When Mariah Carey released her debut holiday album in 1994, would anyone have predicted Christmastime domination from the young pop chanteuse who was then-famous for "Emotions"?
But here we are almost 35 years into Carey's sterling career, a journey that has yielded "Fantasy", "Always Be My Baby", "Honey", "We Belong Together", a procession of other radio takeovers and one gloriously ubiquitous Christmas song.
The return of "All I Want for Christmas is You" - the linchpin of her "Merry Christmas" album three decades ago - has become an annual event, with Carey finding fun ways to "defrost" her jingle bell jaunt each year.
It's also the zippy closer of her Christmas Time tour, on which she embarked in early November. Her spreading of good cheer continues through a December 17 hometown show in New York.
On Sunday at Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C., a large portion of the sold-out crowd was attired in festive wear (Santa hats with blinking lights, an acre of green and red and one fan dressed as a Christmas tree) and seemed infused with holiday glee. Or at least delight at basking in Carey's perfumed aura for a brisk 90 minutes.
The snow princess arrived on a descending snowflake - as one does - and departed on a sleigh, seasonal bookends to a show high on production value and vocal centerpieces.
An eight-piece choir joined her four-member band and three background singers for the opening "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing" as white particles drifted from the rafters and Carey, 55, baby-stepped across the stage in a curve-hugging white mermaid gown.
It was the first of four costume changes that also included a caped gown and bodysuits. Each couture arrival was greeted with breathless excitement by her Lambies.
"Feel that joy. It's what the world needs," Carey said before an elegantly arranged "Joy to the World", the classic dotted with her trademark melismatic singing.
Carey's Santa sack of favorites included a sincere rendition of Darlene Love's fantabulous "Christmas (Baby, Please Come Home)", its lush Phil Spector production credibly replicated by her band; the syncopated pop of "Oh Santa!", an original from her second Christmas album, 2010's "Merry Christmas II You"; and a high-kicking (not by Carey, but her rubber-limbed dancers) prance through "Sleigh Ride".
Carey's 13-year-old twins, Moroccan and Monroe, also made a cute appearance to allow Mom time for a wardrobe change. The teens and a pack of pals brandished drum sticks and guitars for a romp through another Christmas benchmark, The Waitresses' 1981 cheeky treasure "Christmas Wrapping", as they briefly stole the spotlight.
But no matter how many choir members, dancers or props on stage, there was never a problem spotting Carey with her cascading caramel-colored hair and prim movements, even when Santa himself arrived to toss gifts to the crowd.
Carey also wisely injected a handful of her non-frost-friendly favorites into the show, an efficient transition that arrived with a burst of springy dancers and the slick R&B pop of "Emotions" (she still lands those signature dog-whistle notes quite impressively) and continued with the buttery balladry of "Hero". Carey glided through the uplifting song, punctuated by a sea of lights in the venue, with such conviction that you started to believe that yes, a hero does live in you.
While Carey can give the impression that she's an untouchable diva, she again showed how supposition is often false when a team of security guards gingerly led her through the front row of fans to take selfies and sign items while semi-singing "Always Be My Baby". It was a moment that directly contradicted ice queen assumptions and also showcased Carey's genuine affection for her Lambily.
This Christmas Time Tour is, obviously, constructed around Carey's commandeering of the holiday thanks to a sweet jangle of an anthem. But it's pure Carey genius to use that hit as merely the launch pad for jolly supremacy.
(USA Today)
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