"Glitter" was a box-office bomb, and now Mariah Carey is pleased that at least one person missed the film. Producer Lee Daniels cast Carey in the upcoming "Tennessee" after catching her performance in the 2002 independent drama "WiseGirls."

"I don't know if he's seen ['Glitter'] since then," Carey told MTV News, "but the great thing is, he's in the independent-film world and that's where 'WiseGirls' was such a great validating moment for me — even though it was totally overshadowed by the debacle of 'Glitter.'"

The singer, who plays a waitress in "Tennessee" — as she did in "WiseGirls" — said the role is a real departure. "The character is so not what you would think. This is not about hairdos and ensembles. The girl's in the trenches." ...
(MTV News)

Yep. She’s still got it! MC, that is, as her fans call her. The rest of the world knows her as Mariah Carey.

Carey performed on Wednesday, Sept. 27 at Arco Arena for her “Adventures of Mimi” tour and her fans loved every bit of it. She sang a mixture of songs, old and new. She performed her classics including, “Hero,” “Butterfly,” “Vision of Love,” “One Sweet Day,” as well as a compilation of tracks from her new album, “The Emancipation of Mimi.”

Mimi, as she refers to herself, started the show in a skimpy black two-piece outfit and a cape. Even though she is 36 years old , she still looks beautiful and sexy.

Her voice started out raspy in the beginning, but ten minutes into the show, she was sounding like her commanding diva self, belting out lyrics and hitting the high notes.

Mimi kept what looked like a sold out crowd on their feet the entire night, with flashy stage of lights and videos, along with her background dancers and her powerful and mighty voice.

A gigantic “Mimi” light sign centered the stage, as well as background videos that filled in for hip hop artists such as Jay-Z and Ol' Dirty Bastard, for her wildly popular duets.

Although she is one of the greatest selling female artists of all times, Carey is still un-diva-like and was very personable with fans. At one point during the show, she asked the crowd if anyone would mind if she took a sip of her water to prepare for the next song.

“This ain’t ‘Mary Had a Little Lamb,” Carey said. While Mimi was busy with costume changes, a DJ kept the crowd pumped while playing snippets of classic hip hop songs. With each change of song, audience members would waved their hands in their air.

She gave several shout outs to the crowd, thanked them repeatedly and told the audience how much fun she was having. She has come full circle and knows who she is as an artist and as a person.

Fans of Mariah love her no matter what. Her concert was all glitz and glam, sometimes with the makings of a Vegas style show. Carey can hit ear-shattering notes, and still flirt with the crowd, as if she’s been your best friend for years. It’s her combination of diva and legend status combined with her down to earth home girl presence that keep fans loving her throughout her career.
(State Hornet Online)

Why I love Mariah Carey - By Heart 106.2 DJ Jamie Theakston - MARIAH CAREY IS THE PERFECT MODERN CELEBRITY - larger than life, glamorous and totally over the top. I think some women disagree with her diva-like behaviour, but without her, the world of entertainment would be a much duller place.

I first met her in 1997 when she was promoting her album Butterfly and we hit it off immediately. With everything that had been written about her I had no idea what to expect, but she was smart, warm and very funny. She's a lot of fun to be around and unlike a lot of celebrities, can really laugh at herself. When she performed on Top Of The Pops we started a rumour she'd demanded puppies in her dressing room and it became instant Mariah folklore. But she loved it because it was all harmless fun, and that's what she's all about.

So what is it that women don't like about Mariah? She embodies a lot of extremes. She's incredibly talented (with a voice that goes so high that only dogs can hear it) but she's also massively ambitious and not afraid to wear what the hell she wants. And I think the qualities that some people, particularly women, don't like about Mariah are exactly the qualities that others love.

Sometimes people don't see humour in what she does, and don't realise that she's actually having fun. I did an interview with her once when she suddenly said, "Wait a minute - I'm going to do this in a bikini." It was hilarious. I know that would seem tacky to some people, but the way in which she did it, coupled with her personality just made it funny.

Mariah isn't the most beautiful woman in the world, she's not the most fashionable and she's one of the worst actresses we've ever seen, but she just doesn't care. I think if a woman were to come up to her in the street and say, "Mariah, you're disrespecting what it means to be a woman," she'd just tell them to sod off. And in a world where a celebrity's every move is monitored, it's great to meet someone who genuinely doesn't give a damn. Mariah, you're one of a kind and for that I love you.
(Glamour UK | Mariah Daily)

Five octaves. Four costume changes. Three back-up singers. Two stages. One Mariah. When Mariah Carey's "Adventures of Mimi: the Voice, the Hits, the Tour" rolled into Sacramento Wednesday night for a sold-out stop at Arco Arena, the 36-year-old singer proved that, despite a very public 2001 emotional breakdown, she's currently at the top of her game.

The show kicked off with a video clip of a rollercoaster with Carey's voice-over declaration that "whatever doesn't kill you, just makes you stronger". Amen, sister. When the singer finally took the stage (wearing a barely-there top, boy shorts and cape), breaking into "It's Like That", the first single from 2005's "The Emancipation of Mimi", there was little doubt that Carey has more than weathered the rocky rollercoaster ride of public taste.

(Question: What's more ear-piecing - the sound of Carey's impressive voice reaching for that final octave or the glass-shattering shrieks of her fans? We may never know.) With a giant KISS-worthy "Mimi" sign, a medley that condensed several hit singles into 10 minutes and an elaborate two-tiered stage (complete with several video screens, wind machines, two sweeping staircases and a giant "MC" logo), the night often ventured into Vegas revue territory. That effect was further emphasized when Carey used video clips to stand in for actual guest vocals. Jay-Z, for example, was represented MTV-style on "Heartbreaker".

But even those not normally fans of such theatrics or Carey's brand of hand-wringing vocal gymnastics (particularly on mawkish power ballads such as "Hero" and "Fly Like a Bird") would find it difficult to dismiss her charasmatic showmanship.

Throughout the set, which came in at just under two hours, the Long Island native exuded a poised charm. Basking in the love of her audience - tossing off coy waves, flirtations and no fewer than two dozen Sacramento shout-outs - Carey was at once a seasoned diva and the homegirl next door. You admire her star power and awe-inducing voice but can still imagine that, just for kicks, Mariah might want to hang out with you at the mall on a Saturday afternoon.

It's a heady charm and it makes it easy to understand the fierce devotion Carey elicits. When she took to the main floor's catwalk stage for three numbers, bringing her that much closer to a throng of delighted fans, the excited energy was infectiously giddy. Highlights of the evening included a saucy rendition of "Always Be My Baby" and an in-the-flesh duet with longtime collaborator Trey Lorenz on "I'll Be There".

The show ended with a short encore featuring "Butterfly" and a drift of pink and purple butterfly-shaped confetti. As Carey disappeared from the stage, her voice still echoing throughout Arco, fans dived to the floor to grab for the tiny, glittery souvenirs. It was a fitting end that seemed to embody the rise and fall and rise of Carey's career. We imagine that if she'd taken one final look back over her shoulder, the Queen of Comebacks would've appreciated the scene.
(Sacramento Bee)

Billboard has published the box scores for Mariah's concerts in D.C., Houston, Dallas, and Winnipeg.

Venue: Verizon Center
City/State: Washington, D.C.
Event Dates: September 7, 2006
Gross Sales: $839,643
Attend / Capacity: 12,121 / 14,199 (85.4%)
Prices: $125 - $19.50

Venue: Toyota Center
City/State: Houston, Texas
Event Dates: September 14, 2006
Gross Sales: $828,293
Attend / Capacity: 11,252 / 11,830 (95.1%)
Prices: $129.50 - $19.50

Venue: American Airlines Center
City/State: Dallas, Texas
Event Dates: September 16, 2006
Gross Sales: $806,096
Attend / Capacity: 10,521 / 11,494 (91.5%)
Prices: $129.50 - $19.50

Venue: MTS Centre
City/State: Winnipeg, Manitoba
Event Dates: September 19, 2006
Gross Sales: $611,223
Attend / Capacity: 8,915 / 9,557 (93.3%)
Prices: $129.50 - $19

Totals Reported To Date:
Dates: 18
Gross: $15,929,521
Attend / Capacity: 218,595 / 232,936 (93.8%)
Average Gross Per Date: $884,973
(Billboard)

The Mariah Hero MB is currently offline because we are working on a brand-new community. We are working hard so we can have the new message boards up in a few days.

Mariah Hero.com will e-mail all of its members when the new community is ready, and we'll advertise it in the news section of the main site. Thank you for your patience -Mariah Hero.com Administrator
(Mariah Hero MB)

Mariah Carey certainly loves herself. Or, at least, she desperately wants the world to think she does. How else could you explain the over-the-top diva screaming "Look at me! Look at me! Oh, pleeeease look at me!" at the 'Dome Sept. 25?

It was not a concert, but rather a Vegas-style circus, opening with a short film in which Mariah talks about, you guessed it, herself. Comparing her life to a roller coaster, Carey declared: "If you don't get on the ride, you won't experience the adventure." The aging pop princess made her grand entrance on a rising platform, dressed only in a black bra, matching panties, stilettos and a cape draped around her shoulders before breaking into It's Like That. Yes, it was apparent from the very start, this was going to be an evening less about Carey's massive catalogue of hits and more about creating a spectacle only Madonna could best.

The M-shaped stage followed the gaudy theme with silver beads hanging from the second tier, a ramp and staircases down both sides, giant video screens (which depicted real and cartoon images of the main attraction - Mariah) and a massive, shining Mimi marquee. Then there were the dancers, band members and backup singers - all convenient distractions when the superstar needed to take a vocal break or change into one of her famous, barely-there costumes. But, unfortunately, they also overshadowed Carey's best attribute - her pipes.

It is almost impossible to find a singer in today's world of manufactured Idols who compares to the 36-year-old in terms of her vocal range, power and technical abilities. As Carey belted out the high notes during her performances of Heartbreaker and Dreamlover, even the most cynical of those in attendance (a.k.a. husbands dragged there by their wives) had to be impressed. These were the moments that made the glitter and glitz tolerable. These were the moments when the star of the show was truly shining. For the most part, Carey looked comfortable and confident, a feeling no doubt bolstered by the near-capacity crowd and she really seemed to connect with her audience.

"The shows I've been doing in Canada have been some of the most fun shows on the tour," she told her screaming fans. In true diva fashion, Carey hit the stage late, but according to her set list, the rest of the show was to include a number of her radio hits such as Fantasy, Always Be My Baby, Honey and We Belong Together.

Regardless of which of her famous songs she belted out Sept. 25, it appeared her die-hard fans would have been ecstatic with just about anything she gave them. As for the rest of us, we can only hope next time Carey makes a pit stop in Calgary, she leaves the bells, whistles and porn-star duds at home and gives her fans what they deserve - a great concert highlighting her incredible vocal skills and career.

As for opener Busta Rhymes, the rapper seemed an odd fit for this concert. Considering most of the people in attendance last night were obviously there for Carey and her special brand of pretty pop songs and slow ballads, Busta just didn't seem to fit in. But he did try, by performing a number of age-appropriate tunes including a cover of the Pussycat Dolls' Don't Cha and his past hit Put Your Hands Where My Eyes Could See.
(The Calgary Sun)

When she finally hit the stage, close to an hour after her opening act had left it, 36-year-old Mariah Carey came out in revealing black lingerie to her hip-hop single It's Like That, and you couldn't help but wonder why she was trying so hard to be young and sexy when her audience is so, well, middle-aged and female. And while we're griping, when did the word "diva" become a good thing? When did we collectively decide to pay this much respect (and hard earned money) to an entitled princess with one talent? Why did 12,000 dedicated fans wait an hour for Mariah?

Don't get me wrong. Carey - who composes her own material, has a five-octave voice and had a No. 1 single in every year of the '90s - deserves to be a star. I respect her talent and like her on CD. But her live show is a lesson in excess, a calvacade of smoke and mirrors meant to distract from her tiny presence on a grand stage, a five-course place setting for gazpacho. Any momentum she wrung from her pipes was constantly disrupted by unnecessary costume changes, and instead of more material, we were treated to silhouetted dance routines and snippets of '80s pop from DJ Clue.

And those pipes, which sound as honeyed as her skin on record, sounded fairly average here, nothing you wouldn't hear on American Idol. When she tried vocal gymnastics to hit those high shrieks, they sounded like wet fingerprints on clean glass, a mosquito stuck in a belljar. Carey did have some decent versions of A Vision Of Love, Fly Like A Bird and Fantasy, and because she came out late, I couldn't see or hear, but know that she also performed Hero, Make It Happen and We Belong Together. But mostly The Adventures of Mimi: The Voice, The Hits, The Tour was as bloated as the title and is in need of a few tweaks to become a much better show.

Divas, please. How about you ladies all stay in that one costume you started the concert in and maybe sing us a couple of extra songs instead? No one's going, "Well, for $109.50, I better see her in five different looks" (or maybe you are, in which case, stop ruining it for fans of music).

Opener Busta Rhymes was his usual killer self, treating the audience to his mile-a-minute gruff rhymes on tracks such as Put Your Hands Where My Eyes Can See, Break Ya Neck, Fire It Up and Pass The Courvasier. The fact that he managed to squeeze out a standing ovation from an audience of mostly unfamiliar Mariah Carey fans is a testament to the Brooklyn rapper's talent.
(The Calgary Herald)

From My All to Fly Like a Bird, Carey nailed every note - A Mariah Carey show is a big date night. Last night's near sell-out crowd at GM Place show boasted plenty of paired-up boys and girls. But girlfriend couples ruled.

Repping expensive clubbing ensembles, they left their b-boys at home to get all hard with their Fiddy CDs and headed out for some of that fine, five-octave range romantic R&B. It's the sound that made Carey the best-selling female performer of the '90s and the first act to chart in each year of the decade, breaking the Beatles' record as the artist with the most cumulative weeks spent in the Hot 100 singles chart.

That was almost 10 years ago. The screams filling GM Place when the lights went down and the seven-piece band kicked in made it seem like yesterday. Rising up from under the stage, Carey appeared in the flesh, mostly, surrounded by six fully-attired dancers. Dancing is not her thing. Unless you call that body-rubbing manoeuvre choreography. Whatever. It looked great on the five big screens.

Her voice sounded fine as well. By "My All" from 1997's Butterfly, she appeared to be nailing the highs, lows and points in between. Plus, the tune's disco refrain that accompanied the dancers' backflips is totally retro cool.

