| Saturday 20 September 2003 |
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Mariah!
Izzy didn't make anyone dizzy around here, but hurricane Mariah blew her fans away at Radio City Music Hall Thursday night. During Carey's nearly two-hour concert supporting her "Charmbracelet" album, the sexy singer worked a program that tested the full range of her remarkable multi-octave pipes. She hit everything from low purrs to notes so high, dogs in Elmhurst were howling. And she looked terrific, modeling more than half a dozen outfits just slutty enough to make the boys lust and glamorous enough to make the girls envious.
Those impressed with Carey's recently honed hip-hop edge would have been disappointed with this ballad-heavy R&B concert. Most of the tunes were bump 'n' grind numbers that began with slow-burn arrangements that got hotter and faster as they progressed. One of the best of that style was "Through the Rain", which Carey introduced as a piece about perseverance. That's a theme that emerges in many of Carey's numbers, a theme that her fans connect with. Near the end of the show, for "Make It Happen", she reiterated that notion, dedicating the tune "to those who ever reached for a star".
Despite how perfectly she looked and sang the other night (granted, there were some canned vocals used in this performance), Carey isn't perfect. She's had personal problems played out in public, from dating dilemmas to divorce and emotional breakdowns. On stage, she projected an endearing vulnerability. Barbie-doll looks aside, she was the girl next door who made good. At midshow, during one of her chatty, between-song breaks, she had her male hairdresser come out to help her take off a headset mike without messing up her locks.
"If they're gonna call me a diva," Carey quipped, "I might as well act like one." She could have easily taken the headpiece off herself - but then, the hairdresser's mom, who happened to be in the audience, wouldn't have gotten to see her boy on the stage of Radio City Music Hall with Mariah Carey. So much for her being a diva.
Throughout the performance, Carey shared the stage nicely with her 11 dancers, four backup singers and five-man band. Not that she ever let the house's attention slip from her - but during nearly every tune, the singer made room for her supporting ensemble to strut. As for Carey, she was at her best stuff in a midshow cover of the Jackson 5's "I'll Be There", and during versions of her own "Vision of Love" and "Hero", both of which were delivered during a well-deserved encore. (Yahoo! News)
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