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Fan Reviews
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Meet & Greet Reviews
Fan Reviews (Top)
Review by Brendan
I just got home from the Tampa Show! ABSOLUTLY INCREDIBLY Breath Taking!!!! In the matter of one week I was able to see her at two shows in Orlando and now Tampa and meet her twice! I met her at the Orlando airport when she arrived and Signature Flight support. She pulled past us and left. We were a bit stalkish and followed her limo, but she decided to make a U turn with the entire entourage and go back to the airport. They all parked and she rolled down here window and signed three things for me and talked about a bunch of things.
Talked about how were both from long island and she jokingly asked me "What are you doing down here in Florida" I was like "I don't know Mariah... The show in Orlando was outstanding, but Tampa was definitely better tonight. The show opened up with Da Brat joining them singing the rap start to Heartbreaker. She came on stage and just wooed everyone! I kept looking around and everyone was just shaking their head in amazement of her vocal abilities. After the show tonight I was honored enough to go backstage to the meet and greet and meet her for yet a second time this week!!!!!!!! ahhhh!! Unbelievable...
She signed my butterfly CD tonight and she remembered me from Orlando and I asked her for a hug and she saw why of course and hugged me. I told her that I hope she continues to have safe trips around for the rest of the tour and that she has truly saved my life. She was incredibly nice and friendly and very approachable. Her bodyguards remembered me from Orlando too. One was like "Yo man, I have seen enough of you!" and shook my hand and laughed. I think her crew and especially her bodyguards are great. I told one of them (The tall bald one) that he has the best job in the world and he replied with" because of all you guys!
They are all so genuine and down to earth Including MC!! Her make up artist Christopher was very cool. Openly talked to me about there Disney World trip yesterday to Disney and how they all went to MGM and did Tower of terror and the new Aerosmith ride with MC... He said they had a great time...
Tonight was simply a fantastic night in which I will never forget. Thank you to Karyna for the opportunity to go backstage as her guest, and thank you to Honey B Fly for bringing us even close to Mariah. Even though she stays close to us all, it is good to know we have such an excellent fan club to be part of that offers these things to us. Let's face it guys the annual fee of $35 bucks is almost next to nothing. Just for the opportunity to purchase presale tickets for two shows and get 8th row seats is amazing! Thank you Mariah for keeping me going on a daily basis...I listen to the same track every single morning on my way to work and it truly starts my day of right without missing a beat every single day! I listen to My Saving Grace since the record came out and it truly helps! I know you will all agree with me. Tampa loves you, Orlando loves you and LONG ISLAND loves you too! (Fellow Long Islander in the house!) You will always hold a very special place in my heart and just always remember that your fans will be here with you until the end!!! I know the end is very far away because your career is going to continue to soar! God loves you for granting us all with your talent and handing over your strength to me... I truly from the bottom of my heart thank you for giving me a different outlook on life Mariah...
Journalist Reviews (Top)
Review by Bill Dean (The Ledger)
Carey Offers Innovative Show
Mariah Carey may identify herself as the "Butterfly" -- it's the name of one of her bestselling albums and light-forms in the shape of butterflies cascade down on her in concert.
And yes, she was like a butterfly Wednesday night at the Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center, emerging from a cocoon of tribulations to show the true colors of her talent.
But for much of the night on her first tour in three years, Carey was more the soaring phoenix, a proud performer emerging from the ashes of private and professional setbacks to reach her previous heights once again.
Carey's arrival for the twohour show -- in which she walked down an aisle to emerge from the audience -set the tone for the rest of the night.
With an imaginative set design and a backing group of five musicians, 10 dancers and four backup singers, Carey not only showcased a wondrous fiveoctave vocal range but also dabbled with invention and innovation.
With 15 No. 1 hits to her credit (more than any other female singer and more than any other performer in history besides Elvis Presley and The Beatles), she had plenty of firepower to draw from. She delivered several of those hits in crowd-pleasing fashion, including "Make It Happen," "I'll Be There" "Dreamlover" and "Hero."
On "My Own" from "Butterfly," the 1997 album she called her favorite, Carey sang at stage front with a slow-burn sensuality, before the song exploded into bouncing tempos that featured eight of her dancers.
She also peppered the 18-song setlist with tunes from her latest album, "Charmbracelet," her first since a widely publicized split from EMI Records and after checking herself into a hospital because of a breakdown.
In concert, such songs from the new album as "Through the Rain" and "My Saving Grace" sparkled onstage with upbeat lyrics of perseverance and redemption.
And on "Bringin' on the Heartbreak," a Def Leppard cover she also recorded for the album, Carey's vocals lifted the song from its staccato-rock roots into the paean of loss it was meant to be.
But she made room in her setlist for such twists as singing along with a video of "I Know What You Want," in which Busta Rhymes' projected face looked out at the audience from a backing curtain while Carey performed her part of the duet live and in an outfit from the video.