New material such as The Emancipation of Mimi's "Fly Like a Bird" went over extremely well, if not quite as immediately as older hits. This song, in particular, showcased the vocal gymnastics that are a Carey signature and, sadly, have influenced a generation of Idol contestants to mimic. The thing they forget is you still need to strike a fine figure on stage and have some top-ranked material. She's got a lot of it, and the stage design was also tasty, particularly on the centre stage take on "Fantasy."

Toss in the cover of the Jackson 5's "I'll Be There" and you might be wishing you had been.
(The Province)

Only when she’s on stage is Mariah Carey truly free. As soon as the R&B diva unleashed her five-octave range and voluptous hips on Thursday’s crowd of 12,500 at Rexall, all the tabloid tales of Mimi’s controlling ex-husband and her fabulous meltdown vanished into thin air.

At least they did after the intro to her show, which featured a videotape of a roller coaster. “I’ve had my ups and downs,” Carey’s disembodied voice boomed over the speakers. “If you don’t get on the rollercoaster, you won’t experience the adventure.”

Indeed, Carey’s first show in Edmonton was an unforgettable ride of ego, acrobatic vocals and slinky costumes — including a glittery bikini and floor-length, mid-riff baring gown.

Sure, she was bolstered by an entourage of back-up musicians, singers and dancers to distract us during her costume changes — including one which involved Carey adding a pair of sunglasses and necklace to her bikini ‘n’ cape outfit — but the props kept reminding us of who we were there to see.

Not only was the stage enveloped with a huge M, a sign with her nickname, Mimi, in lights, was lowered to her feet. As she treated us to an airy rendition of Shake It Off from her comeback smash, The Emancipation of Mimi, Carey grabbed on to the sign, and sensually rolled along the bulbs.

In other words, she loves to be the centre of the attention — and unlike a lot of rock stars, isn’t afraid to revel in it. You could tell she cherished every minute on stage and loved teasing the audience with her dramatic poses, hand flourishes and come-hither looks during My All and Dreamlover— even though there were more girls in the crowd.

Frippery and diva poses aside, there’s a reason why Carey has sold more than 100 million albums and notched 17 number one hits — the most of any female artist.

Her voice — ranging from husky to girlish to squealy to glass-shattering — is phenomenal. At times, she was overpowered by her four musicians, three back-up vocalists and a DJ, but her somersaults on My All, Vision of Love and Heartbreaker, featuring Jay-Z’s pre-recorded rhymes, were loud and clear. And almost painful.

Carey was one of the first big-name artists to collaborate with rappers, so it only made sense for the diva to bring along Busta Rhymes as her opener. (Though some of the older members of the audience probably didn’t appreciate the connection. At least one grey-haired Mariah fan fled the building during his set.)

Carey appeared on one of Busta’s tracks, 2002’s I Know What You Want, but she didn’t bother to grace the stage when the rapper also known as Trevor Smith performed it with help from his partner in rhyme, Spliff Star, DJ Scratch and the ladies in the crowd. (Carey wouldn’t want to blow her grand entrance by dropping in on his 40-minute set, now would she?)

Busta also chose to make a big bang with an abbreviated version of one of his more recent collaborations — Don’t Cha minus the Pussycat Dolls — and his latest single, In the Ghetto, featuring the vocals of late, great funk star Rick James. Despite his strings of hits, Busta isn’t as well-respected (or perhaps feared) as 50 Cent. It’s a shame, really, considering his rhymes are fast, fluid and funny.

Unfortunately, Busta’s set was bogged down by the endless repartee with Spliff Star about ladies, joints, alcohol and breaking out the classics. “What could be better than Busta Rhymes and the Flipmode Movement and Mariah Carey on the same tour?” he shouted at the start of his set. Uh, more rhymes.
(Edmonton Journal)

"If you don't get on the ride…you won't experience the adventure." These words were part of an opening vignette on Mariah Carey's "The Adventures of Mimi: The Voice, The Hits, The Tour." The past year and a half has certainly been an adventure for "Mimi" (as she is called by her close friends and now fans).

This tour was produced for the highly anticipated and now celebrated six-time platinum CD, The Emancipation of Mimi, which was released in 2005. The album sold over 400,000 copies in its first week, debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 Albums Chart, won three Grammy awards, produced two No. 1 singles ("We Belong Together" and "Don't Forget About Us"), and was the best selling CD of 2005. The album moved the number of Carey's No. 1 hit singles to 16, which places her just behind Elvis (18) and The Beatles (20) for the most No. 1 singles ever.

On Sept. 9, a friend and I journeyed to Auburn Hills, Mich. to see Carey live in concert, and it was well worth the trip. Carey performed at the Palace, which is also home of the Detroit Pistons. Reggae artist Sean Paul energetically opened the concert singing all of his popular singles (including his latest "Give It Up to Me," featuring Keyshia Cole) and then some. While Paul's hip thrusting was annoying, his dancers were very entertaining; they moved their bodies in ways the average person cannot. Before I knew it, the concert started with footage of a rollercoaster and Carey's voice in the background saying: "Sometimes life can be kinda like a rollercoaster ride. It's like you're going along and everything seems cool…So, if whatever doesn't kill you makes you stronger, I guess I'm strong…"

Not surprisingly, Carey appeared on stage to "It's Like That," her first single from The Emancipation of Mimi. Clad in her signature skimpy shorts and top, Carey electrified the Palace and brought the crowd to its feet, dancing and singing along. Next, Carey performed "Heartbreaker," while portions of the music video played in the background. At one point during the concert, Carey took notice of a sign a fan was holding, asking her to sing "Melt Away," and acknowledged the request, singing it a cappella. Carey clearly knows that her fans are an important part of her success.

Carey's sets were very elaborate and visually appealing. One of the backdrops looked like a beautiful countrynight sky. Both the microphone and stand were completely adorned with Swarovski crystals. The stage was framed by a large white "M" shape which constantly changed colors. Perhaps in reference to her "Shake it Off" video, on the stage, "Mimi" was spelled out in huge block letters and illuminated by lights. Carey's elaborate wardrobe included two floor-length dresses complete with cutouts on the sides. Considering her "diva" status and the number of wardrobe changes Carey has previously employed in concerts, I was expecting her to change a lot more than she did.

As a longtime Mariah fan, I would have loved to hear her sing some of her less popular songs such as "Outside" from the album Butterfly, "Circles" from The Emancipation of Mimi or "Can't Let Go" from Emotions. Carey's voice was just as outstanding live (if not more so) as it is recorded.

Carey's tour is set to make stops in Sacramento, Las Vegas, Oakland, San Diego, Los Angeles, Anaheim, and Phoenix now through Oct. 10. If you ever have the opportunity to "get on the ride," you definitely should. It will be well worth your while.
(The Observer)

When Mariah Carey shimmies onto the Saddledome stage Monday, few will recall the teetering, twittering diva doling out popsicles and stripping as a stupefied Carson Daly gawked on in disbelief.

But at the time, a mere five years ago, the meltdown on MTV's Total Request Live -- after which she was hospitalized for extreme cleavage, er, sorry "exhaustion" -- had all the makings of a spectacularly ungraceful swan song to an until-then gold-plated career.

"I just want one day off when I can go swimming and eat ice cream and look at rainbows," she told Daly. Yes, Mariah, don't we all. But coming off her notorious flop Glitter, there would be few days of ice creams and rainbows ahead for the free-falling superstar. The following year, Virgin Records bought out her contract for a reported $28 million US. And her follow-up album Charmbracelet was appropriately charmless.

Given this, few would have foreseen that, with the release of 2005's The Emancipation of Mimi, Carey would find herself once again catapulted to Grammy-grabbin' chart-topping heights. Carey had survived choppy waters before, of course -- notably her marriage and divorce to Sony boss Tommy Mottola, which in turn led to her transformative Butterfly album on which she first dipped daintily into urban hip-hop sounds.

But with Mimi, she proved there's hope even for the most-beleaguered of stars (cue Lindsay Lohan) to wipe the slate clean and start anew on the cycle of celebrity. Comeback glory is only a few key self-help steps away.

Disappear: Absence makes the heart grow fonder after you've mixed popsicles and stripping -- two great tastes that should never go together. Wisely, after the hyper-publicized meltdown suffered by the songstress and her breasts, she did what every celebrity needs to do after skydiving off the deep end. She went away.

Don't stretch: Carey's career rocketed off the rails shortly after she ventured onto the big screen with Glitter, a movie so bad it was like porn without the nudity. The result? It plunged faster than one of her necklines. With The Emancipation Of Mimi, Carey wasn't attempting anything new or inventive. Rather, the New Mariah was very much the Old Mariah -- albeit with considerably more jiggle and junk -- retrenching herself as pop's reigning diva in the face of such whippersnappers as Kelly Clarkson.

Keep your private life private: Although Carey has been romantically linked at one time or another -- falsely or not -- to everyone from Eminem to Vin Diesel, she has managed to avoid a Bennifer-sized debacle, although one wonders what name would have been granted to either union. Miminem? Viniah?

Don't marry Bobby Brown: No one should really have to be told this, of course. But then, that's probably what Whitney Houston's family said to themselves 15 years ago.

Remember you're a star: Stars are North America's royalty, of course. No princes or kings here, just movie and rock stars. So while, yes, everyone loves to see celebrities without make-up or grovelling for redemption (get ready for your close-up, Mel Gibson), they also like to see them behave in such a way that justifies their extravagant lifestyles. Unlike, say, Britney Spears, Carey's wealth fits her as snugly as the teensy-weensy, diamond-studded Underoos she shrink-wraps her voluminous self in.

Know people are fickle: And that, as much as they'll love to see you comeback, they'll also enjoy seeing you shredded -- hence, recent stories deriding Carey's choice of concert wardrobe (black bra and cape, apparently) and questioning her popularity considering sluggish sales in some U.S. and Canadian markets. What Carey knows through experience is that all she has to do is last for a couple more years. By then, it'll be just about time for a comeback.
(JAM! Music)

SUPERSTAR Mariah Carey showed off two of her biggest assets at the MTS Centre last night: her powerful vocals and her dancing skills. The 36-year-old diva's first local appearance was a full-on spectacle of glitter and glamour as Carey dazzled a crowd of 10,000 fans -- covering a surprisingly wide demographic, male and female, young and old --on her comeback Adventures of Mimi Tour.

After suffering a very public breakdown following the flop of her debut movie Glitter, the most successful female artist of the 1990s roared back to the top of the pop world with last year's Emancipation of Mimi, the top-selling album of 2006 with over six-million units sold so far.

The crazy Carey days of 2001 -- when she famously pranced around MTV handing out popsicles dressed only in a T-shirt and posted bizarre messages on her website -- are over and these days the surgically enhanced diva with the fake tan is back prancing around stages all over the world dressed in other skimpy outfits.

She addressed the ebbs and flows of her 16-year career during an opening video featuring a roller coaster with a voice-over about life's ups and downs before Carey took the stage to the club-thumping sounds of the first track from the new album, It's Like That, dressed only in a sparkling black bra and panty combo, high heels and a cape. She was surrounded by four dancers with flashlights who whirled around her on the top of a two-tiered stage flanked by two winding staircases which led down to the main-tier where her four-piece band played.

Carey seemed comfortable in the lingerie -- she obviously wasn't hanging outside yesterday -- and remained nearly naked for the hit Heartbreaker off 1999's Rainbow. The disco-esque number was the first of many times Carey would show off her multi-octave range and vocal hysterics; she has an amazing voice, but sometimes the high-pitched squeal she belts out is simply annoying. Think of the sound a cat makes when its tail is stepped on and you have a good idea of the shrieks Carey is fond of making. She kept up the vocal gymnastics on Dreamlover, but through binoculars in the press box Carey's own backing vocals being played through the P.A. made it appear she was lip-synching at times.

She turned the microphone on to slow things down for the sultry R&B of 1997's My All before a giant Kiss-inspired lighted Mimi sign dropped from the rafters for the funky slow-burner Shake it Off with Carey prowling across the stage while her dance crew twisted around her.

Then she was gone to change and D.J. Clue kept the crowd interested with some old dance floor standards before the star returned dressed in a skin-tight diamond-studded full-length canary yellow gown with a sliver of fabric connecting the bodice to the bottom, still revealing the sides of her trim stomach and back, to deliver her 1990 breakthrough single Vision of Love, another ballad which showcased her outstanding range.

Because the show started almost half-an-hour late press time came in the middle of the Jackson 5 tear-jerker I'll Be There with Trey Lorenz. She had been following the setlist of her most recent shows, so fans could still expect three songs on a B-stage in the middle of the arena floor, a medley of old hits and at least two more costume changes.

Rapper Busta Rhymes started the night with a 45-minute set of commercially friendly hip-hop which included plenty of crowd interaction and a censored version of his hit I Love My B--h.

Rhymes, joined by fellow rapper Spliff Star and a DJ both wearing identical black and white shirts decorated with the name of his latest album, spoke almost as much as he rapped, spewing out gibberish about the hot girls in the crowd and other sexual innuendoes which got the audience screaming and shouting along.
(Winnipeg Free Press)

After spending an impressive 74 consecutive weeks on The Billboard 200, "The Emancipation of Mimi" has fallen off the chart. Below is a look at Mariah's albums and the number of weeks each spent on Billboard's top 200 albums chart. Collectively, Mariah's albums total an astonishing 722 weeks on The Billboard 200. That's nearly the equivalent of 14 years spent on the chart!

Mariah Carey: 113 weeks
Emotions: 54 weeks
MTV Unplugged EP: 57 weeks
Music Box: 128 weeks
Merry Christmas: 13 weeks
Daydream: 81 weeks
Butterfly: 55 weeks
#1s: 62 weeks
Rainbow: 35 weeks
Glitter: 12 weeks
Greatest Hits: 11 weeks
Charmbracelet: 22 weeks
The Remixes: 5 weeks
The Emancipation of Mimi: 74 weeks

(Mariah Daily)

The voice, the hits . . . the body. When it comes to Mariah Carey’s best assets, local R&B fans got an earful—and eyeful—at the MTS Centre Tuesday night as America’s most diva-licious export descended on downtown Winnipeg.

Nearly two hours after her dramatic ascent through the upper level of the main stage, curvy Carey had packed over 15 hit songs, five costume changes, and a sneaky strut to the secondary stage into her MTS Centre performance. Add half-a-dozen dancers, a trio of background vocalists, and a handful of musicians to the mix, and this Adventures of Mimi tour stop was as busy as the singer’s glittery get-ups.

