The diva knocks 'em dead

CHRISTMAS LITERALLY came early last Thursday for Thai fans of Mariah Carey when the “songbird supreme” graced the stage at Impact Arena for the second time.
If the “Elusive Chanteuse Show” tour was going to feel like dejavu from her 2007 show, though, the fans weren’t going to mind. Many were there early to beat the inevitable heavy traffic, and most were Thai, Carey drawing far fewer expats than foreign acts usually do.
The Thais made up for anyone’s absence, arriving armed with neon signs reading “I love Mariah”, “I [heart] Mimi” and “Your music is the soundtrack of my life”. Also on hand was a large contingent of cross-dressers dolled up in ball gowns, long gloves and fancy headpieces in tribute to the diva’s usual look.
Videos posted online of Carey struggling with her voice at the preceding concerts in Tokyo, Seoul and Manila had somewhat disheartened the Thai fans, but they came undeterred and determined to enjoy the show. Carey was going to receive their undying support no matter how badly she sang. At it turned out, they needn’t have worried at all.
After requiring an extra hour to herd the crowd into the arena, the show began at 9pm with Carey emerging in a Santa Claus costume – with miniskirt, of course. “Hello, Bangkok!” she yelled to overwhelming cheers. “Tomorrow is Halloween, but I’m not going to be onstage tomorrow night, so happy Halloween – and Merry Christmas!”
She then belted out “All I Want for Christmas is You”, followed by the hits “Touch My Body”, “Shake It Off” and “Emotions”, all of which had the fans exhaling in relief because she hit the high notes beautifully. “Emotions” ended at her signature piercing register.
Carey continued on with old favourites and tracks from her latest album, “Me. I Am Mariah ... The Elusive Chanteuse”. There was “Crybaby”, “Fly Like a Bird” and “My All”, on the last of which she barely made the high notes, but she managed to finish the song in style.
Carey had a packed stage with the band, three backup singers and dancers. The production wasn’t elaborate, but enough to add aesthetic quality to the show. The gigantic screen showed visual effects and clips from her music videos, which did a great job of grabbing the attention and easing transitions between songs that spanned the genres from pop and R&B to hip-hop and soul.
The fans were over the moon as Carey continued to treat them with tunes like “Heartbreaker”, “Beautiful”, “It’s Like That”, “The Roof”, “Obsessed”, “Don’t Forget about Us”, “That Chick”, “Honey”, “Thirsty” and “Hero”.
The concert showed no signs of wrapping up, but, after “Hero”, people in the front rows started leaving, infuriating the rest of the audience not only because it was disrespectful, but also because these were the “VIPs” to whom one of the show’s sponsors had given the best seats, worth up to Bt8,000.
This had been an issue since the tickets went on sale two months ago, when hardcore fans were disappointed that they couldn’t get front-row seats because they were “reserved”.
At any rate, the real fans wasted no time commandeering the vacated section up front, and Carey didn’t seem to mind at all. She kept the crowd in ecstasy with even bigger hits like “Supernatural”, “We Belong Together” and “Always Be My Baby” and finally capped off the proceedings with “Butterfly”.
Throughout the show the chanteuse rocked the stage with her unique charm, charisma and light-hearted humour, proving that being a diva is all about being entertaining. She’s artistically prolific and uniquely talented, a legend in her own right and nothing else.