Mariah Carey owns the night on UAE return | mcarchives.com

Friday 24 February 2017

Mariah Carey owns the night on UAE return

To say Mariah Carey "redeemed" herself in Dubai, at her first public gig following that disastrous New Years' Eve outing, would be to discount her decades of stellar performances. It would be disrespectful for someone who's earned 18 number one singles so far and is still one of the best-selling female artists of all time.

So let's just say the 46-year-old, who headlined the second night of the Emirates Airline Dubai Jazz Festival, "brought it" to the Dubai Media City Amphitheatre on Thursday night. And like classic Carey, she didn't shy away from addressing the NYE debacle ether: "I was warned about this song, but I'm going to sing it anyway," she said, introducing her 1991 hit Emotions that beautifully showcases her vocal range. "It's going to be New Year's Eve all over again. We're going to celebrate like we should have."

Sure, her voice isn't what it used to be, and that iconic whistle register might have not come directly from her throat that night, but the crowd lapped it up, singing along and dancing, completing verses for Carey every time she held the mic to them.

The show began with the hip hop-tinged It's Like That from the album Emancipation of Mimi, as Carey walked on to the stage in a a tight red shimmering dress. She then jumped a decade back, to 1995, with Always Be My Baby, from her record-breaking Daydream. "Dubai, hi," she teased her fans after the song. "I want to thank you all for making me feel so good. I'm so happy to be here tonight."

Carey then jumped again to 2008 with Touch My Body, followed by the R&B duet with Busta Rhymes, I Know What You Want and her latest single, I Don't, featuring rapper YG, which was released earlier this month.

In between cajoling her backstage team - "Can ya'll please shout and tell them to bring me my throat spray?" - and, praising her lambily (her fans are lambs and together, they are a lambily, get it?), Carey took on hit after hit after hit.

Mariah Carey owns the night on UAE return | mcarchives.com

From the romantic Underneath the Stars to the ballad My All, she fired them off, then paused to introduce back-up singer Trey Lorenz, with whom she performed the Jackson 5 classic I'll Be There unplugged, turning it into one of her biggest hits of her career.

They might not hit all the notes they did in the heyday, but the crowd was more than happy to join in. If the song served as her homage to the late great Michael Jackson, Carey then took on, after a brief break and a costume change - this time into a glittery black number - George Michael's One More Try.

It would have been perfect had Carey also sung When You Believe, her iconic duet with the late Whitney Houston. But then if we were really counting, there would have been far too many for one evening. After performing one of her most inspiring ballads, the 1993 hit Hero, Carey called it a night, quickly thanking all those who came and exited the stage.

The show, which lasted little over an hour, never really peaked, considering the talent on stage. But many, like this writer, seemed content to be just in the presence of greatness.

(Gulf News)



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