And instead of stopping the musical flow to introduce her backing performers as most would do, Carey, the effervescent songbird, sang them musically.
In contrast to any suggestion of haughty diva-ness, the 33-yearold Carey was giving and appreciative of her singers, allowing them to shine on a song of their own and in "I'll Be There," her Jackson 5 cover that featured singer Trey Lorenz.
The crowd of 2,261 (with a capacity of about 2,500) responded accordingly, giving the singer an enthusiastic reaction that was earned and deserved.
Carey may be pop's reigning butterfly, but in Tampa she spread her wings and flew as only a true soaring songstress could.
Review by Curtis Ross (The Tampa Tribune)
Carey Keys In On Satisfying Performance
Even the mayor came out for Mariah Carey's first Tampa concert.
Carey received the key to the city from Mayor Pam Iorio early in her set Wednesday night at the Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center's Carol Morsani Hall.
Among the sold-out crowd of 2,261 was Iorio's daughter Caitlin, whom the mayor identified as Carey's biggest fan.
If so, Caitlin had some competition - shrill cries of ``I love you, Mariah!'' punctuated the set from beginning to end.
Carey's career has seemed on the ropes of late - a nervous breakdown, the flop of her film ``Glitter,'' and this ``Charmbracelet'' tour, which originally was planned for arenas.
But Carey was anything but whipped Wednesday night, giving a commanding performance that suggests she's just a hit single away from regaining her status as pop music's queen.
She made her entrance from the auditorium's floor and was escorted up the aisle to the stage while singing ``Heartbreaker.'' She was clad in a spangled, pink-and-silver minidress, the first of many costumes.
``Dreamlover'' was a lively rhythm- and-blues number, and ``Through the Rain,'' a ballad about, as Carey said, ``pressing on, perseverance,'' featured some of her trademark skyscraping high notes.
A portion of the show billed as ``The Marionette Show'' featured Carey singing ``Clown'' and struck back at rapper Eminem, who slighted Carey in an interview.
For ``Subtle Invitation,'' Carey was suspended from the ceiling in a harness resembling angel's wings. With or without the special effects, the number was one of the highlights.
The fast-paced show featured a crew of dancers, elaborate sets and plenty of video to illustrate the songs.
Review by Gina Vivinetto (St. Petersburg Times)
Pop diva lives up to image
Mariah Carey may not be at the top of the charts these days, but you'd better believe she's still pop's reigning diva as she proved Wednesday to a nearly sold-out crowd at the Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center.
Carey, 33, was the best-selling female pop artist of the 1990s. Now she gets more press for her well-publicized nervous breakdown two years ago that followed a harrowing list of travails: the megaflop of her movie Glitter, the humiliation of having her record label Virgin spend $28-million to end her contract.
Carey's recent material from last year's Charmbracelet is about triumph after tragedy. (Initially the tour was booked in arenas, but after dismal ticket sales, Carey began to play smaller venues.)
Nearly 2,500 fans Wednesday got to see Carey in fine form. Tampa Mayor Pam Iorio presented the singer with a key to the city during the show. Fans didn't seem to mind that Carey went onstage 40 minutes late. Why would they? The singer's entrance was spectacular: With lights dimmed, the band began and Carey surprised the crowd by strutting in through one of the venue's side doors, singing Heartbreaker in a flood of spotlights and bodyguards.
Carey's ensemble would have made Siegfried and Roy drool: a flashy fuchsia mini dress doused in sequins and heels that showcased her famous gams. But it's Carey's voice that made fans squeal. How many octaves does she command? Five? Six? Carey's voice trilled in the famous vocal acrobatics that have inspired too many American Idol contestants.
Flanked by a troupe of dancers and four backing singers, Carey moved across the stage in feline grace, shimmying a bit, letting the professionals handle glitzier moves. The singer fares best when she's singing her spirited, hip-hop-flavored tunes. Carey sang Clown - a dig at ex-paramour Eminem? - in a circus atmosphere echoing "The Eminem Show," his last tour. The R&B jam Honey sounded fine, pumped by squishy old school synths and Carey's magnificent singing, and Carey sang with the video version of rapper Busta Rhymes on the duo's steamy I Know What You Want. Another highlight: Carey and singer Trey Lorenz dueting on her soulful rendition of I'll Be There by the Jackson 5.
The ballads may be what fans clamor for, but they're bland. Carey's slow songs, like the tepid Through the Rain, are muddled by juvenile lyrics and formulaic arrangements. Here a wind chime, there a tastefully plucked acoustic guitar, now comes the bombastic drums and voila! The big crescendo. Carey even dropped to her knees, her hands out, "testifying" at the close of Can't Take That Away From Me.
Still, Carey charmed, gabbing with the audience while stage hands "primped" her after one vigorous number. "They call you a diva," Carey wisecracked, grinning, "you might as well act like one."
Meet & Greet Reviews (Top)
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