14 DAY TRIAL // Mariah Carey kicked off a 2-year residency at the Colosseum at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas the other night, and footage from her first night has started popping up online. You can see 2 videos from the concert below, together with an interview with Michael Strahan, in which the diva teases some of the props that will be included in the routine.
The almost 2-hour show, the first of about 50 dates, has been received with mixed reviews, though most critics and fans seem to agree on one thing: Mariah isn’t holding anything back with this show. From a custom-made pin convertible with her name on it, to a ski-jet and a spinning bed, complete with a dazzling wardrobe and a considerable troupe of backup dancers, Mariah is really pulling all the stops.
Bondage, humor and her trademark high notes
One of the most talked about moments from Mariah’s first night is the one where she had her people bring a fan from the audience up on stage with her. However, she has limited contact with him, because the “bondage” scene was more of a gag than anything else.
You can see it below. Mariah did pose for pictures with the fan at the end, though, and he was probably besides himself with happiness at having been asked up on stage as it was, and didn’t mind the lack of interaction with her.
The second video is of Mariah apparently hitting all the high notes she seemed unable to hit in more recent performances, which sparked speculation that maybe she wasn’t the impeccable live performer she was a few years ago.
This kind of speculation picked up considerably late last year, after a couple of Christmas shows, when the audio with isolated vocals of the singer leaked online, confirming that she was using a backing track at all times and had entire portions she wouldn’t sing at all.
If we’re to believe the video, she’s back in top shape. The reviewers, on the other hand, are singing a different tune (yes, the pun is intended).
Mariah is losing it, must be growing desperate
The New York Times has a scathing review of Mariah’s first night in Vegas, which you can read at the link. Apparently, everything about the show screams “lazy,” from the minimal amount of moving around Mariah does on stage, to the choice of songs and the way she performs them.
The show is meant to blind you with the flashiness of the costumes and the sets, and to distract you with the dancers, but everything else involving Mariah feels underdone, rushed, underwhelming.
Of course, we know that fans hardly ever agree with the critics on matters of this kind, so if Carey’s 2-year residency proves a hit (like Britney’s has), then the fans and Mariah will be having the last laugh. This one media outlet doesn’t think it will happen though: the very fact that Mariah ended up in Vegas, singing her old hits instead of hitting the road with new ones, is not a good sign.
“Whether the decision to undertake this project was born of necessity, hubris or obliviousness, it has put Ms. Carey in a precarious position - she is in decline and trapped in a cage of her own making. It would be so much easier to turn away if the spotlight weren’t so bright,” the NYT writes in conclusion. Ouch.
