Mariah not that elusive

There was a fair amount of interest among Mariah Carey’s fans in the Philippines whether she’ll have “vocal struggles” at her Manila concert as she reportedly did during her Elusive Chanteuse shows in Tokyo and Seoul three weeks ago.

Mariah received flak from her Japanese and Korean fans after she belted My All and We Belong Together slightly frayed and off-key. Netizens slammed her on social media and even attributed it to troubles in her marriage. She recently split with her husband of five years, rapper Nick Cannon.

But at Tuesday’s concert at the Mall of Asia Arena, Mariah erased all doubts on her formidable talent after she belted out the high notes with facility, displaying the five-octave vocal range she’s famous for.

Although her voice seemed shaky in a couple of songs, it was in fine form in majority of the show’s repertoire. And the Manila audience didn’t really mind. The fans let Mariah feel the love and she returned the love at her concert. The audience erupted in wild cheers whenever Mariah would launch into her trademark melismatic singing in tracks like Cry and Fly Like a Bird.

In the upbeat Emotions, she displayed her famous whistle register and got the crowd grooving and singing along with the lyrics “Got me feeling emotions, higher than the heavens above…” Same with her encore number Always be My Baby, where she turned the arena into a giant karaoke singing session. 

“Mahal kita, Manila,” Mariah told the jampacked venue.

“It’s good to be here. I love you,” she said and then dedicated her early hit Hero to her Pinoy fans.

Along with Whitney Houston, Mariah has been an influence and an inspiration to a generation of Filipino talent-show aspirants who grew up on her voice in the ’90s.

Until now, her soaring ballads Vision of Love, Hero, My All and We Belong Together are staples in singing competitions in a country where young Filipino singers sound like her. Mariah is a birit idol’s idol.

The show started at 8:20 p.m. and Mariah came out clad in a plunging corset dress. She performed her early hit Fantasy followed by Touch My Body and Shake It Off. From there on, it was an Olympic vocal showcase.

From time to time, Mariah would pause into long breaks for the costume changes: A red and black velvet gown, an electric blue spandex mini-dress with matching black tights and boots, and an elegant cerulean blue gown.

And while she was out, it was her gaggle of efficient dancers, back-up vocalists and musicians who entertained the audience.

The pianist, bassist and drummer were commendable for providing up-tempo music while Mariah was at the backstage. At one point, too, Mariah was nearly upstaged by her dancers who wowed the crowd with their expert dance moves.

In the second half of her show, Mariah performed fast songs, registering her rich alto voice on Heartbreaker, I am That Chick and newly-released songs from her album Me… I am Mariah, The Elusive Chanteuse, the hip-hop Thirsty and Meteorite.

She also sang Beautiful, a song that the crowd knew by heart. Another highlight of the concert was her duet with Trey Lawrence on the classic Michael Jackson song I’ll Be There.

In a touching tribute to her children Monroe and Moroccan, Mariah sang her own composition Supernatural, which featured the voices of her two kids on the song. Here she hinted how her twins have been giving her strength and keeping her sane amidst problems.

Props that enhanced her performance included a giant screen on the stage, which showed video clips of Mariah during each set and blinding strobe lights.

Just like in her previous concerts, Mariah’s show followed arena-pop conventions: Audience engagement, costume changes and a dramatic song number atop a baby grand piano. Her concert didn’t try to innovate or show Mariah on a new angle with a different image.

In fact, Mariah, now 44, still sports the image of a true diva. It’s an image she managed to cultivate since she broke out into the music scene in 1990 and an image she bents on keeping. It was evident at the concert, never mind if she’s put on weight and now approaching her mid-40s. Mariah and her music are forever young.