Dressed like a Victoria’s Secret super-villain, Mariah opened up her set with “It’s Like That” from 2005’s The Emancipation of Mimi. Within the first four songs, the 36-year-old had delivered hits of three distinct flavours: the hip-hop “It’s Like That,” pop-y “Heartbreaker” and “Dreamlover,” and the dreamy ballad “My All.”

After praising the home of Winnie the Pooh in her first chat with the crowd, Carey flowed effortlessly—and sometimes breathlessly—between songs, sharing stories with the crowd of 10,000 or casually applying lip gloss by the glow of a mini-flashlight.

Alternating sexy, leg-baring mini-clothes (skirts, shorts, does it really matter?) with colourful, belly-baring gowns, Mariah’s got the diva thing down pat. Headlining a Carey-quality concert can’t be easy, but it helps when you’ve got high notes, high heels, and hot spotlights on your side.

Mariah’s mile-high vocals and girly gowns contrasted nicely with Busta Rhymes’ deep bass, back-to-basics opening act. Sampling a decade of studio albums, the New York native opened the show with 45-minutes of catchy beats and call-and-answer interaction with the crowd.

Promoting his newest release The Big Bang, Busta hit the stage in black and white Big Bang gear alongside loyal (and matching) rapper sidekick Spliff Star. The surprisingly chatty duo kept it clean for the young crowd, delivering fun, PG performances of big hits “I Love My Chick,” “Touch It,” and the Pussy Cat Dolls’ “Don’t Cha.”
(MTS Centre)

Mariah throws one helluva of girls' night. Even sans the lime-garnished Cosmos, Mariah Carey knows how to put on a helluva girls' night.

The main ingredient? Herself, of course. Because everyone knows tabloid queens (hate 'em if you will) make the best -- if not, most interesting -- party hosts. Especially when they have a past as gossip-worthy as R&B diva Carey, whose wardrobe malfunctions, marital decisions and hospitalization for "exhaustion" have made her the curvaceous butt of many headlines.

But the diva gave her 10,000 mostly-female fans little opportunity to whisper snidely about Mimi's less-than-perfect past at the MTS Centre last night, thanks to a little something called The Voice. Fashionable Late: Gliding from a hole in the stage a fashionable 20 minutes late, Carey opened with It's Like That off her much-lauded triple Grammy-winner The Emancipation of Mimi. Not that it mattered what she was singing. The honey-skinned hottie exposed less Voice and more of herself in her first track, where she sexily sauntered around in a sparkly black bikini top, boy shorts and cape. Finally, she's found a good use for glitter.

Carey kept the tempo up for the next track, 1999's Heartbreaker, but kept down her stage pace, strutting her stilettos down a flight of stairs while a group of backup dancers did the sweaty work. Music Box smash Dreamlover called for more octaves, and Carey -- and her three backup singers -- delivered. But even so, The Voice was often overruled by the excessive stage show. At times, Mimi was a mere speck on the multi-level platform with black and gold decor, surrounded by three large screens. Carey's first spoken words were about Winnie the Pooh. Turns out she hadn't heard of the beloved Disney's bear's Winnipeg origins until yesterday (Like, who in Hollywood has?) and would be honoured if anyone passed on any Pooh memorabilia they had on hand.

At press time, the word "Mimi" was glowing across centre stage in flashy, illuminated letters, and Carey had nabbed a chic pair of shades backstage for current club pumper, Shake It Off. According to a setlist, she was still expected to run through her hefty catalogue of No. 1 monster hits, including Fantasy, Always Be My Baby and Honey as well as Mimi ballad We Belong Together and several costume changes.

Dancable Hip-Hop: Earlier, rapper Busta Rhymes courted Carey's fans with a 40-minute set of danceable hip-hop appropriately aimed at his headliner's female following. A cover of the Pussycat Dolls' Don't Cha, a censored version of radio rotator I Love My B**** off this year's The Big Bang and endless praising of the 'Peg's "sexy ladies" got Rhymes and sidekick Spliff Star in the girly good books, while past hits Break Ya Neck, Put Your Hands Where My Eyes Could See and plenty of (OK, too much) between-tune gibber jabber filled out the set.
(The Winnipeg Sun)

"MIAMI," MARIAH CAREY says, "is not an easy place to begin a tour." It’s nearly two hours into the sold-out first night of The Adventures of Mimi tour, and for carey- looking elegant but weary in a skintight turquoise gown- the show has been a not-always-excellent adventure.

There have been missed lighting cues, bungled dance moves and uncomfortable pauses while Carey scuttles to the edge of the stage to sip water through a straw. She spends nearly half of "Dreamlover" entreating the techies to turn on giant stage-side fans ("Where are my fans? I need a moment, here!"), knocks her sunglasses askew during "Fantasy" before whipping them disconsolately into the crowd and appears to be singing the wrong vocal part over a backing track in "Don’t Forget About Us." Throughout the night, she fiddles with her earpiece, at one point begging her sound crew, "If I have to wear this thing, could you please make sure the volume is turned up nice and loud?"

None of these glitches seem to bother the adoring audience at the American Airliens Arena. It’s a notably young crowd- homegirls and their boyfriends, South Beach clubbers, gay couples- proof positive that with the blockbuster The Emancipation of Mimi album, Carey has shed her old Adult Contemporary image and become a hip-hop soul diva. (Some of the biggest cheers of the evening come during the costume-change interludes, when Carey’s turntablist DJ Clue spins rap hits like T.I.’s "What You Know" and hometown-hero Rick Ross’s "Hustlin§.")

Carey has certainly given her fans a spectacle. The stage set features a curving, opera-house-style staircase, three monster video screens and an enormous light-sculpture spelling out MIMI. there are six hyperactive dancers, video cameos by famous rappers (Jay-Z, Ol’ Dirty Bastard, Jermaine Dupri) and a gratuitous appearance by a full fospel choir, who pour out onstage in white robes to sing a few- very few- bars of the set-closing "Make it Happen." Like all good MTV divas, Carey spends much of the show backstage changing clothes. She sports eight different outfits during the concert, oging from skimpy lingerie (a black bikini with boy-short bottoms and a chiffon cape) to a hood-goddess ensemble (painted-on Capri jeans with a bling-encrusted halter top and matching shades) to red-carpet formalwear (those sweeping evening gowns).

Visual razzle-dazzle makes sense for Carey rivals like Madonna or Janet Jackson, whose vocal chops are dubious to begin with. But carey is a five-octave-range singing superhero; the multi-media glitz feels like a distraction, and Carey sure seems uncomfortable executing tightly choreographed routines surrounded by hoofers half her age. (You can practically see her counting off her steps in the slinky "Shake it Off.")

But strangely, Carey’s obvious nerves and the opening-night kings add to the show’s charms. She has never projected the froideur of Madonna or Beyonce. She’s the neurotic, human-size diva, the woman who made the god-awful Glitter and suffered a highly-publicized crack-up bot bounced back 2005 to trounce the competition with her best record yet. The concert opens with video footage of a roller coaster and a melodramatic Carey voiceover proclaiming: "My life has been like a roller coaster... I’ve had my ups and downs... and I’ve found a deeper kind of truth." The show replicates that arc in miniature, moving through tribulations, muffed production numbers and near-nervous breakdowns, arriving at something like transcendence.

Which in this case means the big, gospel-flavored MOR ballads that have earned Carey more No. 1 hits than anyone besides Elvis presley and the Beatles. Songs like "One Sweet Day" and "Fly Like a Bird" liberate Carey from choreography, letting her rear back and deliver ethereal high notes and great gusts of melisma. Carey’s sheer vocal prowess redeems even the schlockiest material, like the self-esteem anthen "Hero," the evening’s big sing-along. The show climaxes with "We Belong Together," a song that perfectly integrates her old ballad singing style with the sleek syncopations of hip-hop-inflected R&B. In an arena thronged with Mariah diehards, more than a few of whom are openly weeping, the song plays less like a breakup ballad than a pledge of devotion between the superstar and audience. "I love each and every one of you!" Carey cries at the song’s end. It’s the oldest, smarmiest line in the showbiz book, but on this anxious night, it sounds totally sincere. - JUDY ROSEN
(Mariah Carey.com)

The new album from Trey “Mimi Presents Trey Lorenz – Mr. Mista” comes out on September 19th, 2006.

Trey was born in Florence, South Carolina on January 19th, 1969. His father is Lloyd Lorenz, the director of a local job-training program and his mother Bernice, a history teacher at local Wilson High. Both parents and Trey sang in church. Trey learned to read music through a brief stretch of piano lessons.

During his freshman and sophomore years lending vocals and keyboards to the Players, a Top 40 band whose set list rambled from the Romantics to the Ramones. When Trey met Mariah, he was in his junior year at Farleigh Dickinson University, majoring in advertising, and he had been in a group called "Squeak & the Deep," but only lasted a short time; Trey says "we were only together for a minute!"

"I met Trey in February 1990," says Carey, "when I was working on my first album. I was recording a song called "There’s Got To Be A Way," and one of the backup singers was friends with Trey and had brought him down to the studio for the session. I heard someone singing all the high, top notes with me and I’m like, `Who is that?’ I turned around and it was Trey. It was the beginning of a beautiful friendship."

Since then Trey has been touring with Mariah Carey as her backup singer, since her first promotional tour in 1990, for her debut album, `Mariah Carey.’ Not only touring, Trey has written songs with Mariah and they have become very close friends.

Trey shot to fame in 1992 when sang with Mariah on `MTV Unplugged.’ Trey did his normal back-up singing for Mariah, but on he stepped up to do a duet with Mariah Carey on the song "I’ll Be There." Trey displayed his incredible falsetto, soaring to one of the highest notes a male can sing (to see more about this go to the "High Notes, section). The show was turned into a home video and a CD and helped him rise so success.

Soon after Trey signed a record deal with Mariah Carey’s then husband, Tommy Matola, under the EPIC Label. He recorded his self-titled debut album `Trey Lorenz,’ and released the CD to critically acclaim. Unfortunately, the album never had good sales and Trey was dropped from EPIC. At one time he recorded another album, but it was never released.

Trey has continued to sing with Mariah Carey. He has co-written songs for Mariah’s album and continued to do background vocals. Trey toured with Mariah in 1998, singing "Let’s Make This A Night To Remember," with Mariah’s other backup singer Melanie Daniels. Trey also toured with Mariah on her "Rainbow Tour," in 1999 and then again in 2003 on the "Charmbraclet Tour," singing "I’ll Be There," and leading the background singers in a song called "Friend of Mine."

Trey Lorenz sings backup vocals on Mariah Carey’s latest album "The Emancipation of Mimi." Trey vocals are featured on four songs: "Get Your Number," "I Wish You Knew," "Joy Ride," & "Fly Like A Bird." Trey has been present on the promotional tour for the album. He has appeared singing background vocals at Mariah’s concert on Good Morning America. Trey was also featured on the VH1’s Save The Music special where he closed out the show singing I’ll Be There with Mariah Carey.

In April of 2005, AOL’s BlackVoices interviewed Mariah Carey was asked "Will Trey Lorenz or any of your other old friends be signed to your label?" "You know what? Trey is on a lot of songs on the new album. He’s like family to me at this point. He’s really doing his own thing right now; a lot of writing, and an inspirational project he’s working on. So I’m all about supporting him in whatever thing he’s working.”
(Rap News Network)

Nominees for the "2006 American Music Awards" were announced and Mariah Carey, the Red Hot Chili Peppers, The Black Eyed Peas and Nickelback lead the nominations with three nods each. Carey, a nine-time American Music Award winner, was nominated for Favorite Female Artist in both the Pop/Rock and Soul/Rhythm & Blues categories as well as Favorite Album in the Soul/Rhythm & Blues category for "The Emancipation of Mimi."

Winners will be announced during a Live star-studded show on ABC-TV featuring celebrity presenters, live performances and other surprises on Tuesday, November 21, 2006 at 8:00 PM ET/PT from inside the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, CA.

Congratulations Mariah on receiving the following AMA nominations:
Favorite Female Artist, Pop/Rock
Favorite Female Artist, Soul/Rhythm & Blues
Favorite Album, Soul/Rhythm & Blues - The Emancipation of Mimi
(Mariah Carey.com)

Remember the black garbage bag Missy Elliott rocked in her video for “The Rain (Supa Dupa Fly)” or the red shiny suits worn by Puffy and Mase in the “Mo Money, Mo Problems” video? Now meet the woman behind both those looks — celebrity fashion stylist and designer, June Ambrose. Ambrose has shaped the style of some of the biggest names in music including Jay-Z, Busta Rhymes, Nas, and Mary J. Blige.

In her new book, Effortless Style, she reveals the industry secrets that can help anyone exude genuine star power, regardless of body type or budget. Most recently, Ambrose designed the outfits for Mariah Carey’s “Adventures of Mimi” Tour. Rap-Up spoke with the style architect about her creations for Mariah, whose tour ends October 28 in Hong Kong. Read a more in-depth profile on Ambrose in the Fall 06 issue of Rap-Up, on sale this November.

How much creative freedom did you get designing for Mariah on her tour?
A lot of creative freedom, actually. Mariah and I sat down in the earlier parts of the tour and started going through song lists. Having worked on music videos with her before and dealing with her on personal stuff, I kind of know what would be a stretch for her and what could make a really great impression.

What sort of theme were you going for?
My objective was to design for an R&B, pop, hip-hop musical with elements of street, Broadway cabaret, and a little bit of that pop girl kind of stuff. The show is supposed to be like all these different sides of her, marrying the three things for “The Adventures of Mimi.” So you see sultry, demure, and all these different things that she goes through. But things change. When you look at a tour from the top of it, it’s very big. When you start running the show, it scales down tremendously and people make changes. But it’s done.

When you style for Mariah, is there any such thing as being over the top?
I’m really big at not compromising a person’s self. I worked with her on this album for The Emancipation of Mimi, all of her early promo, the morning shows, and all that. She rendered herself to me where she allowed me to show her other sides and other options of sexy. [The media] called it a makeover, but we played around with a lot of different things and had what we called “moments.” Whether someone sticks to those moments is another thing, but it was right for the times for when we did it.

June Ambrose’s first book, Effortless Style, is out now on Simon Spotlight Entertainment. You can purchase it here.
(Rap-Up.com)

The Top 20 Concert Tours ranks artists by average box office gross per city and includes the average ticket price for shows in North America. The previous week's ranking is in parentheses. The list is based on data provided to the trade publication Pollstar by concert promoters and venue managers.

