Mariah's first stop - with dolphins
American pop singer Mariah Carey arrived in Singapore late yesterday afternoon and was soon in the swim of things - with dolphins, in fact. Underwater World at Sentosa had offered to let her frolic with the pink dolphins in its Dolphin Lagoon. She apparently refused to get out of her private jet until it was confirmed that she could head there almost right away.
But first, there was the matter of her fans. About 450 of them had gathered at Changi Airport's Terminal 2 to welcome her, some from as early as 10 am. When Carey, who arrived from Tokyo for a one-night performance at the National Stadium tonight, finally appeared in a white tank-top, charcoal skirt and her signature Chanel sunglasses, they went crazy.
"A lot of them must have come to the airport to see if she would really arrive," said concert-promoter Stephan Ludwig, refering to her flight cancellations over the last three days. Carey, 30, was supposed to arrive last Friday night. Her arrival time had been changed about five times since, and fans had shown up at the airport several times.
But she certainly made at least this trip to the airport worthwhile for them. For about 15 minutes, she mingled with the crush to sign autographs, flash her pearly whites and even answer questions.
She was then ushered into a waiting Mercedes-Benz, and sped off with a Cisco-car escort to a hotel in the Marina area, where she will stay until tomorrow. At the hotel, she disappeared up to her room, re-appearing in her bikini 30 minutes later, ready to swim with the dolphins.
A hotel robe casually covered a grey and red two-piece, with Prada pumps to match, and her make-up was perfectly done. When she reached the Dolphin Lagoon, which will be opened to the public officially on March 31, Carey asked The Straits Times reporter jokingly, fingering her bikini: "They won't arrest me for wearing this, will they?" Sure "they" would not, was the reply. In any case, this concern was forgotten when she got into the water.
She seemed disappointed when the three dolphins she swam with appeared to take a while to warm up to her. This was the second time she had swam with dolphins, the first being in Perth in March two years ago. But 45 minutes later, Carey emerged from the water looking content and ready to embark on her final quest of the day - Cantonese food.
She tidied up at the Beaufort Hotel, and then, donning a slinky grey number, zipped off to the Lei Garden restaurant at Chijmes. (The Straits Times)
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