No singers here, I guess. She may well have a 5-octave range, but singers are defined by their *effective* range, not merely the pitch boundaries of their natural range (including the falsetto). However, Carey is a phenomenal singer regardless of her full range. Hell, I have a range of over three octaves, but I'm only effective in slightly under two, i.e. I can really only sing in my effective range. I can *reach* the outer limits of the larger range but I can't sustain pitch accuracy or handle any considerable length of melody. Again, regardless of her range, she's proved many times over that she is effective in most of her range. Vision Of Love remains one of the most remarkable vocal performances I've ever heard. I'd love to hear her sing some of Hildegard von Bingen's music, she's probably the only popular singer who could actually do it with ease. Btw, Billie Holiday was one of the greatest singers yet her full range not broad - some say only about an octave and a half - and she packs more meaning and soul into her renditions than most better-endowed voices. Range is no determinate of anything but boundary conditions, the real news is what gets done within the given range, of course. Again, I think MC is simply phenomenal in that regard. Oh, one word more re: range and I'm gone: Captain Beefheart is also said to have had an enormous vocal range. I love his music too, but he was no MC. )
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