Mariah Carey has gone viral for all the wrong reasons this year. Most notably, for a disastrous live New Year's Eve performance that led to catty op-eds about the state of her singing voice. Then, a clip of her hilariously putting in the least energy possible during a choreographed dance routine became a meme. While no one ever thought she could dance, she had to know all ears were going to listening for backing tracks during her special guest billing performances on Lionel Richie's All The Hits tour.
Here's the thing: although Mimi became a star in the 90s with power ballads and pop hits, she's evolved into an adventurous R&B artist whose most compelling material is primarily slow-to-mid-tempo jams. Recent albums have picked up more strongly on the deeper cuts and lesser known singles from albums like Butterfly, with showy vocal runs used for atmospheric effect.
This approach doesn't translate all that well live, but of course she should still actually sing. When she emerged on a glittering throne to the clubby I'm That Chick, things weren't looking up. The backing tracks were in full effect and those backup dancers that have been lifting, twirling and carrying her around were nowhere to be seen.
But she quickly settled into a groove, as her five-piece band kicked into the slinky rhythm from Diana Ross's Love Hangover. When the disco break kicked in halfway through, she launched into her hit Heartbreaker, teetering around the stage in impossibly high heels and dropping in ad-libs over an extended outro. "Just a splash," she said, pausing to sip a mysterious drink from a large cup. "Trust me, it's very good."
As they do at most of her gigs, her twin toddlers - "dem babies" - came out during Always Be My Baby and busied themselves playing on the throne and looking at a fan-made card Carey had plucked out of the audience. She dipped in and out of the song, and the band slowed down each time she stopped to corral the kids. It's an interesting song to dedicate to children - all about a love that is everlasting even after one person has left the picture. So their obliviousness somehow made the moment as bittersweet as it was comical.
She went all in on ballads My All, Don't Forget About Us and Vision Of Love, her first hit single, which she finished off with soaring a cappella runs. The smokier, lower notes got the most attention, with her signature whistles making only one or two cameos. And thankfully the choreography was AWOL. If anything Carey has become a more low-key and economical singer, saving her voice for the songs that matter and shifting into runs-n-riffing mode on the uptempo numbers.
Lionel Richie isn't the most powerful singer, but he is a supremely confident performer. If Carey owns her diva campiness, then Richie owns his dad-joke corniness. Spotlights zoomed around the stage as a piano rose to view. Richie emerged with arms outstretched - his signature pose. Though he began the show seated at the piano playing Easy and My Love, he and his band manage to fill every moment with Vegas-level pizzazz.
Once you the 68-year-old live, you get why he still moves albums and fill arenas: he's the ultimate crowd pleaser. Throughout the set, he put the mic under his arm to applaud the audience, brought a camera person to the foot of the stage to spotlight some older women who were dancing "like it was 1976" and told a story about a 275-lbs fan who informed him during a meet-and-greet "I've made love to you many times." "That's a damn lie," he shot back, as the crowd roared with laughter.
At times it was more fun to watch the audience. A contingent of Lionel Bros in white headbands and matching shirts screamed at him from the front row. It also helps that this was the All The Hits tour. He breezed through Dancing On The Ceiling, Stuck On You, Sail On, Hello and Say You, Say Me, his voice sounding low in the mix and a bit raspy. But it didn't matter. Whatever the tempo or tone, there were die-hards interpretive dancing maniacally.
(Now Magazine)
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