Mariah Carey showed Nashville Monday night that she is indeed the reigning queen of Christmas. For two hours at Bridgestone Arena she gave audiences exactly what they came for: sparkly dresses, dancers, fake snow, confetti, classic Christmas music and yes, she brought the high notes.
After descending to the stage on a massive snowflake. Carey proclaimed, "Hello Nashville!" She opened with "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing", and "Joy to the World" before slowing it down with a bluesy rendition of "Silent Night".
In addition to a special guest (Santa Claus) Carey also brought the packed house a gift. She brought some "Fantasy", some "Emotions", and a "Hero".
"The idea came from my agent Rob Light at CAA," she told the crowd. "He was like, 'Why don't you do some of your other songs?' I didn't really see how they fit in with the Christmas songs and then he said something that remained in my head: 'You gotta give them the hits.'"
On the 30th anniversary of her classic 1994 album "Merry Christmas", Carey showed the crowd she still possesses the five-octave vocal range that made her famous and while she didn't join her backup dancers in some of the fresh choreography, she didn't need to. The voice is what fans came to hear, and she brought it in full force.
After introducing her band, musical director and singers, Carey told the crowd, "Now I want you to meet my two favorite people: my kids!" Her twins with ex-husband Nick Cannon, son Moroccan and daughter Monroe took the stage for a few musical numbers while mom made a costume change. Moroccan played the drums and rapped a little while Monroe sang and danced along with backup dancers.
Stealing the show was arguably the youngest dancer on the stage, 10-year-old Nolayn Williams, who brought a little Bruno Mars, a little Michael Jackson and a lot of energy to the show.
Carey took a moment to read signs held up by audiences in the front row, she signed a few autographs and even took a selfie with one young fan donning a Mariah Carey T-shirt.
But the show wouldn't be complete until Carey would return to the stage after a beautiful performance of "Carol of the Bells" by her choir, riding in the sleigh wearing the red jumpsuit she wore on the "Merry Christmas" album cover and brought the house down with the best-selling holiday single by a female artist of all time, "All I Want for Christmas Is You".
(Knoxville News Sentinal)
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