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December 19, 2008 What Diva Sang “O Holy Night” The Best?
In honor of the peaceful Christmas holiday approaching, I decided to start a diva battle (just like I did last year) with these three different renditions of “O Holy Night” performed by vocal greats Celine Dion, Whitney Houston and Mariah Carey! So listen to each one of these stellar recordings and let me know who sang it the best, please leave comments!
Mariah Carey (From Merry Christmas Holiday Album)
Whitney Houston and Celine Dion’s versions after the jump!
Celine Dion (From Special Times Holiday Album)
Whitney Houston (From One Wish Holiday Album)
Cyndy
December 19, 2008 at 2:16 pm
Celine’s was boring. Whitney’s was ok but I LOVED MARIAH’S!!! I LOVE HER LOW AND HIGH PITCHES AND HER VOICE IS JUST BEAUTIFUL!!! GO MARIAH!!!!
jay
December 19, 2008 at 2:20 pm
uhh..all was wonderful..but i felt mariah was more creative and better with that song
JPC
December 19, 2008 at 2:22 pm
They all sang it very well. But if i would have to choose, then i would say Celine Dion.
CC
December 19, 2008 at 2:53 pm
I loved all three!! they were all different takes on a beautiful Christmas song
L.J. Chaisson
December 19, 2008 at 2:55 pm
OOOOO Mariah hands down. Celine..should could’ve done more…and Whitney..well we all know that she recorded that in her not so good days. With that being said..I would’ve loved to have heard her record that back in the day, but ummm Mariah owns that song.
Eric
December 19, 2008 at 3:35 pm
I’ll go for Celine Dion. Mariah Carey did a great job too. Whitney was a little boring.
Justin
December 19, 2008 at 3:41 pm
Definitely Mariah.
Doc
December 19, 2008 at 3:41 pm
B can you add Tarralyn’s version to the list!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=trBEbnfFKw0
JBizzy
December 19, 2008 at 3:43 pm
Well Mariah did the best. Hands down.
Youngin19
December 19, 2008 at 3:44 pm
MARIAH BLEW ME AWAY, but id like to see all 3 of them chicks sing like that TODAY!!
Angelo
December 19, 2008 at 3:50 pm
yeah, b. scott. you cannot compare celine’s and whitney’s version of this song to mimi’s. cuz mimi shuts this shit down, she’s even got a chorus and everything. its really not fair to the other two, you should have picked a song where mariah didnt freak it on the vocals. this is her second best song from her christmas album (the first of course being “all i want for chirstmas is you”) and the third best christmas song ever! *the first is a tie between the aforementioned ‘aiwfciy’ and christina aguilera’s “have youreself a merry little christmas” imo
Kevin
December 19, 2008 at 4:01 pm
Mimi’s had more life to it. She seemed to believe what she was singing.
Phyone
December 19, 2008 at 5:12 pm
Celine’s version was so soothing; like sit back, relax and enjoy your cocoa, while Mariah slghtly upbeat, more personalized, definitely a step away from the traditional carol while Whitney’s was slow but okay…so I guess ad go with Celine Dion
allsmiles
December 19, 2008 at 5:19 pm
They all were amazing, i wish whitney’s was also a performance, i probably would have like it better. but I think i have to go with Mariah on this one. Celine’s was good just didn’t have enough soul for me, Mariah’s made me get that tingly feeling inside… so she wins. lol
Rob
December 19, 2008 at 5:43 pm
Mimi tore that shit up right there. Hands down. Celine 2nd. and Crackney Houston third.
Carynn Smith
December 19, 2008 at 5:59 pm
I love Whitney and Mariah…their the best!!
ManuelPR
December 19, 2008 at 7:08 pm
Mariah… Nobody can touch her Chritsmas Album
Cari
December 19, 2008 at 7:43 pm
MARIAH !
tima
December 19, 2008 at 7:54 pm
I love Mariah’s version and just to let u know Shanice also sang O Holy Night for a BET special in 2006.
TheMan
December 19, 2008 at 8:08 pm
Whitney’s was more soulful and although hers was when she wasn’t at her vocal best i still felt it most.
Mo
December 19, 2008 at 8:34 pm
Kelly Clarkson! her virsion is the best Ive heard in a while…
Rose
December 19, 2008 at 9:10 pm
Celine Dion, wow im sorry Whitney and Mariah are my girls and in my top 5 favorite singers off all time, but Celine Dion Killed It.
shirley
December 19, 2008 at 9:22 pm
celine dion was beautiful ill go for her’s but mariah was to much for me and whitney was boring
RG
December 19, 2008 at 9:40 pm
Have to go with Mariah… it’s just more passionate…and vocally, amazing. Celine’s was decent…and technically she was on point with the vocals… but there was just an “umph” missing from it… and Whitney’s disappointed me… i’m used to hearing more from her… whereas that version seemed like she was “talk-singing” and then started to belt it out (a little bit) abruptly.
