"One day I promised God that if he would give me my voice back I would never smoke again. I got three octaves back after quitting"
About this Quote
The subtext is self-mythmaking, but with a wink. "Three octaves back" lands like punchline math: both absurdly specific and totally believable in Mariah-world, where vocal range is a résumé line and a competitive sport. She turns quitting smoking into a before-and-after flex, making health a narrative of recovery and proof, not virtue. It’s also a subtle bit of reputation management. Divas are often caricatured as pure appetite and excess; here she offers discipline, but not in a scolding way. The sacrifice is real, yet the delivery stays light, like she’s letting you in on the bargain rather than asking for moral credit.
Context matters: decades into a career, her voice has been scrutinized, meme-ified, and treated as public property. This quote pulls it back into the realm of private stakes and bodily limits, then spins the vulnerability into a triumphant statistic. The intent isn’t confession. It’s control of the narrative, in her favorite key: melodrama with precision.
Quote Details
| Topic | God |
|---|---|
| Source | Help us find the source |
| Cite |
Citation Formats
APA Style (7th ed.)
Carey, Mariah. (2026, January 17). One day I promised God that if he would give me my voice back I would never smoke again. I got three octaves back after quitting. FixQuotes. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/one-day-i-promised-god-that-if-he-would-give-me-82107/
Chicago Style
Carey, Mariah. "One day I promised God that if he would give me my voice back I would never smoke again. I got three octaves back after quitting." FixQuotes. January 17, 2026. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/one-day-i-promised-god-that-if-he-would-give-me-82107/.
MLA Style (9th ed.)
"One day I promised God that if he would give me my voice back I would never smoke again. I got three octaves back after quitting." FixQuotes, 17 Jan. 2026, https://fixquotes.com/quotes/one-day-i-promised-god-that-if-he-would-give-me-82107/. Accessed 9 Feb. 2026.