1. (1) Madonna; $6,015,385; $177.53.
2. (2) Tim McGraw/Faith Hill; $1,539,134; $81.07.
3. (3) Dave Matthews Band; $1,452,552; $47.88.
4. (4) Kenny Chesney; $1,380,203; $58.45.
5. (5) Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young; $1,156,365; $84.01.
6. (6) Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers; $1,041,831; $49.62.
7. (New) Mariah Carey; $998,311; $73.26.
8. (7) American Idols Live; $746,038; $53.83.
9. (9) Ozzfest; $706,184; $44.83.
10. (8) Rascal Flatts; $695,999; $44.32.
(Chicago Tribune)

Just what do Mariah Carey and the Washington Redskins have in common? Buses. The Redskins have more, but Mariah's are nicer. While the football team rolled up to the Hotel Crescent Court on Saturday in a police-escorted motorcade of five buses, Mariah made a more demure entrance at the Crescent's sibling hotel, The Mansion on Turtle Creek.

At 5 a.m. Friday, Mariah's two tour buses arrived at The Mansion in preparation for her Saturday show at American Airlines Center. It took Mansion valets just under a half-hour to deliver the 100-plus bags brought for Mariah, her two assistants, her hair and makeup person and her Jack Russell terrier (appropriately named Jack).

To protect her voice, her rooms were stocked with air humidifiers as well as her favorite white flowers.
(Dallas Morning News)

Songstress hits every note and more at American Airlines Center, "Mimi likes glitter."

Even though that sparkly stuff denotes a low point in Mariah Carey's otherwise storied career, the much-emulated singer featured it all over her stage and five-costume changes Saturday night at American Airlines Center.It was particularly prominent when she slinked and strutted her way through "Shake It Off," one of the hits from 2005's 6-million-selling triumph The Emancipation of Mimi. Behind her a huge, brightly lit "Mimi" sign flickered as she sashayed in sunglasses, a black bikini and a long, billowing camisole. She looked and sounded sexy, injecting much more vocal power into a catchy, danceable if disposable song that doesn't require it.

Ms. Carey made sure to showcase her vocal prowess every chance she got. Why waste that five-octave range in front of 12,000 adoring fans, right? Especially since she can still belt it out. Wearing a body-hugging yellow dress with a slit up to there, she dusted off "Vision of Love," her 1990 career-launching smash, to impressive effect. Sure, she gave the song even more vocal acrobatics than it needs, but she hit every note and then some. Ditto for her cover of the pop-soul classic "I'll Be There," which she sang with old pal Trey Lorenz. She then gave Mr. Lorenz some time to do songs solo, including a couple of Luther Vandross cuts. That was generous of her, especially since Mr. Lorenz was but a blip nationally in 1992.

Still, her voice worked hard to be the star of the show, even while multiple video screens, flashy dancers, a two-tiered platform complete with staircase and even a DJ at the turntable threatened to steal all the attention. She played the game, turning hip-hop diva during updated renditions of "Dreamlover" and "Fantasy," which she sang on a riser in the center of the floor.

Much of Ms. Carey's output post 1995 has been fused with rap and hip-hop in an attempt to keep her current and erase the big-ballad-singer tag she earned early in her canon. Problem is much of the reason the Mimi CD sold so well is that it's filled with expertly crafted, über-contemporary singles that any of today's sexed-up R&B singers could have done. She's gotta appeal to the kids, though. So rapper Busta Rhymes served as her opening act, and thrown in during her set were musical and visual snippets of Jermaine Dupri and the late Ol' Dirty Bastard. That onstage DJ entertained the crowd with party tunes and shout-outs during one of her dressing-room breaks.

The next-to-final dress, a flowing green gown, was all glamour. She used some of that elegance in her soaring take on "Hero." In some ways it clashed with her seemingly sweet, casual and girl-next-door persona while she chatted with the crowd. No matter. For a superstar who's had an erratic live-concert trajectory, Saturday night's gig bathed her in the right kind of glitter.
(Dallas Morning News)

With Mariah Carey, the voice is everything. Lord knows that Mariah Carey has taken her lumps over the years.

There's that nasty business with her ex-husband - former Sony boss Tommy Mottola, whom she divorced (along with Sony Music) in 1998. Cue suspicious run of bad luck and bad timing that hit bottom with the Sept. 11, 2001 album/movie release of Glitter, both of which flopped miserably. There's her reputation for being a "studio rat," a workaholic who labours obsessively to make every note absolutely perfect on record. There's the wacky conspiracy theory that she and her handlers effectively bought their way to the top by flooding the market with cheap or free CD singles.

There are examples of diva behaviour, the spat with Jennifer Lopez, the stories of being hospitalized for stress-related ailments, the time when she was quoted with a straight face that she still believes in Santa Claus ... and the list goes on.

One thing remains constant, though: holy frickin' hell, this broad can sing! Never mind J-Lo. Mariah Carey can sing circles around herself. She's that good. Fans of that God-given set of pipes are sure to attend next Thursday's performance at Rexall Place - marking the first time Mariah Carey has unleashed her moneymaker live in Edmonton. Sometimes it becomes difficult to enjoy the music of an artist when they have a lot of unmusical baggage in the press, as is the case with Michael Jackson or Bono or Paris Hilton.

After I studiously ignored Mariah Carey for several years - even giving a pass to The Emancipation of Mimi, her 2005 comeback triumph, until recently - she was on the Grammy Awards. Her performance was riveting. While being terribly distracted by her fluttering hand that seemed eager to fly off and start its own solo career, I closed my eyes and was blown away by her voice - a wild, high-flying, five-octave freak of nature so pure, and so perfectly on pitch, it had to have been a computer - only it wasn't. In music, a five-octave range is like the three-minute mile. No one has a five-octave range. She's like that blue alien singer in The Fifth Element. Many have copied her style - along with her annoying tics that have become a hallmark of American Idol contestants - but none can compare in vocal ability.

Perhaps it's genetic. Her mom was an opera singer. Named for the wind that calls her name in an old song, young Mariah quickly discovered her destiny, singing at the age of three, writing in junior high school, and made a name for herself in the New York music scene. The poor Long Island girl then got discovered by Tommy Mottola - and the rest of this Cinderella story is history. It's frankly a rather boring story, riddled with one chart-topper and award after another, but it goes on for quite a while. She has been called the best-selling female artist in history. Her trophy shelf is certainly one of the largest.

If there's any cloud in this silver lining of vocal prowess, it's the idea that Mariah is just a big showoff - more concerned with impressing the listener than with expressing emotion. How many syllables can the word "love" have before it starts to lose its meaning? At full throttle this blithering, fluttering, five-octave-spanning songbird obliterates all meaning beyond herself, practically screaming, LISTEN TO ME SING!

I can remember the Grammy performance vividly, but I honestly can't remember what song Mariah sang. It was probably something from The Emancipation of Mimi. Does this album mark the point at which Mariah Carey's songs have become as important as her voice? Critics doubt it. The album was deemed by the Sun as an "entirely predictable and typical R&B record." Of course, it's predictable and typical only because Mariah Carey was a big part of what made it that way in the first place. In short, the album is no better or worse than any of her previous albums - which is a good thing, given her track record. Mimi was the best-selling record of 2005; and Mariah won three Grammys, though none for best album.

And who is Mimi? She is quoted in her new record company's press release, "I am embracing my independence and celebrating the person that I have become. Over the years I have evolved into a better person and an even better artist. For the first time in my life, I am proud and unafraid to be who I really am, and that's what the music of this album and its title reflects. By naming my album The Emancipation of Mimi and referencing 'Mimi,' a nickname only used by those closest to me, I am inviting my fans into my life."

That may be true to a certain extent - she's said in the past that she isn't thrilled with being a public figure - but with that voice, she will always be Mariah to her fans. Besides, They Call the Wind Mimi just doesn't have the same ring to it.
(Edmonton Sun)

Bringing the glitz of Las Vegas, Mariah Carey stopped at American Airlines Center on Saturday on her Adventures of Mimi tour, where an audience of 12,000 of her best girlfriends gave her a warm welcome.

The Vegas touch was evident on the handsomely mounted stage and in the battery of performers she brought along: a four-piece band, three backup singers and a crew of gymnastic dancers -- we're talking double flips -- who gave the show an enthralling exuberance.

Sporting a black-and-silver color scheme, the stage was a stunner, with a theater-style curtain, a backdrop of shimmering silver beads and an elongated curving staircase bordered by butterflies. Later, a marquee-type sign that traced the word MIMI in lights was lowered to the floor as a backdrop. Multiple screens and cameras provided different views, including one at the top of the stage, a circular "porthole" that showed only close-ups of Mariah. It all sounds overdone, but it was actually quite classy.

Carey has cause for celebration. Her 2005 CD, The Emancipation of Mimi, has sold more than 5 million copies and helped her score a major comeback. Her set, broken into segments in which she left the stage for costume changes, culled tracks from the new disc as well as older material. Pity that she entered the stage to sing It's Like That in what was basically underwear: a black bra and panties topped with a sheer black, hooded cape. As always with Mariah, it was a whole lot of skin.

One especially effective moment was on Heartbreaker, a cut from the album Rainbow that features vocals by Jay-Z; he made his contribution on video while four male dancers wearing black pants and shiny black blazers executed a killer number.

The show started with a video, showing shots of a roller coaster backed by Mariah's voiceover declaring that her life was like, yes, a roller coaster. She ended on the declaration that, if you don't get on the ride, you miss out on the adventure.
(Star-Telegram)

"I'm having my diva moment," Mariah Carey cooed to the crowd late into her Thursday night show at Toyota Center. The singer had just returned to the stage after a quick costume change (her fourth of of the evening), resplendent in a flowing seafoam green gown with peek-a-boo cut-outs. As she lapped up the adulation of more than 10,000 fans, a few strains of I Wish You Knew, an old-school soul track off 2005's The Emancipation of Mimi, played in the background.

Carey has played many roles in her staggeringly successful career: winsome ingenue, hip-hop princess, fashion victim and - pre-Mimi - faded glitter girl. All are on display at various moments in her "Adventures of Mimi Tour". But wordly diva - with a knowing wink - seems to suit her best, and during her 100-minute set, Carey played the part with exuberance, confidence and delicious abandon. (This was her first major appearance in Houston; 2003's "Charmbracelet" tour only came as close as Dallas.)

She strutted across the stage in dangerously high heels, sported sunglasses when the stage lights were too bright and took regular breaks to sip on her bottle of water. The crowd, many of whom sported butterfly wings and displayed homemade signs, ate it up. And then there's that voice. Throughout the evening, Carey did things with her instrument that most pop singers wouldn't even attempt in the privacy of their shower. The trademark shrieks came early, during the disco-throwback Heartbreaker and fluffy pop-charmer Dreamlover.

"It's no big secret that my life has always been kinda like a rollercoaster," Carey told the cheering crowd via an introductory video clip, complete with amusement-park imagery. "If you don't get on the ride, you won't experience the adventure."

She assumed the starting position amid the strains of sing-along party-starter It's Like That, the first of five radio hits from her Emancipation opus. It was a moment of extreme urban elegance. Carey, surprisingly toned and tanned to a honey-brown, swayed to the hip-pop beat in what looked like designer lingerie, surrounded by a stable of frenetic dancers.

Her four-piece band and three backup singers were spread evenly over a mammoth stage that featured a winding staircase, multiple video screens and Carey's initials stamped in various places. It looked like the entrance to a grand ballroom - in Carey's house, of course.

She tore through her cavernous catalog with aplomb and kept things fresh with tweaks on signature hits. Mournful ballad My All morphed into a house remix, and Heartbreaker benefited from a stop-start reworking before settling into the original version. Recent hit Shake It Off found Carey posing in front of a mammoth, illuminated "MIMI" sign, similar to the music video. DJ Clue spun old-school favorites that kept the crowd pumping during Carey's costume changes. Mimi (the diva, not the sign) worked the crowd in a glittering canary-yellow dress - cut-outs and slit included - during debut hit Vision of Love and rousing gospel stomper Fly Like a Bird. Carey's slightly raspy voice added a layer of emotion to both songs, particularly Vision, which was first released almost two decades ago.

Singer Trey Lorenz joined in for a sweet take on I'll Be There before Carey disappeared, then resurfaced, on a stage in the middle of the arena. An army of security guards lined the aisles as fans clamored for a closer look and, just maybe, a touch. It was here, so close to her fans, that Carey seemed to really come alive, relaxing her superstar persona a bit and just vibing with the music. She kept it all upbeat - and acknowledged the disco ball above - via uptempo stand-outs Fantasy, Don't Forget About Us and Always Be My Baby. It was the evening's most electric interlude.

Houston rapper Mike Jones took the microphone for a few solo verses as Carey wiggled backstage into that seafoam green gown. She returned and ripped through a quick medley of ballads (Can't Let Go, Thank God I Found You, One Sweet Day) before launching into radio staple Hero. It was Carey's own greatest-love moment, complete with swaying hands and shots of misty-eyed fans.

Carey brought her Adventure to a close (before one last change into a glittering, nude-colored gown) with We Belong Together, her mammoth summertime hit that - in a sure sign of eternal invasion - has invaded dance floors, high-school proms and weddings.

She danced around the song's lilting melody before nailing the final third with a string of go-for-broke notes. It ended with an explosion of pink and purple confetti - in the shape of butterflies, of course - fluttering through the arena. Carey, Mimi or MC - take your pick - seems to have finally assumed her rightful place among music's premiere pop queens.
(Houston Chronicle)

Sony Music recently released two of Mariah's classic home videos on DVD. Now, Mariah Carey's complete videography has been released on DVD. Click here to get your copies of these amazing music videos!

MTV Unplugged +3: Mariah Carey performed live for the MTV series of concerts, Unplugged, in which musicians experiment with acoustic instruments. Mariah was invited to shoot her TV special. A few hours before recording the concert, Mariah Carey decided to sing the Jackson 5’s hit “I’ll Be There.” Mariah’s version was highly acclaimed by critics and fans, persuading Mariah to commercially release the song.

During the night, Mariah showed her incomparable abilities as a singer and therefore as a performer. Media had accused Mariah of being a “studio” artist who was unable to hit those high notes. Mariah proved she actually possessed a talent, which for many, was too good to be true. Mariah, singing a soulful opening, started the concert with the #1 hit “Emotions,” which was followed by “If It’s Over.” Later, Carey jokes with the audience as she introduces the heartbroken hymn “Someday.”

