Mariah Carey shines in Gold Coast show
Mariah Carey put the "gold" into Gold Coast last night with a 24-carat performance - her first full-length concert since June last year. The "songbird supreme" delivered the goods - from costume changes to dancers, purring, old-pro banter and circus-feat high notes - at the long sold-out show presented by Jupiters at the Gold Coast Convention and Exhibition Centre.
Unfortunately sound problems saw the show get off to a less-than-perfect start. "There's a lot of difficult sound problems going on here," Carey said. "I don't know if it's just me or it's just you, or it's something in the air, but can we fix it," she said.
It is a shame she wasn't playing Jupiters Theatre. A capacity crowd of more than 4500 went nuts the moment the sultry American diva, resplendent in killer heels and a figure-hugging silver embroidered mini-dress, backed by a four-piece band, three vocalists and six male dancers, opened with Can't Take That Away, also known as Mariah's Theme, from her seventh studio album, 1999's Rainbow.
Half an hour into the set, husband Nick Cannon brought Carey's 18-month-old twins Monroe and Moroccan on to stage to meet the crowd. The "lambs" - Carey's term for her loyal fanbase, just as Lady Gaga calls her followers "little monsters" - had been waiting since 1998's Butterfly world tour to see the singer on Aussie soil.
Carey, 42, mixed things up with old-school hits such as My All, Always Be My Baby, Hero and Make It Happen alongside more recent showstoppers such as 2009's Obsessed (said to be about Eminem) and the track that saw her pass Elvis as the singer with the most No. 1s in US history, 2008 hit Touch My Body (complete with finger snaps).
Her five-octave range was given a workout on disco-flavoured favourite Emotions, from her 1991 album of the same name, while her husky alto remains intact. The singer's singer was in her element on the revealing Close My Eyes, a song she rates as one of her favourites.
After 22 years in the spotlight - and with album sales of more than 200 million and five Grammys, 17 World Music Awards and 31 Billboard Awards to her credit - the mother of toddler twins Monroe and Moroccan is a consumate pro in the tradition of the world's greatest performers.
Other gems in last night's set included We Belong Together and the standout Shake It Off, from 2005's The Emancipation of Mimi album, written after Carey split with first husband Tommy Mottola. The show climaxed with the Carey-penned festive megahit All I Want for Christmas. (Gold Coast Bulletin News)
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