The singer has also revealed eight additional dates for her most recent residency.
Las Vegas and Mariah Carey go naturally together.
Mariah Carey: The Celebration of Mimi Live at Dolby Live at Park MGM kicked off her third Vegas run on Friday, April 12. Though Carey, 55, is not new to doing residencies in Nevada, her most recent magnificent performance was popular.
Honoring the anniversary of her smash album, The Emancipation of Mimi, the event included many of her most beloved songs and music from the 2005 LP.
During the 90-minute performance, Carey energetically tore through her discography performing favorites including “Vision of Love,” “Emotion,” “Hero,” and “Always Be My Baby.” Carey frequently struck the high notes throughout to highlight her vocal range of acknowledged ability.
The musical superstar asked her audience how they were doing at one point in the show, and then she said, “I’m feeling good, too.”
The singer also utilized the big stage and visuals to accentuate the performance; a blue waterfall poured behind her during “Can’t Let Go,” and finally that water turned into smoke.
Carey later sang a medley of songs while seated on a couch in the middle of the stage after donning a bustier draped in a feathery bathrobe. The floor-to-ceiling curtain around her gave the concert, despite the big audience, a personal feel. On a huge screen, a montage of behind-the-scenes videos also showed a look at Carey’s three-decade career.
Carey frequently provided brief openers to the tracks, such as “Dreamlover” from 1993 featuring a narrative about Aretha Franklin. She said she had been scheduled to present a performance honoring Aretha Franklin, the queen of soul, but after observing a nervous producer, she sensed things weren’t going as planned.
“Mariah they’re playing games and I’m not having the games, so we won’t be rehearsing tonight,” Franklin remarked, according to Carey.
Carey finally visited Franklin in her trailer to practice with her. “She says, ‘Mariah, what are all these folks doing that’s making them so, so hot? I find it incomprehensible, ” ” On April 12, Carey informed the audience that Franklin “hated” air conditioning since she felt it interfered with her singing.
“It was so humorous that she’s cracking jokes left and right and that time she remarked, ‘I enjoy your song “Dreamlover.'”So in honor of Miss Franklin, let’s do “Dreamlover,'” Carey suggested, and started on the popular song.
Carey was heard in pre-recorded voiceovers talking of her life at several points during the show; her comments were flashed on a big ring that hovered over the stage. She also advised viewers in one part of the program to, “protect your dreams.”
Along with the music, the event featured three different hairstyles and seven clothing changes. Carey nodded to her amazing gown late in the evening.
“Does it matter if I have someone else hold my dress for me? She laughed at one point, stepping on the stage in a dazzling silver dress, saying, “Bejeweled darling, it’s bejeweled.”
“The show is a celebration of Mariah’s music throughout her career,” Carey’s makeup artist Kristopher Buckle just told PEOPLE exclusively.
“The production is smooth and sexy. Mariah’s appearance captures her now, but with hints to the several decades and classic glitzy outfits she is known for,” he said.
Buckle himself walked out on stage during Carey’s “Shake It Off” performance on April 12 to touch up the superstar’s makeup.
Carey also had several well-known audience members. Singer Anitta caught the inaugural residency performance of the “Hero” singer and has previously discussed her great love of Carey, including during a 2022 guest on Watch What Happens Live.
Carey later commemorated the concert on her Instagram page with three pictures featuring images of her from the evening.
Along with clothing, style, hair, and makeup credits, the music legend captioned each of the three postings, “The Celebration of Mimi 🦋Opening Night @ Dolby Live @parkmgm.”
Residencies in Las Vegas are not novel to the pop sensation. She started her #1 to Infinity concert at Caesars Palace in 2015, running through June 2017. Carey sang her eighteen No. 1 singles in sequential order in it. December 2017 saw her return to the Caesars stage for a run of Christmas-oriented events.
Then, in July 2018, Carey opened a second full residency performance in Vegas as The Butterfly Returns. Running through February 2020, that exhibition likewise at Caesars Palace ended just before the COVID epidemic closed the city.
The singer has just revealed eight additional dates this year: July 26, 27, and 31 as well as Aug. 2, 3, 7, 9, and 10 for fans who have not yet bought tickets to Carey’s latest residency.
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