At this point, it is well known that the October 28th Hong Kong concert was cancelled. Unfortunately, this has become factual and not a rumor. Just as the production crews began to build the stage at The Tamar the show was scrubbed 48 hours before Mariah was to go on stage. However, the two involved and opposing sides’ arguments bestow the now important questions. Why was this show cancelled? Did Mariah, herself, cancel? Did Hong Kong promoters cancel? Did Mariah’s management cancel? Let’s get to the bottom of this unfortunate circumstance!

Concerts Asia, the Hong Kong promoter - “Due to both the poor response of public ticket sales … and also due to specific last minute demands which we find wholly unreasonable and not with the best interests of Hong Kong, us and also the fans.”

Benny Medina, Mariah’s manager - "Due to a financial default by the promoter, it is with great sadness that Mariah will not be able to perform for her fans in Hong Kong … we gave them time to pay but he kept missing the new deadlines."

Medina also states that 8,000 tickets were sold, not 4,000 as claimed by Hong Kong concert promoters. Medina’s statement seems credible when one takes into account that Mariah’s latest album release, ‘The Emancipation of Mimi’ went double platinum in Hong Kong and that her management is in talks with other Hong Kong promoters to line up another show.

As our Looking In author, Jason, has said, “Why would the venue, itself, cancel a show for poor ticket sales? Artists pay for tours, and they are the ones who make or lose money. Artists pay the venue a certain amount … and it would be the artist who would cancel a show for poor ticket sales.” This fact personally leads me to believe that the cancellation has nothing to do with ticket sales at all as Concerts Asia was the barer of this piece of information. Even with artists taking the financial hit with low sales, Medina says, “If there were only 10 people in this venue, and this particular promoter . . . had fulfilled his contractual obligations, we would be there. Mariah Carey loves her fans in Southeast Asia. He has defaulted several times, right up into the last 48 hours. Literally, we tried to hang in there with this guy."

So, what about this “demand” accusation? Could this be a low blow by promoters who cannot seem to promptly pay their bills? Or does Mariah live up to the diva image that she has been stamped with? Asian fans may remember stories of the caravan of eight vehicles parading into Shanghai, including four cars designated specifically for Mariah’s luggage. Personally, I think if one wanted to make a convincing argument, one would be more specific. What were these demands? Concerts Asia has repeatedly declined further comment.

As for you, feel free to comment below!