Did you know...
Mariah's first DVD was a Japan only release in 1996. While Mariah's Music Box tour in 1993 had consisted of only a handful of US-only shows, 1996 saw Mariah embark on her first foreign gigs. The "Daydream Tour" of Spring-Summer 1996 was still only 7 concerts long, but it allowed Mariah's European and especially Japanese fans to see her live for the first time.
By 1996 Mariah was already one of the most successful foreign artists in Japan of all time so it was appropriate that her Japanese fan base was treated to 3 sell out concerts at the Tokyo Dome. At least one of these shows was recorded for future release but initially Sony released "Fantasy: Mariah Carey at Madison Square Garden" as her second concert video. As the title suggests this video captured Mariah's one off gig at New York's Madison Square Garden in late 1995. This show was primarily designed to showcase the then newly released Daydream album and was given TV airings in both the UK and US before its video release.
In late 1996 Sony decided to repackage this release on DVD specifically for the Japanese market. This new release entitled "Mariah Carey: Daydream from New York to Tokyo" combined footage from both the Madison Square Garden and Tokyo Dome shows, sometimes even cutting between the two within one song. The track listing was as follows: 01. Fantasy (Tokyo Dome)
02. Fantasy (Bad Boy Fantasy With ODB) (MSG)
03. Make It Happen (MSG/Tokyo Dome)
04. Underneath The Stars (Tokyo Dome)
05. Dreamlover (Tokyo Dome)
06. One Sweet Day (MSG)
07. Forever (Tokyo Dome)
08. Always Be My Baby (Tokyo Dome/MSG)
09. Hero (MSG/Tokyo Dome)
10. Anytime You Need A Friend (Tokyo Dome) The new DVD release was an updated version of the concert medley that aired on Fox Network in the states. Given Mariah's massive popularity in Japan it wasn't surprising that Sony should use a Mariah release to help boost sales of the relatively new DVD format. A similar tactic was used when Mariah was employed as the face and voice for Japanese mini disc adverts.
What is more odd is why Sony didn't choose to capitalise on her international following by releasing "From New York to Tokyo" in the rest of the world either on DVD or video. In fact this release was scheduled for US release in early 1997. This never happened and the DVD was mysteriously pulled form Japanese stores after only a couple of days. Speculation has it that this decision may have been linked to Mariah's spilt from Tommy Mottola. Although their separation wasn't confirmed until May 1997, it is thought Mariah actually walked out on Tommy just before Christmas 1996.
What is certain is that the Tokyo Dome footage has never been fully released. Only an audio and video recording of Forever were commercially available. Like the later Butterfly, Rainbow and Charmbracelet concert footage, the show has remained in the vaults. High quality sound and video footage has however been widely circulated as the infamous "Out In Japan" bootleg, its popularity boosted by the inclusion of Mariah's cover of "Just Be Good To Me" whch has never been officially released.
While Mariah fans still await official re-releases of her early video releases on DVD, an international release of this footage would surely be warmly received. (Mariah Connection)
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