Monday 25 August 2003

Mariah carries on

Mariah Carey was riding high last week after she completed two shows at the Universal Amphitheater near Hollywood. "It was a very feisty crowd tonight," Carey said Thursday, perched on a velvet couch in her dressing room after the second night. "Monday night was a fun crowd as well, so I was expecting more of an industry crowd tonight, and I was pleasantly surprised. Even though there were some industry people here, there were still so many real fans that it was a great show - it didn't feel so corporate."

The songbird was in the midst of her first U.S. tour in three years (with 11 dates left to go), and thanks to the scaled-back settings, she couldn't be happier. "I am having so much more fun onstage this time around because of the combination of being able to do the old songs, showcasing the new material and the energy of the audience," said Carey, who had just been belting out everything from "Hero" to "Honey" for ticket-holders including Destiny's Child singer Kelly Rowland, "American Idol" judge Randy Jackson and Prince, who also caught a piece of Monday's show.

"This particular tour, being in the more intimate venues, does something different to me as an artist and as a performer, rather than being in a vacuous arena," said Carey, who scrapped initial plans for a more elaborate tour partly because of weak demand. "I can see people in row 15 singing the lyrics to an obscure album cut and see people with fan club shirts 20 rows back - that makes me feel good."

So what does Carey think of all the star-making television vehicles such as "Idol" or "American Juniors?" "Randy keeps me abreast of all those things," she said. "You know, whatever works. For this moment, those things are popular, so that's cool. I'm fine with that."

Carey was also upbeat about the upcoming release of "Mariah Carey - The Remixes", a dance and workout double CD from her former label Sony. "You get all the hip-hop versions, like Heartbreaker with Missy (Elliott) and Brat and Thank God I Found You with Nas and Joe, Honey the So-So Def remix, but then there all the house versions with people like Junior (Vasquez)," she said. "All those records bring back memories, but they are still good today and I've always wanted to do a remix album."

(Reuters/Hollywood Reporter)



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