSE. MARIAH IS A HELLUVA VOCAL TECHNICIAN, AND SHE HOLDS BACK ALOT WHEN SINGING WITH OTHERS BECAUSE SHE DOESN’T WANNA UPSTAGED THEM.

  54. THEMAN February 21, 2011

    WHITNEYS VOCLAS HAVE IMPROVED, AND MARIAHS HAVE BEEN AWESOME HER LAST COUPLE OF PERFORMANCES.

  55. Cesca February 21, 2011

    ONE WORD

    “CHARICE”

  56. MCLAMB February 21, 2011

    @FUTURESTARdelux, b****, next time don’t m ake a smart-mouth comment about Mariahs albums next time if ytou don’t know squat. MCIIY was handled AND received by the public just fine and so was E=MC2. Almost everyone was buying E=MC2 the summer of 2008 and lmost everyone had been talking about and buying MCIIY.

  57. MuahXOXO February 21, 2011

    Woooo I have the hugest girl crush on Mariah!!!!

  58. topaz February 21, 2011

    omg i love this preformance, it shows why Mariah Carey is the best vocalist. Whitney was great as well, but Mariah’s voice is unique. Brilliant!

  59. Neickha February 21, 2011

    Beautiful!

  60. HBF82 February 22, 2011

    Heavenly father made Mariah and Whitney.
    Perfection.
    This gives me life and much more.
    Two best singers world ever had.
    Definition of class, vocal, emotion, talent….
    I am honed that I lived in their lifetime.

  61. B February 22, 2011

    This just proved that WHITNEY always had the better voice. Mariah may have a bigger range, but she has way less control than Whitney. Such a shame that today both are a mere glimmer of what they used to be. After Aretha, Whitney is the Standard for sure.

    Anyway, it was great to see this. Love both ladies.

  62. GREG February 22, 2011

    Im sorry but Mariahs “whispy” sound is a rip off of the early whitney…..whitney didnt do it ALL THE TIME….Mariah took it and ran but it gets on my nerves having to listen to that whispy sound ….i miss the old mariah that SANG….like on her first two CD’s

  63. nads February 22, 2011

    Whitney Houston was absolutely incredible!!!! Her voice is so controlled and powerful, I always say she knew she had a tool and she knew just how to use it! she oozed confidence with her audience! She will always be the Queen of Pop for me. Mariah Carey’s voice was great by America somehow appreciated Whitney more cause she delivered what they wanted, Mariah never could interact with the audience or play with the microphone like Whitney!! With all said and done, those ladie no longer can deliver but one woman who will always rule would be my heart and soul singer Ms. Celine Dion!!!! She has everything they had and knows how to keep it and still make the world love her unconditional!!!!!

  64. DallasUCMR February 23, 2011

    CHRIS BROWNS F.A.M.E ALBUM IS SET TO HIT STORES 3/22!!!CHECK OUT HIS BLAZIN HOT SINGLE “LOOK AT ME NOW” FEAT BUSTA RHYMES AND LIL WAYNE VIA FACEBOOK HERE>>>http://on.fb.me/gM8njs

  65. curygil February 25, 2012

    whitney sung naturally…other singers have to take voice lessons, and choregraph dance skimpy naked weird hair costume ,great music beats…catchy lyrics phrase talking..whitney just sung no distraction needed…..mariah tried to copy whitney….
    singers songs shoud come out only on the radio first wihout us seeing artist name then we can hear a more honest talent…I really liked deniece williams,tracie spencer

  66. the real xoxo July 9, 2012

    WHO CARES about artist personal lives,
    they dont know you! and you dont know them.
    i only follow my faves for music fashion etc, not their personal lives

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