14 DAY TRIAL // Mariah Carey’s most recent performance, at the Christmas tree lighting at the Rockefeller Center, was far from what she’d accustomed her loyal fans to: though she did her best to sing live, she was mostly out of breath and unable to reach high notes during her hit “All I Want for Christmas.”
She made her fans, aka the Lambs, who form the #Lambily, forget all about that by redeeming herself last night, when she took to the stage for the first of her 6 sold-out series of concerts called All I Want for Christmas Is You: A Night of Joy and Festivity.
That didn’t mean that the night was drama-free though.
Mariah can still sing, reviewers say
According to various reviews available online of the Beacon Theater show, from which you will find 2 videos embedded at the end of this article, Mariah did her best and redeemed herself after the Rockefeller debacle.
Her voice isn’t what it used to be and she did rely on a backing track (she lip-synched) for some portions of the songs or she simply ditched the more difficult notes, says Gawker, but she was amazing overall. She was brimming with energy and festive cheer, and sounded better than she had in a very long time.
Mariah’s voice isn’t what it used to be, but that’s only normal: she’s been singing for 25 years, and some changes are bound to occur with her vocal range. Last night, she handled all obstacles like a pro.
So all those saying that Mariah is no longer able to sing (like, at all, not just when compared to before) are wrong: the Rockefeller Center disaster was regrettable, but it was just a one-time thing.
Minor hiccups didn’t put a damper on a great night
Like every Mariah show, she did her best to engage the audience by talking them through song breaks, even promising them that she wanted to look her best for them on such a special night, as an assistant wiped the sweat from her face.
Somehow, Mariah managed to lose a shoe at one point, but she continued performing holding the other one in her hand.
She also stopped the concert when her mike pack fell from her dress (also because of the dress) and she seemed quite upset with it until another assistant rushed to put it back. Then, like a true entertainer that she is, she obliged her fans and took the song she was singing, “Hero,” from the top again.
Speaking of “Hero,” reports and photos online indicate that she was crying as she performed. This was the only non-festive song included in the set, and celebrity pundits have linked its meaning and Mariah’s tears to her ongoing divorce from husband Nick Cannon. This will be her first Christmas without him since they started dating, so if she really did cry, she had good reason to do it.
However, if you check out the two videos below, there is no visible sign of crying from her. In still photos, it does look like she turned on the waterworks during the power ballad, but in motion, it seems like she was just sweating.
Despite all these minor hiccups, the show was great, as is to be expected from a performer of her caliber – and a breath of fresh air after her disastrous Rockefeller Center appearance.