Perhaps the most emotional moment of the night comes when Mariah sings her debut single, “Vision of Love,” rendition that obtained an enthusiastic ovation. Walter Affanasieff and David Cole joined Mariah on the stage to play the piano on “Make It Happen.” Mariah later performs “I’ll Be There,” reaching the climax of the concert. Mariah closes the concert with the acapella rendition of her top hit “Can’t Let Go,” which undoubtedly sounds even better than the album version.

Mariah Carey: Mariah Carey released a TV special which aired through NBC on Thanksgiving. The show, also known as Here is Mariah Carey, took place at the Proctor’s Theater in New York City. The concert starts with a sweet rendition of “Emotions,” followed by a touching performance, which eventually turned out to be the music video, to Mariah’s signature song “Hero.” This was the first time Mariah’s fans heard the new inspirational song.

Mariah also performed past hits: “Someday,” “Without You,” “Make It Happen,” and “Dreamlover.” However, the best moment is when Mariah performs “Love Takes Time,” which is sung differently than the album version. Another track introduced that night is “Anytime You Need A Friend,” where a gospel choir comes to the stage to perform the song. Mariah also performs “Vision of Love” and “I’ll Be There,” the latter is sung with Trey Lorenz. The Home video features exclusive interviews where Mariah talks about the times when she was trying to get a record deal. Here is Mariah Carey also includes an interview with Patricia Hickey, Mariah’s mother. In this video, Mariah appears having fun with her friends and her team.
(Mariah Hero)

Mariah Carey's globetrotting "Adventures of Mimi" tour arrived at the United Center on Monday night with the glitz of a top-dollar Las Vegas spectacle. The split-level stage was smartly decorated with an oversized staircase and butterfly railing, along with tiered platform risers for the musicians and a star-spangled velvet backdrop. Following a filmed montage which described Carey's true-life adventures as a roller coaster (apparently, the merely platinum-selling "Glitter" provided a particularly harrowing plunge earthward), Carey entered in a matching black silk cape and bikini, determined to prove that glamor wasn't confined to the set decorations.

The show featured four segments in total, each punctuated by new costumes, and at least two of Carey's seventeen Billboard Hot 100 chart toppers. Carey began with "It's Like That", a declaration of personal renewal from 2005's comeback effort, "The Emancipation of Mimi". "Heartbreaker", a No. 1 single from 1999's "Rainbow" album, followed. With the album version's overlapping vocals dialed back, a song emerged exhibiting similarity to Tom Tom Club's 1981 dance hit "Genius of Love" (itself the basis of "Fantasy" from Carey's 1995 "Daydream" CD).

Though noted for sheer vocal strength, Carey restrained her prowess for the intimate and lovesick "My All", the first act's most affecting performance. During "Shake It Off", Carey's nickname, Mimi, descended from the rafters in enormous, brightly lit letters, a la Elvis Presley's '68 Comeback Special.

Following an intermission overseen by DJ Clue, Carey returned in a sequined yellow gown to sing her 1990 debut single "Vision of Love". Sixteen years later, the song remains a showcase for Carey's range as a pop-soul belter, with minimal emphasis on vocal gymnastics (at least until the song's coda). Carey's flamboyant skills were unleashed during songs like the glass-shattering gospel chorus of "Fly Like a Bird". Enormous cheers erupted anytime Carey approached her stratospheric high notes. Longtime backup singer Trey Lorenz joined Carey for a duet on the Jackson Five's 1970 hit "I'll Be There", a partnership featured on 1992's "MTV Unplugged" album. Lorenz then took a brief solo turn, during which he encountered difficulty finding his pitch while covering Luther Vandross' "A House Is Not a Home".

During act three, "Honey" seemed more like an exercise in hip-hop production than a coherent song. Those hip-hop elements, however, have been increasingly important to Carey's music since this single from 1997's "Butterfly" album hit No. 1. Carey began fusing pop with hip-hop ahead of the pop radio trend - a significant factor in her remarkable return to chart prominence following the dual commercial flops of "Glitter" and "Charmbracelet". Carey's embrace was recognized and reciprocated last Thursday in Atlanta, as she claimed five honors at Billboard's 2006 R&B/Hip-Hop Awards, including best overall artist.

The set concluded as Carey remembered the fifth anniversary of the 9/11 terror attacks. "One Sweet Day" offered the promise of loved ones reunited in the hereafter. "Hero" was dedicated to those who saved lives or perished during attempts to help as the World Trade Center fell. Despite the grim topic, the memorial seemed a genuine expression of community, and appropriate to the occasion.
(Chicago Sun-Times)

In 2003, the last time Mariah Carey played Chicago, she walked the stage in a haze, her reputation still on the mend following one of the more public career meltdowns in recent memory, her mind somewhere else. A few years down the line, she's once again thriving commercially, with "The Emancipation of Mimi" the top-selling album of 2005, at six million and counting. By any measure, it's been one heck of a comeback.

As demonstrated by her efficient and mostly just-right set at the United Center on Monday night, Carey's definitely back on track. Yes, the smile permanently stretched across her face was sometimes creepy and cold rather than warm and inviting, and her stage moves occasionally seemed more about hitting her marks than connecting with the crowd. But Carey also looked comfortable and confident, a feeling no doubt bolstered by the near-capacity crowd.

Of course, divas being divas, Carey couldn't just leave it at that. The stage often felt cluttered with dancers, band members, singers, video screens and giant light-up "Mimi" marquees, while indulgent sets by her deejay and backup singer Trey Lorenz took up valuable set time while Carey changed into a series of barely-there outfits. It's Carey's voice that made her famous, not her body, and fans deserved a real performance that spotlighted that instrument. Instead, they got the predicable Vegas-style glamour-and-glitz-gone-bling show.

Maybe that was the idea. That famous voice, always a thing of virtuosity but not necessarily a thing of beauty or soul, was not always in peak form. If Carey somehow hit the freakishly high notes in "Heartbreaker", she had a rougher time with the mid-range material, often betraying a bit of a rasp. All those stage distractions served as convenient misdirection, allowing her to step briefly out of the spotlight (or away from the mic) when she needed to catch her breath or recover from a vocal blast.

The result could have been disastrous, but Carey handled the rocky octave shifts and unnecessary sojourns to a satellite stage well. If anything, the subtle cracks in her singing brought her further down to earth, lending songs such as "Vision of Love" and "Fantasy" a grittier quality than their too-eager-to-please studio counterparts.

The only time the set threatened to topple into self-indulgence came when Carey shifted the night into the obligatory 9/11 tribute, but it was a modest one. Maybe the next time out she'll shrink everything else down too. After all, what better way to make yourself look larger than life than to make everything around you disappear, until all that's left is that big, big voice.
(Chicago Tribune)

Did you realize life is like a rollercoaster? Like, it has its ups and it has its downs - get it? That clichéd gem came courtesy of Mariah Carey in the opening segment of her show at the United Center Monday. "Whatever kills you makes you stronger," she added. She should know. The show was a survivor's comeback, not the personal kind, but of commerce.

The 36-year-old singer was counted out earlier this decade when she suffered both an album and movie flop, a reported emotional breakdown that resulted in concert appearances best described as train wrecks. It's not everyday when record conglomerates write checks to make their stars go away but that's what happened in 2002 when Virgin Records handed Carey $28 million to break her contract. Then arrived "The Emancipation of Mimi" (Island/Def Jam), an album that happened to be very good. It became the best-selling album of 2005.

Carey was in an up mood Monday and her confidence glowed. Unlike previous tours designed to fawn on her celebrity lifestyle, this was a stripped-down R&B affair. Backed by a four-piece band and three backup singers, Carey created an entertaining evening that focused on her essential talent: her voice. Over ballads and uptempo gospel revelry, Carey bounced between opposite extremes, from gruff, scratchy tones to bird chirping highs. Despite her legendary dexterity, she never worked the songs like a showoff; she dug into her best material - from the Jackson 5's "I'll Be There" to the recent dancefloor jam "It's Like That" - with pacing that found pleasure in the songs and brought it forth with sumptuous depth.

The show was slim by most standards - 16 songs in 95 minutes - with plenty of time allowed for costume changes, four total. Yet this suited the singer who operates best in segments with little opportunity to go off track. The show emphasized her ballads and older, more carefree hits rather than the jittery, club thumping hip-hop of her current album. Chicago rapper Da Brat made two cameos but they were brief. Pulling back rather than setting off bombast is not typical diva behavior, but Carey demonstrated that a more subdued backdrop makes her vocal torch brighter.

Not to say Carey shrank into humility. Here was a singer with a roadie whose sole job was to bring her tissues. She played things big without the anxiety of her earlier days - what other singer can strut around in just her underwear and a cape and still have a childlike charm on songs like "Heartbreaker?"

Unlike most divas, Carey stands out due to her common touch. Although her flag-waving tribute to Sept. 11 seemed perfunctory at the end, she was more in element up to that point. During the disco of "Don't Forget About Us", Carey stood alone on a second stage positioned in the center of the stadium floor, a disco ball shining above her head. Even though it was an illusion, the wall between singer and audience briefly vanished and both were united in having a very good time.
(Daily Herald)

Singer Mariah Carey has hired stylist Jenny Phillips to accompany her on her tour and spray her with bronzer before every performance.

Carey reportedly wanted to add to her onstage appearance during her "Emancipation of Mimi" tour, In Touch Weekly reported Monday. Now Carey is stepping her sparkle up a notch, she and Phillips are reportedly working on a tanner laced with gold dust.

"They are developing an exclusive line of bronzer containing real 24-karat gold dust," confirmed a rep for Carey.
(United Press International)

It was starting to look grim for fans who were hoping Mariah Carey would tour to support ''The Emancipation of Mimi.'' She certainly didn't need to. Since its release last year, the album sold more than 5 million copies, spawned smash hits like ''We Belong Together'' and won three Grammys, all without her hitting the road.

Plus, Carey didn't even know if she wanted to tour. She dreaded staging a long jaunt, and was taking time to savor the sweet success of her comeback. But after some cajoling from fans, the multi-octave diva realized that she needed to be on stage -- that she wanted to celebrate the album that marked one of the sweetest times in her long career.

Q. What took you so long to get on the road?
A. [Laughs.] Honestly, it was kind of like the album, it has its own life. And I wanted to allow myself to make videos, to really work the record more than I have ... allow people to experience the album, to live with the songs, to feel the videos and the energy and basically get where I was coming from with this project on that level first.

Q. What are the special things you're planning this time around?
A. It's going to be kind of off the cuff. When I said there may be special guests, that's kind of the way the record was made. It's like, I'm in a studio, someone is in the next room, all of a sudden, me and Snoop made a record together. It wasn't planned. If I happen to be in a city where I know somebody who I collaborated with on the record, you never know, they might want to show up if we have that kind of relationship.

Q. How do you determine which songs you're going to play and which ones you're not going to sing without alienating your fans?
A. I feel like I'm a tough critic. When I go to other people's shows that I'm fans of, and if I don't hear my favorite song, I'm like, "Man, why?" [Laughs] I'm going to do my best to please the crowd, but I also want to be able to express myself creatively, and I think that there's a happy medium now.

Q. How much stuff do you haul around on tour?
A. I'm in the process of trying to get my bus together because I'm going to go by bus for the first time, because I really do sleep well by driving -- not at the wheel [laughs] but I've always been able to sleep in a car, and my main thing is I always need a lot of rest when I tour. I think it's going to be pretty cool, especially in America, to see the surroundings and really feel where I'm at, as opposed to being whisked into a hotel room at whatever-o'clock in the morning.

Q. Is your dog, Jack, coming?
A. Oh yes, Jack has his own section. He's going to have his own little nook. It's already planned out.

Q. Besides Jack, what is a must-have on the bus?
A. Really just to make it as private as possible in my little living space where I'll be hanging out and sleeping. As long as I have a TV and a bed and some humidifiers, I'll be all right.

Q. What do you do during your down time?
A. I don't know if people realize that for me to tour, I actually have to have a full day and a half off in between shows, whereas most touring artists do every night, and I just can't do that, because I'm very strong, but I'm very delicate in many ways, too. So in my down time, the thing that requires the most discipline is not talking. Like, I wouldn't be doing an interview. I wouldn't be talking to anyone, I'd be writing notes, and sitting in a humidified room, sleeping.

Q. Has your voice ever given out on you on tour?
A. No. The late great, Luther Vandross -- who I had the utmost respect for -- taught me an invaluable lesson, which is about the humidification, because the tone of his voice, the airy quality, when he would sing in that breathy voice, there's a similarity that we have. He would say, "The best place for us is a really warm climate, and you really need to make sure you have humidifiers around yourself all the time."

Q. With all the success you've had with this album, has it become one of your most special?
A. This and "Butterfly" are my two favorites because they mark two very special significant times in my life, so this will always be a favorite of mine. And I just love that songs like "Shake It Off" were allowed to be singles. In the past, I would immediately get, "It's too urban, you can't put it out." The experience of this record has just been so much fun for me, and just the freedom, and the title was very apropos, because this has been a lot of freedom for me as an artist.
(Chicago Sun-Times)

Discussing Mariah Carey can be as divisive as talking politics or football; before entering the fray, you need a steadfast stance, hard supporting evidence and, in the end, a willingness to drop the issue, unresolved.

Take her Thursday night performance at Verizon Center, for example, after which the streets echoed with mini-arguments: Which one of her ballads was the most heartfelt? Was the singer too chunky to be wearing glorified lingerie? Does she put on a better show than Beyonce?

But after seeing her live, there is one thing everyone can agree on: Even 16 years into her career, she’s got a voice like a Ferrari. When she wants to take you for a ride, she kicks it into gear and floors it until your ears feel like they’re going to pop.

Miss Carey’s stop in the District was part of her current Adventures of Mimi tour, which follows the mega-success of her 2005 album, "The Emancipation of Mimi." More resurrection than emancipation, the disc marks the pop queen’s return to rule after an all-too-public coup d’etat. For the tunes she sang and co-wrote on "Mimi," Miss Carey secured three Grammys and a mountain of other accolades. The disc became the best-selling album of 2005, proving that the diva still knows how to dominate charts and dance floors alike.

At Verizon, the songstress showed Washingtonians just how well her fresh tracks fit into her oeuvre. She mixed recent chart-toppers like the booty-shaking "It’s Like That" and slow jam "Don’t Forget About Us" with perennials like the upbeat "Fantasy" and tear-jerking "Hero." (The Jumbotron showed people crying. Seriously.)

Despite the rumors that have plagued the singer throughout her reign that her voice is going, she proved otherwise, managing equal parts belt and croon. That’s not to say she didn’t hit a few flats, drop a few notes, or de-emphasize some parts you wanted her to nail; it’s just that her machine is so impressive this hardly matters.

