It s unfair cus Whitney is dead and we all know artists become way more iconic when they pass.
When people asked that question 2 years ago on this board Mariah was ALWAYS winning and people kept talking about how irrelevant whitney had become, how she had ruined her career and legacy, and what a washed up has been she was and so on...
Anyway, I feel like Mariah's probably should be recognized as that. But, people in general don't acknowledge it as iconic, so I think Whitney is the right answer