Mariah Carey’s voice, show make for extravagant affair

By Sarah Feldberg (contact)

Thursday, Oct. 8, 2009 | 1:43 p.m.

Chris Morris

Grammy-winner Mariah Carey returns to the Pearl at the Palms this weekend for her second stint. It’s been about a month since the 39-year-old diva and her five-octave range took over the stage, bringing along a crew of high-kicking dancers (they even wear roller skates for one particularly elaborate number), a number of glittering dresses and a set list that ranges all over Carey’s almost 20-year career. You won’t be able to miss the cleavage or the siren-like high notes that have become the Long Island native’s signature, but here are three other things to watch and listen for during her shows Friday and Saturday.

1. A drop-dead-gorgeous voice

Carey’s songs have never been the most creative lyrically, and her newer fare has tended toward more chart-friendly pop tracks, but she more than makes up for trite verbiage with a voice that could make “Old McDonald” sound like “At Last.” When she lets it loose on such songs as new ballad “Angels Cry,” the diva’s vocal dominance is enough to make even a rowdy theater settle into reflective silence.

2. Wardrobe malfunctions

The bigger Carey’s star gets, the higher her heels become. During her September shows at the Pearl, she donned a series of curve-strangling bedazzled cocktail dresses and gowns. She looked fabulous, of course, but when she tried to dance or simply walk around the stage, anything more than a meek hip shimmy threatened to throw the singer off balance.

3. Real talk

The diva knows that her fans have come to hear her sing and keeps chatting to a minimum. But she speaks her mind, concerned about ripping her dress or explaining that her next single, a cover of Foreigner’s “I Want to Know What Love Is,” isn’t what she’d have chosen. Amid the glittering clothes and highly produced stage show, hearing the diva get real is refreshing.