What is harder to overlook is the ego fueling this drive train. Lest anyone forget her initials during the concert, the stage was framed by a behemoth M-shape, its middle pointing below to center stage, where a 5-foot-tall silver "MC" emblem rested. Later, an illuminated MIMI sign -- so bright the star put on shades -- dropped from the ceiling.

Miss Carey’s costume choices also displayed her, uh, confidence. She first appeared in a glittery black bikini thing "covered" by a matching dressing gown, and subsequent peek-a-boo dresses didn’t conceal much more. While she changed outfits some four times, the impromptu talent showcases for her DJ, back-up singers and dancers reeked of mediocrity (no offense, DJ Clue, Trey Lorenz and Da Brat) -- perhaps purposely so that no one would upstage the diva.

But most caustic was Miss Carey’s insincere banter. She repeatedly queried, "Do you know this one?" and dropped her album titles as if everyone in the audience hadn’t listened to each five thousand times. During "Hero," the artist grasped a bouquet of sunflowers an audience member had passed toward the stage. "I’m gonna put these right here," she told the fan as she scuffled her stilettos stage right, chucking the flowers onto the ground without stooping down even an inch. "Thank you, baby," she said, batting her false eyelashes.

So she’s a little high-maintenance, maybe a little temperamental; just because the clutch sticks doesn’t mean those moments of sheer unadulterated power felt in, say, her classic "Vision of Love" are any less breathtaking.

Coupled with opener Sean Paul’s boisterous dance-hall set, brought to life by bootylicious dancers who taught everyone how to wind and clap (and I’m not talking hands here), the evening provided many opportunities for dancing, singing-along, and future debates among friends
(The Washington Times)

Say what you will about playing it safe, but Mariah Carey was careful to hedge her bets on Saturday night at the Palace. "They kept telling me, `Don’t say Detroit. Say Michigan,’ " the pop diva, playing her first-ever full-fledged concert in the metro area, told the crowd of 13,000-plus. "I’m trying to say both. We’ve got to talk about this later."

A sense of place, however, wasn’t as important to Carey as a sense of self. In an introductory video, she spoke of living a life that’s been like a roller coaster - full of ups and downs, get it? - and how it’s given her "a deeper kind of faith" and the realization that "if you don’t get on the ride, you don’t experience the adventures."

Over the next 100 minutes, however, Carey’s sojourn was that of a virtuoso vocalist existing in a pop and hip-hop world - succeeding far more often than not but occasionally letting herself be sold short by some of the perceived strictures that come with being a multi-platinum artist.

The conflict at Saturday’s show - part of Carey’s The Adventures Of Mimi: The Voice, The Hits, The Tour trek - pit her primary appeal as a singer, all seven-octaves, against the seeming desire to be a skin-bearing queen of hip-hop soul in her own right. That meant five costume changes into some highly unflattering, midriff-baring outfits and stiff production numbers on the two-tiered stage in which six dancers twirled around a clearly ill-at-ease Carey during "It’s Like That," "Heartbreaker" and "Shake it Off."

Fortunately, most of the show eschewed such trappings and let Carey’s voice carry the show. She perceptibly loosened up in the second of the show’s four "acts," delivering strong versions of "Vision of Love" and "Fly Like a Bird." And her stint on a second stage situated in the middle of the Palace floor - which Carey entered and exited with the help of a carefully deployed security batallion - was the night’s strongest segment; besides performing "Fantasy" and "Don’t Forget About Us," Carey also responded to a request on a fan’s sign by tossing in a short a capella bit of "Melt Away," a nicely unscripted moment that injected some personality to the evening’s script.

There were plenty of diversions throughout the night. Rappers such as Jay-Z, Mase and the late ODB made taped "guest appearances" on the video screens - which were effectively used to accent the show as well as beam close-ups of Carey. Backup singer Trey Lorenz previewed some songs from his upcoming debut album during one of Carey’s outfit changes. And she took time to hype her souvenir lip gloss, directing the spotlight operators to shut down while she demonstrated the lighted mirror that was part of the packaging.

But the show’s most notable and memorable remained Carey’s vocal performances, whether it was snippets of "I Wish You Knew" and "Thank God I Found You" or full treatments of "Honey," "Hero" and "We Belong Together." That will always be the strength she should lead with - in Detroit, Michigan or points beyond.
(Oakland Press)

Despite the flooding caused by non-stop heavy rain, "Supermimi: The Adventures Party" brought down a full house last night at Club Government. The event, meant to celebrate the Philippine Mariah Carey Fanclub's (PMCF) 4th Year Anniversary, was attended by more than 300 people.

At past midnight, the dancefloor was still empty as the heavy rain continues to keep guests from arriving as they are stranded on the road. Mariah's club remixes and a slideshow of Mimi's pictures kept the crowd entertained while waiting for other guests. Club Government was adorned with butterflies and a big "Mimi" sign.

At 1:30 am, however, the crowd started to pour in left and right, guests arriving in bulk (as the rain subsides a little). Half an hour later, the club was jampacked. From there on, Mariah's house remixes set the dancefloor on fire as partygoers dance to club favorites "My all" and "I still believe", among others.

At 2:30 am, the lights went out. And a Mimi performer appeared on stage singing the house remix for "Butterfly" along with three dancers. She quickly changed to a black ensemble for "Can't take that away" and, in true Mariah fashion, went off stage once more to change outfits this time for "It's like that". The crowd was dancing crazy as the monitor announces "Only Mimi can pack up Government rain or shine" and "Flood or no flood, I wouldn't miss this event!"

Despite the glitches, Mariah and her fans made it. And planning the next party already. To those who missed the event because of the heavy rain, you missed a lot. To those who came to have a party, I'm sure Mimi knows you're hot tamale. Thank you very much to everyone who came out and showed support for the club and the event. We value your undying efforts. I personally, want to extend my gratitude to those people involved in making this event a success. I am most happy and looking forward for our next event. Again, thank you much.
(Mariah Carey Philippines)

Pop, hip-hop and R&B diva Mariah Carey performed her first-ever Detroit concert Saturday night, and proved to a crowd of more than 13,000 fans that it was well worth the wait.

Carey's 90-minute concert featured wall-to-wall hits from nearly every era of her career (unsurprisingly, her disappointing "Glitter" and "Charmbracelet" CDs were overlooked entirely), and aside from a number of tacky wardrobe choices and abbreviated versions of some of her hits, the show was pretty close to magical.

Carey is not a dancer like Janet Jackson, nor is her stage show as elaborate or metaphorical as Madonna's. Carey's strength is her voice, and that amazing, soaring instrument was what took center stage Saturday night - there was no lip-syncing to be had - and it towered in songs such as the gospel-flavored "Fly Like a Bird" and her first-ever hit, "Vision of Love."

Carey - who took the stage wearing a black bikini-type number, accented by a flowing sheer cape and with black stilettos on her feet - was joined on stage by a band, three backup singers, a half-dozen dancers and a smattering of well-placed wind machines.

She opened with "It's Like That," the opening track from her 2005 career-resuscitating "The Emancipation of Mimi" CD, and assertively rolled through a number of hits such as "My All," "Shake It Off" and "Fantasy."

She made room for a number of spontaneous moments in the show, reacting to a fan holding up a fan asking for her to sing "Melt Away" by belting out the song's chorus a capella, and even took time to plug her "Mimi" lip gloss on stage by applying it between songs. "I can't wait until you review this, 'She was so ridiculous she pulled out her lip gloss on stage,' and I don't really care!" she said.

Carey's curvy body was in full display Saturday, as she slipped into a number of skin-baring gowns which featured more slits than fabric.

Though her choice of attire may earn her a spot on Mr. Blackwell's worst-dressed list, she was confident in her body and that confidence shone through in her performance.
(Detroit News)

Mariah Carey was the big winner at the 2006 Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop Awards, held last night (Sept. 8) in Atlanta. Carey won top R&B/hip-hop artist in both the overall and female categories, as well as hot R&B/hip-hop songs artist, top R&B/hip-hop albums artist and top R&B/hip-hop album for her multi-platinum set "The Emancipation of Mimi."

Kanye West took home top rap album for "Late Registration" and also won hot rap track for "Gold Digger" featuring Jamie Foxx. Foxx himself took home top R&B/hip-hop artist -- male, while Young Jeezy won top R&B/hip-hop artist -- New.

In addition to winning top R&B/hip-hop songwriter and top R&B/hip-hop producer, Jermaine Dupri was named the first recipient of the Otis Redding Excellence Award for his achievements both in and outside the studio. The award was launched this year to commemorate the 40th anniversary of Redding’s death. Public Enemy received the 2006 Hip-Hop Founders Award in recognition of their long-standing influence throughout hip-hop.

* Top R&B/Hip-Hop Album: Mariah Carey, "The Emancipation Of Mimi" (Island/IDJMG)
* Top R&B/Hip-Hop Artist: Mariah Carey (Island/IDJMG)
* Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs Artist: Mariah Carey (Island/IDJMG)
* Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Albums Artist: Mariah Carey (Island/IDJMG)
(Billboard)

Mariah Carey is not the most kinetic of live performers. The pop diva with the glass-shattering voice doesn't really dance, and she doesn't race around the stage -- preferring to take dainty, deliberate steps in her designer stilettos. And who can blame her? It can't be easy keeping your balance on heels so high that they look like knitting needles.

Mostly, then, the movement is limited to Carey's vocal acrobatics -- and there were plenty during her concert at Verizon Center on Thursday. Though she's been showing off a more breathy style in recent years, Carey still has a propensity for taking off on runs that sound like a boiling teakettle with perfect pitch.

"Dreamlover" even opened with Carey playing the role of wailing soul, as she unleashed a series of piercing, whistle-register notes before swooping back down to alto- and soprano-range normalcy. (The song also had her playing another role, for which she wore spangly black undies and a matching bra, a chiffon boudoir robe scarcely covering her back. Later adding sunglasses to the outfit, she resembled an incognito Frederick's of Hollywood model.)

Still, Carey somehow managed to cover quite a bit of ground during the show. Of course, most of it was the ground leading backstage, but who's counting? Oh, right: Us!

Carey exited stage right a half-dozen times during her 90-minute concert, sometimes for just a minute or two but also for lengthier periods that usually signaled a costume change. (Total outfit count: five.) Some of the breaks dragged on long enough for a deejay to spin parts of at least two dozen hit rap and R&B records as a hype man barked about taking it back (Bell Biv Devoe's "Poison"), waaaaay back (Michael Jackson's "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin' ").

The frequent strolls backstage repeatedly derailed the concert's momentum, which was a shame since Carey was in such fine voice; no longer an emotionless vocal technician, she even sounded like a credibly gritty soul singer during an inspired reading of her first hit, 1990's "Vision of Love." Ultimately, though, the walk-offs did her in: When Carey left the stage, yet again, after a powerhouse performance of her soaring (if saccharine) ballad "Hero," the crowd cheered briefly, then turned nearly silent -- not realizing that it was time to call Carey back for an encore.

It took flashing stage lights to prompt the audience, and eventually Carey returned to sing "We Belong Together," the biggest hit from her enormously successful comeback CD, "The Emancipation of Mimi."

One of the best-selling titles of 2005, the album reestablished Carey, 36, as a bona fide hitmaker after a series of artistic misfires and a very public meltdown. Thus, this is very much a triumphal tour. The show opens with a video of Carey saying that if whatever doesn't kill you makes you stronger, then, well, gosh, she's really strong -- apparently to the point that she can even turn references to her failures into symbolic celebrations. The concert here closed with two confetti guns spraying the crowd with . . . glitter! "Glitter," of course, being the title of Carey's semi-autobiographical movie and an accompanying album, both of which were tremendous, potentially career-killing flops.

Carey didn't exactly gloat about her return to A-list status, however, and she never fully indulged her inner diva. Not even when the stage lights came back up prematurely between songs while the star was dabbing her glistening face with a tissue. "You caught me," she said with a giggle. If anything, Carey seemed charmingly awkward, coming across as a regular gal blessed with an exceptional voice. She may have 17 No. 1 singles, but she's still just Mariah from the block. Or, as it were: Mimi from the block, as she performed 2005's "Shake It Off" in front of Broadway lights that spelled out her alter ego's name.

The song married a pop vocal to a hip-hop beat -- a formula Carey first started using more than a decade ago on hits including "Fantasy." She performed that tune here as a virtual duet with the late rapper Ol' Dirty Bastard, who rather creepily delivered his vocal from the grave. Several living rappers also appeared via canned studio tracks, including Jay-Z on "Heartbreaker," as Carey loaded the set with hip-hop-infused material.

But she didn't exactly ignore the ballads and, in fact, the highlight of the show was a fiery cover of "I'll Be There," the Jackson 5 tune that Carey originally recorded 14 years ago during a live MTV special. The song was performed as a duet with one of Carey's backup singers, Trey Lorenz, who spent most of the show seated on a stool at the back of the split-level stage. He couldn't sit still for the entire show, however: Lorenz disappeared backstage before the song, precisely so that he might make a dramatic entrance moments later. Mariah's kind of move, without the high heels.
(The Washington Post)

As befitting an often over-the-top pop diva, Mariah Carey's show Thursday night at the Verizon Center was a sparkly, narcissistic affair. The set was definitely expensive -- and impressive.

Over the two-tier stage stood a giant, ivory "M" flashing shades of red and blue. There was a grand staircase to the left, a huge neon, block-lettered sign that spelled out the singer's nickname: Mimi. Even Carey's mike stand glittered.

And such a spectacle wouldn't be complete without a troupe of limber, gyrating dancers. (Carey had six in all.) Her seven-piece band, which included the famed DJ Clue, was tight and high-powered. So with all of these superstar stage trappings, a multiplatinum career spanning 16 years and a behind-the-scenes reputation for being a demanding businesswoman, why did Carey come off as a diva with training wheels for most of the show? She seemed so tentative, breezing through several of her songs and disappearing backstage for long stretches to change costumes. (She did this five times.)

Well, we have to cut her a little slack. Although Carey has garnered envious commercial success since the start of her career in 1990 (she has scored 17 No. 1 hits, the most of any female pop performer), the New York-born singer-songwriter has never really gotten around to establishing herself as a concert draw. And her current world tour, The Adventures of Mimi, feels belated. It's in support of her latest album, the calculated but memorable The Emancipation of Mimi, which sold more than 6 million copies and was the biggest-selling CD of last year. Granted, she currently has a No. 1 hit on R&B radio, the gospel-touched "Fly Like a Bird." But it still feels as if the gaudy, wailing songstress has lost some momentum.