Tasha
December 19, 2008 at 9:42 pm
I love Mariah absolutely because of the pitches she can hit, but I can’t give her the win on this simply because she had helped. I loved Whitney’s version better…..I’ma have to go with Whitney for doing such a good job all on her own! I had to cut Celine’s version off after a few minutes…couldn’t understand what she was saying and it was too flat and boring.
Blessed
December 19, 2008 at 10:04 pm
Christina Aguilera sings it the best!
Ladybug
December 19, 2008 at 10:29 pm
Celine sang it RIGHT and sang it BEST! All that clapping and show boating in Mariah’s was nerve-racking! Whitney’s was mediore, even though I love her and I am anticipating her new cd!
Ladybug
December 19, 2008 at 10:29 pm
*mediocre*
remo
December 20, 2008 at 12:01 am
Celine Dion is indeed the best,she was on que with all of the notes,Mariah sings it with more soul and therefore hits high notes and then notes where you can barely hear her,Whitney used to be good,but not in this song it was to bland.the song is a song ment for an emotion of forthcoming hense why celine sang it better
lilsaint
December 20, 2008 at 1:35 am
Mariah………….. All The Way
Rob
December 20, 2008 at 2:27 am
Lol. What new Crackney Houston cd? Ya’ll will be waiting for that one until Jesus comes back.
LaLa
December 20, 2008 at 5:54 am
all 3of these women can sang their butts off! but i thought celine’s version was a lil’ boring. i love whitney’s lil’ runs thru out the song but ms. mariah tore it down! it was just sooo much more lively &fun.
EclecticChic718
December 20, 2008 at 6:09 am
I gotta give this to Mariah although I think my other 2 favorite divas Whitney and Celine didn’t do a bad job. Mariah slaughtered it.
mouse1996
December 20, 2008 at 7:37 am
Mimi did her thing and she did the best, hands down. Celine comes in second and poor Whitney 3rd. Don’t get me wrong, I love Whitney, but she didn’t do to good on that.
Nick
December 20, 2008 at 10:45 am
MARIaH HANDS DOWN!!! it gave me chills, she KILLED IT! (I agree wth comment above tho) Celine did it rite, BUT tht was boring & Whitney was jst not in her prime, if she were, I thnk she woulda SLAYED ALL THEM!!!!, but this round goes 2 MARIAH CANON!!
j.steven
December 20, 2008 at 11:21 am
MC all day, everyday
TJ
December 20, 2008 at 12:50 pm
Mariah – HANDS DOWN!!! Whitney & Celine’s version SUCKED.
Chriswell
December 20, 2008 at 1:10 pm
I have to agree with Blessed and say that Christina Aguilera has a pretty stellar version! Mariah’s was also pretty splendiferous! I LOVE Celine Dion so I love her version too!
Tony
December 20, 2008 at 4:13 pm
Ummmm hello? You know MIMI is the HBIC. Mariah’s xmas album, “Merry Christmas” is by far the best Christmas album ever recorded by any musical artist! Best of all time! Its already a classic, and holiday staple.
sugamamma
December 20, 2008 at 4:25 pm
whitney is the BEST!
Jay
December 20, 2008 at 5:54 pm
WHAT ABOUT MICHELLE WILLIAMS VERSION ON THE DESTINY’S CHILD ALBUM ‘8 DAYS OF CHRISTMAS’???
Anonymous
December 20, 2008 at 6:39 pm
i love whitneys version and thats all im gonna say!
josh
December 20, 2008 at 6:56 pm
Whitneys version bored the crap out of me
Celine is no joke with holding those notes
But MARIAH is the obvious winner
she SAVAGED the song (in a good way)
Apollonia
December 20, 2008 at 10:32 pm
Mariah all the way!! When she sings her voice touches my soul, lol!! She tears some songs up! Those notes she hits and holds is beautiful and amazing!! I love Celine and Whitney too but Mariah took the trophy on this one and put it in a glass case for the world to see, lol! I am goofy! Thanks for posting B.!
Curvaceous
December 20, 2008 at 11:20 pm
MARIAAAAAHH! Girl put a hurting on that song, the choir, the atmosphere, the lil chilrens jumping and shouting. Mimi is the HBIC, doing
the damned thing. Mariah wins hands down.
Yes, she is the festive queen of Christmas.
