In reply to *NEWBIE.

Ah, but there is an explicit difference between the two situations. There was a compelling story that affected WH's chords. We knew what it was. Her public discussion of that subject was in no way a revelation.

So, if I were thinking in Mariah's perspective: why "come clean about something if I don't need to?" Mariah never had such a scandal/ailment to plague her (as we know her now). People still associate Mariah with an image of a big-voiced diva. Wasn't it Cheryl Cole who just recently commented that she is "no Mariah Carey" (or something to that effect).

And this is where it becomes tricky: after WH admitted to it, it somehow signalled a tolerance for everyone else (famous) to comment too. And she was never seen the same.

(Sorry to keep referencing the dearly departed. I think it would surprise even the most devoted fans how much the the lives of these two are paralleled and yet at the same time completely opposite.)

And if I am to be completely frank, I don't even think she enjoys performing. I don't even think she has ever said that she enjoys it. Though I do think she enjoys connecting with the fans, as proven by the continuous onstage bantering. But that's no big deal. Streisand doesn't consider "performing" and "enjoyable" a package deal - she dreads them and has made no secret of it.

Yeesh, I rarely comment on this site, and I never thought I would be one of those commenters that for some reason leave college-length essays, but this was fun!