All of that doesn't really matter, though. Carey is out there working hard to ingratiate herself with her fans, even if it seems the world-renowned pop veteran is still learning to put on a show.

The concert's first half was dominated by the hip-hop flavor she has been blending into her substance-free pop formula for nearly a decade.

Wearing what looked like a shimmering black bra and panties set with a sheer duster and spike heels, Carey opened with "It's Like That," the Jermaine Dupri-produced club burner from her latest album. During the performance, the singer preened and pranced around and did a few very simple dance moves. (She may have an amazing vocal instrument, but Carey certainly wasn't blessed with rhythm.)

That segued into one of her most hip-hopped songs, 1999's "Heartbreaker," during which the 'hood-rat female rapper Da Brat made one of two dismissible cameos. Carey mentioned several times between songs that the two were the best of friends. She also graciously shared the spotlight with another pal, the lame R&B vocalist and longtime Carey collaborator Trey Lorenz. The two gushingly revisited their 1992 remake of the Jackson 5's ever charming "I'll Be There." Afterward, Carey disappeared while Lorenz did a mini-set of Luther Vandross classics ("Never Too Much" and "A House is Not a Home") and an overwrought take of Gnarls Barkley's "Crazy."

With fun mixes of old-school R&B and hip-hop cuts with a little reggae and go-go thrown in, DJ Clue kept the near-capacity crowd up and dancing during Carey's long costume changes. For the second half of the nearly 90-minute show, she settled into her early schmaltzy pop diva image, replete with flowing, tight-fitting (and unflattering) gowns. This was the segment where Carey could have worked even more of her "vocal magic" because the distracting troupe of dancers was gone. Instead, she opted for an anti-climactic medley of such wail-fest ballads as "Can't Let Go" and "One Sweet Day." She did, however, give full treatment to one of her more touching self-penned tunes, "Hero."

Then Carey predictably ended with the dramatic ballad "We Belong Together," last year's biggest pop single. Her exit was quick as a shower of purple metallic confetti fell on the house.
(The Baltimore Sun)

Over the last 16 years, Mariah Carey has been one of the most talked-about artists in pop music, selling more than 61 million albums in the U.S. alone -- more than Michael Jackson, just shy of Madonna -- and earning an astonishing 17 No. 1 singles. It’s about time she played a concert in Detroit.

The multi-octave diva with the voice that can shatter windshields has performed in Detroit before, during sporting events such as the 1990 NBA Finals and last year’s Thanksgiving Day Detroit Lions game. But Saturday’s "Adventures of Mimi" concert at The Palace of Auburn Hills (it’s not quite Detroit, but you get the picture) marks the first time Carey has ever staged a full-scale concert in our fair city.

So why did it take so long? Carey rarely tours. Prior to her current outing -- her biggest production to date -- she had only hit the road sporadically, at best. "No one will ever mistake her for James Brown," says Gary Bongiovanni, editor of concert industry-tracking Pollstar magazine, of the touring machine. Carey’s first tour, in 1993, included only a handful of dates and was poorly received by critics. She didn’t hit the road again until 2000’s Rainbow tour, which saw dates scheduled in only nine North American cities.

In 2003, her Charmbracelet tour skipped Detroit; the closest it came was Chicago. But after staging a career-saving comeback with last year’s hit-heavy "The Emancipation of Mimi" LP, Carey seems committed to connecting with fans like never before. Hence her excessive tour schedule, and her desire to get out in front of audiences to whom she hasn’t previously played. As Carey knows better than anyone, however, all that glitters isn’t always gold.

Mixed reviews: So far, box office receipts for the tour have fallen short of blockbuster status, with several shows being canceled or rescheduled due to soft sales. As of Wednesday, nearly 2,000 tickets were still available for Saturday’s show, and some local corporations were offering discount tickets to employees.

The tour has been garnering spotty reviews, as well. Crowds have complained her multitude of costume changes (and the time burnt changing into said costumes) distracts from the show, and fans at her recent concert at Uncasville, Conn.’s Mohegan Sun Arena -- who paid up to $150 for tickets -- were outraged when Carey left the stage after a mere 75 minutes. (Do the math, kids -- that’s a buck every 30 seconds.)

The 36-year-old songbird’s stage presence -- or relative lack thereof -- has also been called into question, but it’s a charge that tour-opener Sean Paul refutes. "I’ve seen some people say she doesn’t have much rhythm, and she’s not dancing on stage," the dancehall sensation says by phone. "I don’t understand why they just don’t appreciate a good voice. "I don’t know anybody else who could sing so high it sounds like a whistle, and that, to me, is a special person. When she goes -- God bless her, which is going to be many years from now -- you’re not going to find that again. You have to respect people for what they do, for their talent, for what God gave them."

The return of "The Voice": What Carey’s been given -- that booming, glorious voice -- has always been her No. 1 asset.

When it was time to mount a comeback after 2001’s disastrous "Glitter," and its accompanying soundtrack threatened to derail her career (the movie grossed only $4 million and became a national joke; the soundtrack struggled to sell 500,000 copies), it was the voice that was put front and center: In early print ads, "The Emancipation of Mimi" was touted as "The Return of the Voice." In truth, the voice never really went away. It was there on 2002’s limp and uninspired "Charmbracelet," which didn’t do much to resuscitate Carey’s flagging album sales. But "The Emancipation of Mimi" -- Mimi is Carey’s alter ego -- was her smartest album to date, melding that voice with beats by some of the hottest hip-hop producers in the business (Kanye West, the Neptunes, Jermaine Dupri). The result was pure platinum magic.

Before "Mimi," "We wondered if (Carey) might have crossed the hipness threshold to the point where she might not be able to come back," says Dom Theodore, vice president of programming for Clear Channel Detroit, which owns WKQI-FM (95.5) and WJLB-FM (97.9). "But (`Mimi’) had great music, and it just goes to show, first and foremost, it’s all about the music."

On its way to becoming 2005’s best-selling album -- it edged out 50 Cent’s "The Massacre" -- "Mimi" spun hit singles out of clubby tracks "It’s Like That," "Shake It Off" and "Say Somethin’," and the ballads-with-bounce "We Belong Together" and "Don’t Forget About Us." Suddenly, Carey became hot property again.

Tour opener Paul says he didn’t blink at the opportunity to tour with Carey. "I said, `Most definitely.’ Both of us are having a hot year. She’s been having a comeback year; to me, she never went away, but a lot of people doubted her for a moment. But I don’t know how people could doubt that voice, you know what I’m saying?"
(Detroit News)

Mariah Carey is developing a new fake tan made with 24-karat gold dust. The singer is insisting she is beautifully bronzed on every night on her current "Emancipation of Mimi" tour and has hired a personal tanning assistant, Jenny Phillips, to spay her before going on stage.

Mariah and Jenny, of Beverly Hills' exclusive Portofino Sun Center and Spa, have now teamed up to create an extravagant new fake tan made with real gold. Mariah's representative said: "She is on tour with Mariah and they are developing an exclusive line of bronzer containing real 24-karat gold dust."

The singer is famous for her outrageous diva demands and extravagant tastes. In the past, Mariah has paid for her Jack Russell dog - named Jack - to fly first class, refused to walk up or down stairs, requested a red carpet be rolled out for her arrival at a London hotel and reportedly demanded toffee.
(Life Style Extra)

Krayzie Bone's been "Ridin" high lately with Chamillionaire, but he hasn't forgotten his harmonious roots. Bone Thugs-N-Harmony, Krayzie's group since the early '90s, have two new albums on the horizon, beginning with September 19's Thug Stories.

That album, the follow-up to 2002's Thug World Order, marks the group's first release as a trio, since Bizzy Bone is no longer in the group, leaving Krayzie, Layzie Bone and Wish Bone (Flesh-N-Bone is serving a 10-year sentence for armed assault). The first single is the just-released "Don't Stop".

While Thug Stories is a somewhat low-key affair, the second new Bone Thugs album, expected in late 2006, is being overseen by Swizz Beatz (who brought the group to Interscope Records) and will feature a bevy of big names. "We got Dr. Dre, we got Three 6 Mafia, we got Kanye West, we got a lot of people on the album," Krayzie said. "We got Mariah Carey. She promised that she was gonna do a song with us once, and she kept her promise."

Akon and Ice Cube also show up on the album, which has yet to be titled, and verses Flesh-N-Bone recorded behind bars may also appear. "Everybody is excited to come back, 'cause Bone is where it started from," said Krayzie, who is also developing a sneaker line called TL Classics.
(MTV News)

Yes, we went to see Mariah Carey perform at Jones Beach on Sunday night — it was her local-girl-makes-good show, you know. Mariah is a proud Long Islander (and so are we, in part, so we can identify).

The Jones Beach Amphitheater is an outdoor venue, but that didn’t stop Miss Mariah from wearing what was basically a black peignoir set for the first few numbers. Yes, this is lingerie, but it showed off her very toned body. The difference between Mariah and Madonna: yoga. Mariah doesn’t do it, Madonna does. Take your pick.

Even when she’s hoarse or losing her voice, Mariah still sings like a bird and performs vocal tricks that no one should attempt at home. There’s no augmentation — what she has at the moment is what the audience gets, and even with the wind blowing and her midriff bared, Carey managed triple lutzes and some gorgeous notes that were right on target. It’s fascinating to watch her try and miss them, too, because her mistakes are often more interesting than her accomplishments.

Sunday night’s show was also very much about Mariah’s personality — a little eccentric, kind of loopy and happily goofy. She’d changed the entire set list from her previous shows and didn’t know which song was next. Some of it seemed like a surprise, even to her. This was kind of a welcome relief from all the pre-packaged performances of late (hello, Justin!).

She brought out Trey Lorenz for the Jackson 5’s “I’ll Be There” and a medley of some other hits, including “One Sweet Day.” Mariah’s original hits, “Vision of Love” and “Dreamlover,” are still best, and the worst ones — things like “Honey” — remain insurmountable heaps of hip-hop junk that really serve more as filler than anything else.

Certainly, all of that late Sony/Tommy Mottola stuff is far inferior to the material from her recent mega hit “The Emancipation of Mimi” album. And that’s thanks to producer/musical chief Randy Jackson, who doesn’t get enough credit for pulling Mariah out of that rut.

Funny moments: Carey’s long riff about not getting her nails done in time for the show, and telling her local pastor — who performs in the gospel number “Fly Like a Bird” — that she won’t be wearing the revealing dress from the show when she sees him next in church. The whole thing works: She’s a diva who doesn’t take herself too seriously. Mariah is the anti-Madonna, which only means there has to be a Madonna somewhere out there in this universe to balance her out. And that’s OK, too.
(Fox News)

Mariah Carey compared her life to a wild roller coaster ride to start her show Tuesday night at the Turning Stone Resort and Casino Event Center. The analogy came complete with a big-screen depiction of what might be the biggest twisting, turning, rising and dipping amusement park thriller out there. "If you don't get on the ride, you won't experience the adventure," Carey's voice told the crowd.

And what a spectacle her show turned out to be, with plenty of ups to more than balance a couple of dips. To get the low points out of the way: Carey started a half-hour later than the scheduled time, and the crowd started to get restless. Also, with costume changes, a three-song mini-set in the middle for her friend Tre Lorenz and breaks for her DJ to spin old school, she might have spent as much of the 90-minute show time off the stage as on.

But, oh, the upside of that 45 minutes on stage. The costume changes ranged from a small black outfit completed by 4-inch heels to start the show to a yellow gown to a hip-hop style get-up with black clam diggers adorned by a chain to a more flowing aqua gown for the encore. Carey wore a big smile with them all, appearing like a celebrity who's currently at ease with her fame.

Best of all, Carey's voice was pure and golden. She easily reached her trademark high notes that sound like a happy bird singing its morning song. And the crowd loved hearing that voice, whether it was belting out R&B hits from her latest monster comeback album, 2005's "The Emancipation of Mimi", or dipping into "Hero", the ballad she wrote in 1993, during her first wave of huge success.
(The Post-Standard)

Aaron Woodley, the director of Mariah’s upcoming film Tennessee has provided the following details concerning the film:

"Mariah’s character is a waitress in a diner in Texas who dreams of being a country music singer in Nashville. Her name is Krystal Evans and she’s very full of life and energy. She meets up with the brothers and travels with them for a good portion of the movie, all the while being chased by her abusive husband who she’s just run out on. Her husband is a state trooper."
(Mariah Daily)

The brand new edition of Q Magazine includes a lengthy Janet Jackson interview, in which Mariah’s name crops up repeatedly. The interviewer also refers to comments he claims Jermaine Dupri made to him about his relationships with Mariah and Janet.

There’s a pattern here. Whitney Houston, Mariah Carey and you all started out so prim and proper and dominated by a Svengali or father. You’ve each gone street and sexy!

That’s not fair. Control was very hip-hop and very street. And I think with Mariah it was what Tommy Mottola wanted her to do more than what she wanted. She’s now doing her own thing.

She’s the biggest selling female artist of all time, partly thanks to Jermaine. You are second. Don’t you ever nag him and say "you need to sort this shit out"?

That stuff doesn’t bother me. Someone will surpass Mariah at some point. I’m competitive. I can’t be in the Jackson family and not be. But that doesn’t bother me.

In hand-to-hand combat, could you take her? [with comic venom:] I’d crush her...Oh my God, that was an awful question.

Jermaine says Mariah needed a comeback because she made three terrible albums and a terrible film. With you he says it only feels like a comeback because the Superbowl incident criminalised you.

Yes, they tried to make me feel like I killed someone. My God, there are more important things in the world. We were at war and they’re clearing the new schedules over something so tiny? We have no cure for AIDS. Come on, I think it’s dumb and stupid. But it’s the past. This is the most I’ve ever talked about it.

There were some pictures last year where you looked like you’d had a fair bit of pizza...

Yeah, I put on 60lbs. It was physically painful carying that around. That was in preapration for a film called Tennessee (the part eventually went to Mariah Carey). I ate junk. Ice cream with pizza. I like New York pizza with cheese. A lot of potatoes and cheese.David Allen (her nutritionist) got me back in shape.
(Mariah Connection UK)

Has Mariah Carey received some grand and glittery new accessories to go with her itty-bitty, gam-and-boob-baring ensembles? The London Mirror claims the big-lunged, high-note-hitting belter was bestowed with nearly $6 million in baubles last week by Prince Azim, the seemingly starstruck son of the Sultan of Brunei.