Helleluyer.
lando68
December 21, 2008 at 12:09 am
Let’s face it – we love O Holy Night because of the high soaring notes that the song gradually builds to and then brings us down from. I think Mimi’s was obviously much more of a production, and as a production it was very moving. As a vocal performance, however, at the beginning I had to strain to hear her because her voice was so low/soft. As a tenor, I can reach a few bass notes, but not with any force and that’s what I thought was happening with her – I think she started a little lower than her comfortable range in order to be able to hit the higher notes later on as well as she did. Celine’s version is okay; a little too pristine for me, but I don’t necessarily expect her to be soulful, and if there is a note she can’t hit with clarity and precision I’ve yet to hear it. I enjoyed Whitney’s the most. Even with the slightly rough edge her voice had then, she worked it beautifully – low, mid and high – as only she can do.
joe
December 21, 2008 at 12:27 am
Mariah hands down…although if whitney had sang this in her prime like mariah did i have no doubt whitney would take it….look at the only xmas song whitney did in her prime….
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZGBFTGGWqi4….*sigh* i sure do miss that whitney
BOB TUNNELTON
December 21, 2008 at 1:04 am
I LIKED MARIAHS VERSION BEST AND THIS IS WHY,
THE SONG WAS SUNG IN A CHURCH, HER SONG SOUNDED BETTER THAN DION OR WHITNEY, SHE HIT THE HIGH NOTES PERFECTLY WHICH IS REQUIRED ON THIS SONG, YOU SAW HER SINGING, YOU SAW THE CHOIR AND PERISHNERS, ALTHOGH I DID NOT GET GOOSEBUMPS FROM THE SONG, MARIAH WINS.
CELINE – LOVED THE PRESENCE OF THE ORGAN.
WHITNEY – HER VOICE WAS NOT UP TO SPECS.
Mimi xmas
December 21, 2008 at 1:32 am
Nobody touches Mariah. Celine is soooo boring and screeching and on top of that what a lack of soul. And Whitney, well, seen better days
Ravynn
December 21, 2008 at 1:39 am
Did anyone else notice Randy Jackson playin’ guitar in this video? =^_^=
TNT
December 21, 2008 at 10:20 am
Out of the 3 of these talented, yet very different women, I’d have to go with the majority and say Mariah Carey. And I say that for a few reasons.
1: Mariah looked like she was enjoying singing the song. But the choir overpowered her at times and the audience needed to shut up. The clapping and hooting and hollering were a little choereographed like somebody was holding up cue cards.
2:Celine Dion sounded bored with the song. To me, she sounded like she sat in the studio and was reading a novel while she sang the song.
3: Whitney Houston sounded like she forgot the words and kept going. Not to mention the fact that she adlibbed at the beginning of the song. U DON”T ADLIB ABOUT JESUS AND HIS HOLY NIGHT!!!!!!! Then she looked like she was looking for aliens on that album cover shot.
supergirlie
December 21, 2008 at 12:58 pm
Mariah hands down…tho her 1994 version on her christmas album i love better because she doesnt do so many note changes in the song lol But it still would beat out whitney and Celine’s because she put so much emotion and heart felt believing of Jesus’s birth… Fall on your knees! oh hear the angles voices! OH NIGHT DIVINE! It was a holy night! OH YES IT WAS!
SING IT MRS CANNON LOL
supergirlie
December 21, 2008 at 1:01 pm
If you do a battle of the male version…put Josh Groban vs Cartman from south park lol
Blackki
December 21, 2008 at 5:43 pm
U need to ask? Mariah of course! Whitney could have been better, but compared to what’s out there today, she’s still very good. As for Celine, BORING!
bforrealscot
December 21, 2008 at 7:41 pm
the only diva that sung that the best is Nat king Cole
Anonymous
December 21, 2008 at 9:34 pm
kelly clarkson has a better version then all 3.
marcus
December 21, 2008 at 9:36 pm
kelly clarkson has a better version then all 3.
whitneysfan2002
December 22, 2008 at 12:59 am
Whitney’s version is definitely soulful. Mariah & Whitneys are two different types. I prefer Whitney’s though. She is my girl.
lando68
December 22, 2008 at 11:57 pm
Okay, I’m just going to put this out there – I don’t know if Mariah’s was recorded live, with no retakes, edits, voice-overs, etc…but I kinda think it was produced. Nothing wrong with that – but a professional production is usually the end result of a lot of work with the intention of making the star look and sound good, or at least make the audience think so. So even with all that production, there were still places in the song where she went low because it was a safer choice than going high. Whitney is not the only one who has lost some oomph and/or sustainable range over the years. I would bet there were women in that choir that can sing the song better, but they’re not Mimi…and if this question was about who is the biggest diva – I’d give that to Mariah, hands down…and again, nothing wrong with that. As far as who sang the song correctly and respected Jesus the most, you might want to listen again and notice who included more than one verse, but be aware that none of the three included *all* the verses.