MARIAH

< > Mariah Carey Delivers At South Florida "Angels Advocate" Tour Stop
--By Anthony Jones, Celebrity News Service

Just give Mariah Carey a microphone and she'll either have a global audience in stitches, like her now infamous acceptance speech at the Palm Springs Film Festival or in complete awe, like she had the sold-out crowd during her "Angels Advocate" tour stop at the Hard Rock Live in the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, FL.

Descending from the stage in a glittered swing and wearing pounds of tulle, Carey's opening was reminiscent of a birthday girl at an MTV "My Super Sweet 16" party. But Carey, much like her very much self-aware personality, is over-the-top when it comes to her look. Every dress (she wore four) and heel sparkled. "Like the ensem?," she asked the audience after changing into a new floor length gown.

Mariah delivered some of her biggest hits from her now, believe it or not, twenty-year career. Her earliest material only came in a dancer interlude for "Make it Happen" and her latest, the stunning "Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel," was relegated to only four tracks. Otherwise, the material mostly consisted of selections from "Butterfly" and on, including Billboard's recently named Song of the Decade "We Belong Together" and her latest hit "Obsessed." She also included some discography highlights like the rousing gospel-influenced "Fly Like a Bird" and the smooth jazz inflections of "Subtle Invitation."

But as engaging as any of her performances was Mariah's interaction with the audience. She took a few times to joke about her headline-making acceptance speech, although she did "lady-like sips" of a glass of champagne for herself. "Because it's my stage and I can," she said. Before another song, she also had her make-up people come onto the stage for retouching. "You know if it was you on stage, you'd do it too," she joked.

Most importantly at a Mariah Carey show is the voice and she was almost surprisingly pitch perfect. Just when you think there's some playback assistance, she adds a run or changes the note to something different from the album version. It's a lot more Mariah than some naysayers might think. Check out her live sung introduction of life-long backup singer Trey Lorenz which was both impressive singing and hilarious.

Carey has never been the most exciting stage performer but leave the tricks to the Britney's and the Gaga's. The diva delivered, giving vocal performances of her biggest hits that hold up with any of her performances in the past decade. She's also showing more of who Mariah really is than ever, and for fans, that's an endearing treat