Mariah Carey concert in Singapore: Mimi thrills with signature hits (and whistle register)

Despite being a casual listener of Mariah Carey for years, The Celebration Of Mimi on Wednesday (Oct 8) night marked the first time I managed to catch her in the flesh. Coming into the concert, I was admittedly nervous – and not for the reasons you might think.

It wouldn’t be a stretch to say that Mariah Carey has long transcended the term “artiste” – she’s an “all-time icon”. After all, this is the same Mariah Carey who has bagged an island’s worth of industry accolades, set numerous sales records and inspired countless others who came after her. And then there’s the fact that she is one of the few singers with songs that are still culturally relevant today – My All is a TikTok treasure and All I Want For Christmas Is You is still the go-to holiday song for the masses, more than 30 years after its release.

As such, given the overwhelming halo surrounding her, my expectations for Carey’s show at Arena @ Expo were subconsciously high, and the fan in me was nervous at the prospect that, perhaps, they were too high.

As it turns out, I didn’t have to worry because the Songbird Supreme nailed everything in her 90-minute set.

That is not to say that I don’t have my grievances about the show itself. The sound system at the venue was subpar at times and the queue management could have been improved.

But if we’re talking about Mariah Carey, the performer? Full marks, no complaints, truly an icon.

My respect for Carey grew even before she sang her first song, as she had voluntarily delayed the concert’s starting time – from 8pm to 8.45pm – to accommodate the huge pool of fans who had yet to clear security checks to enter the venue. Despite the significant delay, Carey did not remove a single song from her set.

Backed by an impressive band and backing vocalists, which included longtime collaborator Trey Lorenz, Carey serenaded fans with signature tracks such as My All, Hero and Vision Of Love as well as newer songs like Sugar Sweet and Play This Song.

Despite singing with few breaks in between, Mariah Carey hit every note she was supposed to hit – even those in the whistle register.

By the end of the show, the entire crowd was on their feet, applauding her – and deservedly so.

My only wish was that Carey had interacted more with the fans, but I’m willing to let that go, given how she was continuously serving vocals.