Manchester Arena: The most confusing show on Earth
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Expectant fans packed Manchester Arena for Mariah Carey's "All I Want For Christmas Is You" tour, desperate to see her add perhaps a sprinkle of snow to her usual oeuvre of chart topping bangers... only to be met with a setlist of truly niche proportions.
From "O Holy Night", to "Silent Night", to "Hark! The Herald Angels" sing, she really wasn't giving up on the whole Christmas theme. A giant Christmas tree towered above her and supersize gifts flanked the stage; on-screen projections of Christmas knits, gingerbread and baubles hanging off the Empire State Building (?!) formed the backdrop of the festive extravaganza.
Every three songs the most ghastly Christmas motif played out between a bunch of kids acting and singing terribly while Mariah sauntered off stage to change costume, at one point taking 11 minutes to switch from one red dress to another.
Next up was the vocal performance. The "Songbird Supreme", as Carey has been popularly termed, rose to fame for her remarkable five-octave vocal range. Go back in time to that early footage of the MTV Unplugged show which silenced critics who said she could never hit a whistle-tone live, and you'll see a confident, likeable, smiley Carey reeling off supersonic tones which climb higher and higher as easily you or I might order a coffee.
But in recent years, countless videos have flooded the internet of the once vocal-acrobat struggling to even keep her miming in time with a click-track which does all the work for her. Hence, last night it was unclear if she was singing live, miming completely, or doing a half-and-half. If the former, then the Elusive Chanteuse retains her place in the palace of vocal royalty - her voice soaring, simmering, screeching slickly across that truly unbelievable register. If she was indeed miming, as many believed, then what's left of a once impeccable Mariah is simply a multi-millionaire walking slowly around a stage for an hour and a half saying the word "festive".
Yet the stadium was alight with energy for the wonderfully lazy diva. An idle wave with her index finger, or a quiet "I love you" would set the stadium abuzz with screams, clicks and claps. In one particularly touching moment the presumably out of touch icon gave an incredibly heartfelt tribute to the victims of the attack which happened in the very same room earlier this year. She proffered messages of light, sharing, caring, reminding us of the true importance of this time of year: love, and the fact that she owns a bunch of live reindeer.
And while it was all pretty confusing, one thing that is absolutely certain is that people still bloody love that twenty-year old song of hers which the entire tour was built around. The moment the finale started - with those sleigh-bells and that little plinky-plonky piano - people genuinely lost it. One girl next to me live-streaming herself singing along while weeping her mascara down her cheeks.
While this number, "Emotion", and "We Belong Together" were the highlights of the night by light-years, the most confusing show on earth was also confusingly charming: mums and daughters, glam girls and their reluctant boyfriends, and groups of concealer-clad gay men (me included) all coming together to celebrate Mariah celebrating Mariah celebrating Christmas. Completely bizarre, utterly unnecessary, but a spectacularly festive night had by all. Especially Mariah.
(The Independent)
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Licia from USA wrote:
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So the person who wrote this is upset she sang a setlist of Christmas songs for a Christmas show? Maybe I read this mess wrong . Am I the only person who expects Christmas songs to be performed at a Christmas show? I'm not understanding how the show was confusing when the theme of the show was announced as Christmas from the beginning. Lol. 
(Monday 11 December 2017; 15:59)
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Hanno van Leeuwen from The Netherlands wrote:
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What a nobody who wrote that article, it was an amazing show. Mariah was great. Some lipping here and there but what else is new?
(Monday 11 December 2017; 16:13)
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Chicago Lamb from USA wrote:
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This write up is a weak, bleak and feeble attempt to give her a ho-hum review for the show. Quite transparent, wouldn't you think?
(Monday 11 December 2017; 16:21)
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Matthew from USA wrote:
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Eh, I think the writer meant well. But he seems a little pressed to display his intellectual remove from the proceedings. He strikes me as either a really young gay out to impress, or an older gay who is a little on the jaded cynical side. In the end, he's baffled by all the joy and festivity in the room, and I can only have sympathy for someone so confused about the reason for the season.
(Monday 11 December 2017; 17:12)
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Licia from USA wrote:
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Nope this person was just being a twat waffle because he saw nothing bad so he had to make an issue out of something. That's probably just what he does. Writing this article made him sound stupid because the theme and premise of the show was put up front from the get go. *shrugs*
(Monday 11 December 2017; 18:02)
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