By the time you read this, Mariah Carey will be several shows into the fifth and final phase of her two-year residency inside the Colosseum at Caesars Palace. During her break, Carey took a two-yacht working vacation off the coast of Italy, which enabled her to record material with producer Jermaine Dupri in Naples for her next album while working on an update to her residency show, No. 1 To Infinity. Whether Carey will return to the Colosseum remains unclear - there's been no statement by Caesars or Carey (as of this story's publication date) that she wouldn't - but for now these are the final shows before her eight-episode "docu-series" Mariah's World debuts December 4 on the E! network.
Promoting the show that takes place largely backstage during her European tour earlier this year isn't Carey's only post-residency endeavor. She guest stars as songstress Kitty on the October 5 episode of Empire, which reunites her with Precious director Lee Daniels. She heads south of the border later that month for the seven-date Latin American leg of her Sweet Sweet Fantasy tour, then has a wedding to plan. Before the end of the year, if all goes according to schedule, she should be married to James Packer, the Australian billionaire she met through filmmaker Brett Ratner.
Mariah's World reportedly begins behind the scenes at the Colosseum at the end of her last stretch of Infinity shows, so "lambs" (her devoted fans) will finally get to see how diva Carey can get backstage. It's a fitting and symbolic start to the show, as Carey's run at Caesars may have been the prime factor that enabled the current upward arc in the five-time Grammy-winner's career as well as the TV series itself. Carey seems to be enjoying celebrity on a different level lately as well. Long a proponent of living the glamorous life, she seems to be playing up her public persona in recent interviews with entertainment reporters.
Carey's been making larger-than-life entrances at promotional appearances, sporting glasses of champagne while having herself carried in front of the cameras and correspondents by shirtless and oiled-up manservants. She got press this summer for parking her yacht next to Parker's behemoth pleasure boat during her vacation with 5-year-old fraternal twins Monroe and Moroccan. She stopped an interview at the annual NBCUniversal Upfront Presentation in May so she could make sure the camera optimally captured her outfit.
Carey was there to promote Mariah's World, and she did provide insight into the motivation behind making the transition from the entertainment capital to entertainment television. "I've done other tours that should have totally been documented," Carey told the E! News reporter on the blue carpet outside of Radio City Music Hall. "We have, regardless or whatever, the best home footage for the rest of my life." Similarly, the lambs attending her final Caesars shows may have some of their best Mariah memories for the rest of their lives.
(Las Vegas magazine)
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