The jewels -- described as an 8-carat flawless diamond and a platinum necklace and complementary ring -- were allegedly presented to the emancipated Mimi just before she stepped onstage for her sold-out Madison Square Garden show on Wednesday.

"We were sent by private jet to deliver this gift," a "special envoy" for Prince Azim is quoted as saying as he offered up the tony trinkets, which, given the family’s estimated $40-billion-plus fortune, were probably fished out from between the couch cushions of the plane. Not surprisingly, Mariah was "overjoyed" by the gift, says the paper.

This isn’t the first time the 24-year-old prince has been linked to a celebrity, although he appears to be moving up the food chain. Not only did he once reportedly have a ridiculously large bouquet sent to Jerry Hall, but he was also spotted exiting a London eatery last year hand-in-hand with taut-faced actress Faye Dunaway.

Meanwhile, CBS’s Showbuzz reported last week that the generous royal is such a big fan of singer Monica that his family had her flown in as a guest at his recent birthday bash. No word on whether Prince Azim was also the mysterious benefactor who purportedly sent Carey a diamond ring and matching bracelet shortly before she performed in Monaco late last year.

The Mirror said at the time that the curvy chanteuse was "excited" -- although apparently not "overjoyed" -- by those sparklers.
(MSN Entertainment )

And lo, The Voice did deign to make an appearance, finally, at the Pepsi Arena on Friday night, an hour after the opening act had finished. And lo, The Voice was good. At times, The Voice was great -- soaring, passionate, magnificent in its range and acrobatics.

Mariah Carey still has a marvelous instrument. And if she's never met a note that she didn't want to filigree or use as a multi-octave launching pad, well, she does it better than anyone. You can't hold the flourishes against her by now. (Her negative influence on all those "American Idol" auditionees is a bone to pick another time.)

At the Pepsi, as part of her "The Adventures of Mimi: The Voice, the Hits, the Tour" tour, Carey stormed through "Fly Like a Bird," which spent almost two months at the top of the R&B charts. She caressed the ballad "My Heart," ("MY ALL")from her smash-selling "Butterfly" album. "Fantasy," done from a midfloor secondary stage as a duet with a videoscreen version of Ol' Dirty Bastard, funked long and hard. And her duet on the Jackson 5 tune "I'll Be There," sung with Trey Lorenz, with whom she recorded it, was loose and lovely. (Lorenz got a few moments of his own, too, including a cover of Gnarls Barkley's "Crazy" that rightly riled up the arena.)

But, really, between the unnecessary diva elements -- putting on sunglasses is a costume change? -- and the frequent waits, the concert entertained merely as much as it aggravated. Carey's breathiness seemed more frequent and annoying than her bravura vocal work, especially in songs like "Shake It Off." Worse, the drippy insipidities of her lyrics proved wearing throughout.

Finally, you'd think that Carey, at 36, more than a decade and a half into her career, would be better at stage patter than this effort at a song introduction: "Um, so, yeah -- I love you back. And I'm not just saying that, too. What I wanted to tell you is that I'm going to do a song -- well, how do I tell the story different? Well, um, anyway, here goes."

Jamaican dancehall sensation Sean Paul, accompanied by seven musicians, four singers and his own undulant pelvis, opened the show with 45 minutes of infectious, head-nodding reggae rhythms. He could have done with fewer exhortations that "the lay-deez" in the crowd should "make some noyyyy-ze," but his feel-good grooves more than compensated. And his sentiments seemed heartfelt, if crude, when he said, "Everybody who wants peace, make some (freakin') noise!" Why one of the backup singers did a strip routine before standing on her head is anybody's guess.
(Albany Times Union)

Mariah Carey performed in concert at the Pepsi Arena in Albany, New York last night, September 1st. Below is the setlist, and some tidbits from the show.

Mariah did an amazing show. Her high notes were flawless. She did not sing "Vision of Love," "Make It Happen," and the usual snippets but performed "Stay The Night" and snippets of "I Wish You Knew" and "Your Girl."

She did "Your Girl" on B-stage after "Fantasy" and "Don't Forget About Us" on the main stage after "Honey." She said she was mixing it up a little and that it was the second time that she did "Your Girl" live. There were no Spike Lee videos.

Opening act Sean Paul came on at 8:00pm, and Mariah at 9:40pm. Mariah talked to fan Michael who had a sign up with his cellphone number. The jumbo screen showed it and the crowd laughed.

She put some lip gloss on during a song and threw it into the audience and said, "Now you know that's 'hot' lip gloss." The show ended at 11:00pm - a good 1 hour and 20 minutes.
(Mariah Daily)

Mariah Carey is laughing off reports she flashed fans during a recent concert in Montreal, Canada, insisting it was an embarrassing wardrobe malfunction. The singer was in the middle of a concert at the Centre Bell arena on August 15 when eagle-eyed fans spotted one of her breasts pop out of her black gown, according to US tabloid the Globe.

But prim and proper Carey is pleased no one is making a big deal about the slip-up, which she quickly corrected offstage. She joked: "The twins didn't want to stay where they were supposed to."
(Ireland On-Line)

10 Million worldwide selling album THE EMANCIPATION OF MIMI generates 25 industry awards – three Grammys, two Soul Train Music Awards, four VIBE Awards, American Music Award, five Billboard Music Awards, four Radio Music Awards, six BMI Awards

As she reaches the half-way point on her North American tour, playing to packed houses and roaring, fanatical crowds in every city – including sold-out homecoming New York-area shows last week at Madison Square Garden and the Continental Airlines Arena – performer and song¬writer Mariah Carey, the top-selling female artist in history, has now been honored with six of the most prestigious awards of her entire career. Mariah is the recipient of BMI's Songwriter of The Year Award; Song of the Year "We Belong Together"; #1 Billboard Song "We Belong Together"; and the 3 most performed songs: "We Belong Together," "Shake It Off," and "Don't Forget About Us".

The six BMI Awards cap one of the most phenomenally successful year-and-a-halfs of Mariah's entire career, centering upon the success of her Island Records album The Emancipation Of Mimi, which generated three Grammy awards and more than a dozen additional major industry awards. Soundscan’s biggest-selling album of 2005, Mimi has sold over 10 million units worldwide to date, bringing Mariah's career sales to over 160 million units world¬wide.

Mariah’s most successful tour ever, "The Adventures of Mimi: The Voice, The Hits, The Tour," is selling out arenas from coast to coast. The Los Angeles Times said that the Live Nation-produced "Adventures’ tour showcases a well-toned and well-honed talent." Live Nation President and Chief Executive Officer, Michael Rapino, called the tour "An absolute home run that solidifies Mariah as one of the most successful live acts around."

Mariah's new cache of BMI Awards join a shelf of honors that began last November at the 33rd annual American Music Awards, where she was voted Favorite Soul/Rhythm & Blues Female Artist. At the 3rd annual VIBE Awards the same month, Mariah led everyone with four wins generated by Mimi: Artist Of The Year, Album Of The Year, R&B Voice Of The Year, and Best R&B Song for "We Belong Together."

At the 2005 Billboard Music Awards in December, Mariah was named Top R&B Singles Artist - Female, Top R&B/Hip-Hop Artist - Female, Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums Artist - Female, and Top Overall Albums Artist - Female, with "We Belong Together" named the #1 Hot 100 Single Of the Year. Later that month, at the annual Radio Music Awards broadcast from Las Vegas, Mariah was honored with the Legend Award and was named Artist of the Year/Urban and Rhythmic Radio, in addition to "We Belong Together" winning both Song of the Year/Main Stream Hit Radio and Song of the Year/Urban and Rhythmic Radio.

It was the prelude to the 48th annual Grammy Awards in February 2006. Mariah received 8 nominations (tied for the highest number of nominations for the year) and was ultimately honored for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance and Best R&B Song for "We Belong Together," and Best Contemporary R&B Album for The Emancipation Of Mimi. At the broadcast, Mariah delivered a rousing, career-defining medley of "We Belong Together" and "Fly Like A Bird," the latter backed by Hezekiah Walker & Brooklyn's 30-voice Love Fellowship Tabernacle Choir.

Mimi includes Mariah's 16th and 17th #1 career singles, "We Belong Together" and "Don't Forget About Us," respectively – which tied one of the most enduring chart records in Billboard Hot 100 history, Elvis Presley's 17 #1's. Mariah is now positioned as the only active recording artist in the 48 years of the Hot 100 (which began in 1958) with the potential to match or surpass the Beatles' all-time high of 20 #1 hits. With 76 total weeks of #1 hits (since her career began in 1990), Mariah also ranks second only to Presley's all-time high 79 weeks.
(Mariah Carey.com)

U.S. performing right organization BMI saluted the premier r&b, rap and hip-hop songwriters, producers and publishers at its 6th Annual Urban Awards held Aug. 30 in New York City. Hosted by BMI President & CEO Del Bryant and Atlanta Writer/Publisher VP Catherine Brewton, the red carpet was hopping at the star-studded ceremony, which took place at the famed Roseland Ballroom.

Mariah Carey took home two of the night's top honors, including Song of the Year for her smash "We Belong Together" and Songwriter of the Year, which she shared with Miami-based producers Bigg D and Jim Jonsin.

Song of the Year "We Belong Together," which Carey co-wrote, ruled the top of multiple charts for months after its release in 2005, relaunching the five-octave singer's career back into superstardom. Carey also picked up her third BMI Songwriter of the Year award at the ceremony for placing three songs on the most-performed list ("Don't Forget About Us," "Shake It Off," "We Belong Together").

As the best-selling female performer of the 1990s, Carey stood apart by composing all her own material, and was twice before named Songwriter of the Year (1993 and 1999). She takes the top songwriter prize for the third time this year by placing three of her own hits on the most-performed list – "Don't Forget About Us," "Shake It Off" and "We Belong Together" – all from last year's comeback release, The Emancipation of Mimi. Carey, who also wrote 1992's Pop Song of the Year, "Love Takes Time," has a total of 23 BMI Awards and 15 "Million-Air" songs that have had one million or more broadcast performances.

BMI is an American performing right organization that represents more than 300,000 songwriters, composers and publishers in all genres of music, with a repertoire of more than 6.5 million musical works from around the world.

For a complete list of 2006 BMI Urban Awards winners, please visit bmi.com/urban. Note: Mariah garnered a total of six (6) prestigious awards at tonight's BMI Urban Awards, namely: "Songwriter of the Year," "Song of the Year: We Belong Together," "#1 Billboard Song: We Belong Together," and the 3 most performed songs: "We Belong Together," "Shake It Off," and "Don't Forget About Us."
(Yahoo!)

Entertainment Tonight's Ryan Devlin is behind the scenes with Mimi herself, Mariah Carey, in New York talking romance, music, touring and taking home six prestigious BMI Awards!

Mariah's album The Emancipation of Mimi, which has sold 10 million copies, has been honored with six BMI Awards including Song of the Year and Songwriter of the Year.

"I've been writing my own songs my whole life so it's a weird thing if you're not strumming a guitar or behind a piano people don't think of you as a songwriter because all they see is the diva thing," she says. "I feel like songwriting is more my thing than singing is. I know that sounds bizarre to people who didn't even know I write my own songs!"

The star can put those awards right next to her three Grammys®, two Soul Train Music Awards, four VIBE Awards, an American Music Award, five Billboard Music Awards and four Radio Music Awards for the best-selling album.

Mariah is in the midst of her North American tour, which isn't always fun she says. "It's like two days before it's complete silence and boredom for me -- everyone else is living it up and I'm there with a humidifier and writing notes," she says of preparing for each show. "You're kind of in jail but then you go on stage and that's your fun." And when she's not on stage, she's hard at work.

The award-winning singer reveals to Ryan that she is indeed working on her follow-up to The Emancipation of Mimi. "I'm definitely trying to start working on my new album," she says. "I'll wake up with new concepts and ideas. I have to have my tape recorder right next to me!"

But she does admit that when she's not in the recording studio, she does enjoy a little down time and doesn't even mind getting recognized. "You have to accept it," she says. "You asked for it and you got it and you have to deal with it."

Log on to ETOnline.com to watch a video stream of Ryan's backstage interview with Mariah or download a video file here.
(ET Online)

Venus [PG], a recognized authority on women's legs, along with superstar Mariah Carey, today named Lauren Jaramillo, 21, of Belleville, N.J. the national winner of the fourth annual Venus "Legs of a Goddess" contest.

Ms. Jaramillo received the coveted title after defeating thousands of other women across the country. Contestants vied for the honor and a $25,000 grand prize at select locations this summer in conjunction with Ms. Carey's sold-out concert tour, The Adventures of Mimi: The Voice, The Hits, The Tour.

Contestants were asked to strut their stuff on a catwalk and "strike a pose" for judges who were looking for a woman with toned, shapely legs who exuded a confident, vibrant personality. "General Hospital" leading lady and "Dancing with the Stars" season one winner, Kelly Monaco, served as celebrity guest judge for the contest.

When notified that she had won, Ms. Jaramillo said, "I can't believe Venus chose me as the national 'Legs of a Goddess' winner. This is so exciting!"

Mariah Carey, who captured three GRAMMY® Awards for her celebrated album The Emancipation of Mimi, which has sold over 10 million copies worldwide, kicked off the nationwide Venus "Legs of a Goddess" contest on May 30 when she was immortalized with a 16-foot high likeness of her perfect legs. Ms. Carey received the title of first ever "Venus Celebrity Legs of a Goddess" and unveiled the replica during a ceremony at New York's legendary Radio City Music Hall, home to some of the most famous legs in the world.
(PR Newswire)

Last night, Mariah Carey performed a second concert in Toronto, Ontario, Canada at the Air Canada Centre. Fans who were in attendance claimed last night's was more impressive than her August 13th show.

Mariah did not do any snippets. She sang every song full out and to the maximum. She cut out "Make It Happen" but sang "I Wish You Knew" in full. She mentioned that she wrote "I Wish You Knew" to be "a song to make an entrance on."

When Mariah was going to the B-stage, she did not go from the side of the stage, she entered from the side of the venue's 100 level. All lights were on her instead of the usual just popping up on the B-stage. Mariah saw fan Alexander's sign: "Mariah, please sing Can't Take That Away" while singing Hero and said to him, "This is sort of like Can't Take That Away."

The show was significantly shorter than the August 13th show because of the cuts and there were no Spike Lee videos. Mariah and Trey were fooling around a lot during "I'll Be There." Apparently, Trey made his entrance down the ramp and tripped; and started singing something about tripping instead of the lyrics and she responded back. They, however, got serious and finished the song the right way.
(Mariah Daily)