Mariah Carey review — dazzling vocals but a stiff performance
The singer is still able to hit that E7 high — holding her ear as she whipped it out for Emotions and Beautiful, backed by two female singers and a man dressed in white. She may be 56 but the six-time Grammy winner didn't disappoint with her vocals, even if they often weren't audible thanks to the word-perfect recitals from many in the audience.
• Read more music reviews, interviews and guides on what to listen to next
This could have been annoying, but the fans' devotion enhanced the atmosphere and added to what was otherwise a physically stiff performance. There has been much speculation online about why Carey barely moves on stage — is it a corset, her tottering heels and thigh-high boots, or a health problem? Whatever the answer, she is conspicuously immobile, dazzling instead with her vocal runs and perfect smile.
Besides, she had a troupe of magnificent male dancers to do the moving. They filled the stage with their breakdancing, voguing and a burlesque chair routine. Some of these displays and a couple of instrumental interludes from her four-man band took place while Carey was off stage switching outfits, a process that took rather too long.
• Mariah Carey: Ageing doesn't happen to me and I won't allow it
But then she would make up for it with her big hitters such as Obsessed, Always Be My Baby and Touch My Body — the latter an especially appreciated offering from her mid 2000s comeback era and the song which made her break Elvis Presley's record for most Billboard No 1 singles in US history. For Say Somethin', her 2006 collaboration with Snoop Dogg, she had the dancers playfully touch up her make-up.
It's a shame that after a show with many highs she chose to end on the rather dull Fly Like a Bird. 'One more song,' chanted a man in a Santa hat and jumpsuit with 'All I Want For Christmas' on the bum. August isn't the time for her biggest hit, but a more up-tempo finale wouldn't have gone amiss.★★★☆☆
Royal Sandringham Estate, Aug 15, heritagelive.net
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