Just in:
Nigeria’s Coastal Highway Passes $747 m Funding Milestone // TÜV SÜD Appoints Interim Leadership Following CEO Transition // OPEC+ Eyes Pause in Production Rises After September Surge // DNA‑Crafted Nanomachines Self‑Assemble in Water // ADNOC Gas Signs $400 Million LNG Deal with SEFE // UAE Hits Milestone with EU Delisting From High‑Risk Financial Watchlist // Behomes Launches Behomes Hub – Cashback & Networking App for Real Estate Professionals // Record Global Interest Drives CDB’s Dual‑Currency Bond Triumph // Tokyo Real Estate Set for $75 Million Blockchain Shake‑Up // BoE charts new wholesale terrain for stablecoins and tokenised assets // Musk Alleges Grok Was Misled and Predicts Tech Breakthroughs // Qingzhen’s Zhanjie Town Leverages Ecological Resources to Drive Industrial Upgrading and Integrate Culture and Tourism for Rural Revitalization // Stonepeak Secures Strategic Co-Control of IFCO Stake // Anhui Unveils Teaser for 2025 World Manufacturing Convention, Extending a Global Invitation to Innovate Together // Abu Dhabi’s Masdar and Iberdrola Back £5 Billion UK Offshore Wind Venture // Can India Emerge As The Trusted Leader Of Global South Like Earlier Years? // “Eternal City” Pompeii Exhibition Opens in Hunan, Marking New Sino-Italian Cultural Exchange // Results of the ixCrypto Index Series Quarterly Review (2025 Q2) & IX Digital Asset Industry Index Series Half Yearly Review (2025 1H) // Dong Yuhui’s Fujian Journey: The Sea’s Lesson – 30% Destiny, 70% Determination // BRICS Pledge Cooperation, Not Confrontation With U.S. //

Mariah Carey in fine voice and at her diva-ish best for Dubai Jazz Festival

1488003238 AR 170229503

DUBAI // “It’s New Year’s Eve all over again … but the real way we should have celebrated,” declared Mariah Carey, launching into Emotions at Dubai Jazz Festival — and tackling the elephant in the room head-on.

Thursday’s concert was Carey’s first public gig since that over-reported, televised “meltdown” on Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve, in which she embarrassingly struggled through the same song, and was later revealed to be lip-synching. Carey’s voice, the world’s media declared, was toast.

ADVERTISEMENT

One felt the relieved swagger of a sports person scoring a goal as Carey blazed comfortably into the upper-registers of Emotions’ notorious vocal gymnastics. Next came the other song she fluffed on December 31 — We Belong Together. The subtext was clear: Don’t write me off yet.

This one-off festival date at Dubai Media City Amphitheatre, before a full US tour in March, might have seemed like a safe place for the controversy-addled star to warm up away from America’s critical media gaze. But on this night, there was no meltdown, no obvious fluffed lyrics or vocal shrapnel.

There was however plenty of Carey’s trademark diva antics — rarely a break passing between two songs without some kind of histrionic demand or remark.

Onstage for just shy of 80 minutes — minus a lengthy costume change — Carey found time to pick on a raft of bugbears the evening presented. These included not having a mic stand, or later a stool, presented on queue — “I didn’t say I wanted one, but …” – and the tech not being up to scratch. “Usually we have little Michael singing this on the screens,” said Carey, midway through a cover of the Jackson 5’s I’ll Be There.

She picked on audience members smoking — twice. “Somebody’s smoking? Who’s trying to foil me? Why do you need to do it?” she demanded. “Just a thought — maybe you want to put the cigarettes out.”

And when Carey’s vital vocal spray failed to arrive on click, she coaxed the audience into chanting “give her her spray”. I lost count of the number of times Carey loudly retreated to the back of the stage to take “a splash” of refreshment.

This, then, was Carey in all her diva-ish glory — a proud reminder of the days when pop stars had personalities — and still sold records.

Carey’s back catalogue is brimming with no less than 18 US Billboard number ones — a record only topped by The Beatles — but many were sidelined in a set overflowing with decade-defying hits. The surprisingly Carey-literate audience were in raptures — crowd favourites included the retro swing of Always Be My Baby and Vision of Love, her debut single from 1990.

Carey slid onto the top of grand piano — only after daringly leaning over to wipe it clean, mind — for the ballad Butterfly, and wrapped just after midnight with the anthem Hero.

There was no encore, and Carey notably didn’t find time for the ultimate teary singalong — and arguably most laborious vocal workout — Without You.

But all other evidence suggests the NYE scare was just that. Carey is as eccentric, inimitable and immutable as ever — and her searing, prized voice remains in fine health.

Dubai Jazz Festival concludes February 24 with Enrique Iglesias. www.dubaijazzfest.com

Source link


Notice an issue?

Arabian Post strives to deliver the most accurate and reliable information to its readers. If you believe you have identified an error or inconsistency in this article, please don't hesitate to contact our editorial team at editor[at]thearabianpost[dot]com. We are committed to promptly addressing any concerns and ensuring the highest level of journalistic integrity.


ADVERTISEMENT
Just in:
Can India Emerge As The Trusted Leader Of Global South Like Earlier Years? // Sharjah Elevates Real‑Estate Platform with New Digital Portal // TÜV SÜD Appoints Interim Leadership Following CEO Transition // BoE charts new wholesale terrain for stablecoins and tokenised assets // Ten Tips for a Healthy Summer Garden // “Eternal City” Pompeii Exhibition Opens in Hunan, Marking New Sino-Italian Cultural Exchange // Air Arabia Reinitiates Sharjah–Damascus Flights // Results of the ixCrypto Index Series Quarterly Review (2025 Q2) & IX Digital Asset Industry Index Series Half Yearly Review (2025 1H) // Tokyo Real Estate Set for $75 Million Blockchain Shake‑Up // Coffee Chains Join Bitcoin Mania with Bold Treasury Moves // Nigeria’s Coastal Highway Passes $747 m Funding Milestone // Anhui Unveils Teaser for 2025 World Manufacturing Convention, Extending a Global Invitation to Innovate Together // UAE Hits Milestone with EU Delisting From High‑Risk Financial Watchlist // ICONSIAM Showcases Thai Creativity to the World with “Lost in DOMLAND” — Reinforcing Its Role as a Must-Visit Global Art Destination // CGTN: Beauty in diversity: How wisdom at Nishan Forum inspires global modernization // ADNOC Gas Signs $400 Million LNG Deal with SEFE // Stonepeak Secures Strategic Co-Control of IFCO Stake // Record Global Interest Drives CDB’s Dual‑Currency Bond Triumph // Nvidia is the dream stock of our lifetime! // Abu Dhabi’s Masdar and Iberdrola Back £5 Billion UK Offshore Wind Venture //