| Saturday 23 September 2006 |
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Mariah in the flesh
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)
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