I will admit it, I am not a full-on Lamb. Though The Celebration of Mimi on Wednesday night, 8 October, at Arena (Expo) was not to be missed. Here is the thing: when you see Mariah Carey live, you are not just watching a pop star perform. You are witnessing a living monument to music history. The Songbird Supreme didn't just shape pop - she is pop. She's the reason we still belt "Hero" at karaoke, the reason "My All" gets second life on TikTok, and the reason Christmas basically starts when "All I Want For Christmas Is You" hits the airwaves. So yes, expectations were high, and the diva delivered.
From the first note, Mariah proved that decades in, her voice remains untouched by time. "Vision Of Love", "Always Be My Baby", "Emotions", "Hero" - all hit with the kind of effortless power only she can summon. The 90-minute set was tight and uninterrupted, complete with a few glam outfit changes and a stage set-up that was sleek but never distracting. Props to her for one very human moment, though: delaying the start of the show from 8.00 pm to 8.45 pm so everyone could clear security at the concert venue, which was well ventilated, with no commotions. Not a diva tantrum in sight, purely a class act making sure her fans didn't miss out.
While she did not converse much between songs (maybe we are too used to chatty pop shows these days), she certainly did not need to. The vocals said everything. Every whistle note. Every melisma. Every reminder that she still holds the crown. The acoustics were a tad muddy at minor intervals. But when you have got Mariah Carey hitting that high note in "Emotions" all is forgiven.
The concert itself was a testament to how enduring and timeless her music is. Close to four decades in, she still draws a cross-generational crowd who knows her lyrics by heart. The energy was pure, balmy, and a little bit magical, kind of like a late-2000s MTV dream come to life.
Ovation Productions, the Philippines-based promoter also behind shows by Honne, Boyz II Men, Busta Rhymes, and Alanis Morissette, deserves credit for pulling off another slick production. By the end of the night, one thing was clear: Mariah Carey was not still that girl - she is the girl. The voice, the presence, the legacy. Some call it nostalgia. We call it proof that legends simply will not fade, they just keep modulating higher.
(Popspoken)
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