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Pop Culture

R&B fans shared the best examples of 'singing like the rent is due' and the clips are incredible

These singers left it all on stage.

via Setor VIP/Wikimedia Commons and DefenseImagery/Wikimedia Commons

Mariah Carey performing at the Ziggo Dome in Amsterdam, Netherlands, June 2019 and Whitney Houston performing "Saving All My Love for You" during the HBO-televised concert "Welcome Home Heroes with Whitney Houston"

R&B music news site RNB Radar asked its audience on Twitter to share “an example of someone singing like the rent is due,” and they didn’t disappoint. The tweet thread of artists leaving it all out on the stage received over 30 million views because it was a fantastic way to experience some of the greatest R&B, soul and gospel singers giving their best performances.

To sing like the “rent is due” is to belt out the song like your life is on the line or that you’ll be living in the streets for the next few weeks if you don't give it your all. The artists that appeared most often on the list were Whitney Houston, Patti LaBelle and Christina Aguilera, who were all known to give it their all every time out.

Here are 11 of the best videos shared on Twitter in response to RNB Radar’s request.

Christina Aguilera’s rendition of James Brown’s “It’s a Man’s Man’s Man’s World” at the Grammys in 2007 goes next level when she hits that high note at the 18-second mark.

​The Lord definitely took notice of Karen Clark Sheard's show-stopping rendition of “Balm in Gilead.”

D’Atra Hicks used every emotion one woman can muster in this passionate performance of “How Much Can One Heart Take?” from the stage presentation of “Madea’s Family Reunion.”

Shoshana Bean’s stirring performance of “Make it Rain” is enough to make the sky open and pour down.

Whitney Houston left it all out on stage every time. This compilation proves it.

In one of the best battles in “The Voice” history, Trevin Hunte and Amanda Brown went toe to toe on Mariah Carey’s “Vision of Love.”

Once again, Whitney Houston, this time performing one of the most popular renditions of “The Star Spangled Banner,” a live version recorded at the Super Bowl in 1991. “If you were there, you could feel the intensity,” Houston said, according to Today.com. “We were in the Gulf War at the time. It was an intense time for our country. A lot of our daughters and sons were overseas fighting. I could see in the stadium, I could see the fear, the hope, the intensity, the prayers going up.”

How does Carrie Underwood not pass out when hitting the big note on “Broken Wing”?

Singing a duet with Mariah Carey is no easy task. But Wanya Morris from Boyz II Men is totally up for it in this performance of “One Sweet Day.”

Prince isn't singing here, but he gave every ounce of soul he had while playing The Beatles' "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" during the George Harrison tribute at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.

Teddy Pendergrass’ passionate performance of “Turn Out the Lights” ensured the rent would get paid. Either he’d come up with the money or there’d be no shortage of women in the audience who would lend him a few bucks after setting this perfect thirst trap.

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Mariah Carey hid her mental illness for 17 years. Now she's owning it.

For years, international pop icon Mariah Carey was living with a condition that greatly affected her life — but she kept it a secret and even refused treatment.

In a new interview, Carey revealed that she was diagnosed with bipolar II disorder back in 2001 after a mental breakdown. However, fear of being publicly outed led her to keep the diagnosis a secret, and refuse treatment, until recently.

"I lived in denial and isolation and in constant fear someone would expose me," she said. "It was too heavy a burden to carry and I simply couldn’t do that anymore. I sought and received treatment, I put positive people around me and I got back to doing what I love — writing songs and making music."

Seeing stories of other celebrities discussing mental illness helped her come forward.

A number of other public figures have come forward in recent years with their own stories of living with mental illness. The positive response to those stories helped Carey seek treatment and speak publicly about her own experiences.

"She's hoping she can have the same sort of positive impact with other people," People magazine editor-in-chief Jess Cagle said.

"I'm just in a really good place right now, where I'm comfortable discussing my struggles with bipolar II disorder," Carey said. "I'm hopeful we can get to a place where the stigma is lifted from people going through anything alone."

Carey's public behavior has been scrutinized and even mocked for years.

Carey has gone through a number of highly scrutinized public incidents throughout her career. Most recently, she was attacked online relentlessly following a 2016 New Year's Eve performance rife with technical difficulties (and what was perceived as an odd reaction to them).

Now that she's sharing her story, those incidents are placed in a different light, whether or not they were directly tied to her bipolar disorder. And they also can help to serve as an educational moment about how we can all react more sensitively to public figures during "embarrassing" or "awkward" moments.

Carey revealed that she's been going to therapy and taking medications that have helped bring her symptoms under control.

"It can be incredibly isolating," Carey said of living in secret with her condition. "It does not have to define you and I refuse to allow it to define me or control me.”

Every time a public figure like Carey opens up about mental health, it reduces stigma and increases acceptance.

No one is required to share private details of their life that they may want to keep private. And not everyone's experience is the same. But when beloved figures like Carey — or famously "strong" celebs like Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson — come forward to share their vulnerabilities, it makes it a little easier for the next person to do the same.

Mariah Carey showed a tremendous amount of bravery by coming forward to tell her own story, and she's also doing a service to anyone out there navigating their own personal mental health journeys.

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