Why does Mariah Cary plug one of her ears with a finger and "mark" notes in the air with her other hand when she sings?

I saw that when she was on that morning talk show, but i’ve noticed other times. She once said it helps her hit the high notes better. I dont know why, could be nerves, but she has an ear piece in her ear and sometimes it slips out i believe or maybe she can’t hear that well and she pushes it back in.

Because she’s a diva and that’s what divas do.

I can’t stand it when singers do that.

She only plugs one ear? I plug both when I hear Mariah sing in hopes that I can keep my eardrums safe from her high pitched, glass shattering voice.

Cause she is trying to distract people from seeing she cant sing

What @Allie said.

I can’t stand Mariah Carey. That woman is the epitome of fakeness and mindless drivel.

I suspect she is using her hand to channel her voice to the ear. It’s not uncommon that singers do that. I remember one famous Swedish rock singer discussing just that. You do hear the key a bit better.

it’s like a placebo. Waving her hand around like a fool doesn’t do anything to improve her singing.

A lot of voice instructors teach the hand thing as a practice device to help you conceptualize the pitches and hit the correct notes. It’s really much more suited for in the practice room than on the stage. Maybe she was nervous.

Because her piercing, whiny screams cause nausea, even to herself. She’s a one-woman LRAD. (Those machines that police and mililtary use to produce sonic weaponry)

[Insert snapping jab against Mariah Carey’s singing in lieu of an actual answer]

I learned this while doing a musical. When you plug your ear you can hear yourself better, and the music as well. So it’s easier to make sure you’re hitting the notes and on key, especially if the music is quite loud, but you’re still able to hear the music to keep time.

Why she does it? Maybe because of that, who knows.

Seriously…the question is not “do you like Mariah Cary?”

As several others have said, it’s a technique to help hear your own key and conceptualize the pitches. Your opinions about her talent don’t really have a place in this question.

If she does have a listening device in her ear, it is because these have replaced the old-time monitors, the backwards speakers that let the musicians on stage hear what sounds they are making. Trust me, when you are playing electrified instruments and signing through a microphone it is really, really hard to hear what you yourself are doing. The in-ear device lets you hear what you need to in order to sing or play your best.

If she doesn’t have something in her ear, then it would most likely be as others have said, to better hear herself so she is on key, on pitch and on time. As to the hand waving, yes, it is taught to aspiring singers to help them conceptualize the pitch they are striving to reach, and yes, most professionally-trained singers are discouraged from using the hand gestures on stage, but I don’t know how much vocal training Cary has had or whether she discovered for herself that it helps.

In any case, some people like the way she sings or she wouldn’t sell so many records, and if sticking a finger in her ear or waving a hand around allows her to produce the sounds her fans like, then more power to her.

And, at the moment, I can’t remember what she sounds like at all, although I am sure I must have heard something by her sometime.

I agree with @oratio and @chelseababyy. I do the same when I am practising in order to hear myself better. I don’t do it on stage unless I am really worried about how my pitch sounds.

@ItalianPrincess1217 hahhahahha i agree, i plug both and run far away

@lefteh Well said.

i suppose it helps her for the reasons the people not dissing her listed above. or it’s because she’s trying to be dramatic. or it’s just a quirk.
or because she’s like the most annoying person in the world, seriously