Mariah Carey… When I Saw You, Live

To our left, about 15 minutes after she was scheduled to come onto stage, we were distracted by a little commotion in the crowd. It was Mariah’s twins, their curly hair fighting for attention, being escorted to the stage.

The distraction was just enough to take our eyes off the stage for a few seconds and when we turned back, suddenly, there she was, draped across a chaise lounge, the couch’s ‘wheels’ being a herd of ripped dancers, all too happy to cart Mariah around wherever she needed to be.

It’s hard to describe that first look at her, the first time I saw this person that I’ve been crazy about for 16 years.

The diva reputation doesn’t exist for no reason. Some artists (or people, even), just have an undeniably powerful presence and Mariah’s glamorous on-stage charisma — and the fact that she appeared not to be trying at all — was a huge part of the show’s appeal. Whitney had it, Michael Jackson had it, Madiba had it… just this magnetism that forces everyone in the vicinity to stare. So it’s appropriate, then, that Whitney and Michael featured in Mariah’s show and Madiba on her Facebook wall this morning, as she wished South Africa a happy Freedom Day.

Mariah immediately endeared herself to the crowd — and switched from couch-draping superstar to everyday mom in a matter of seconds — by bringing her children onto the stage for a few moments to greet Cape Town and South Africa. They were adorable, and for that minute or two, Mariah was a mommy.

The next 90 minutes (or a bit more? Who knows, I lost all track of time) featured Mariah and her capable crew dishing out some of the most well known songs in the world. She didn’t skimp on delivering exactly what people wanted to hear, with nearly all of her big hits included. For someone that isn’t known for being a huge entertainer, if the media is to be believed, Mariah was entertaining as hell. Sure, there wasn’t actual dancing, but now that she is in spectacular physical shape, she took full advantage by falling into the arms of her dancers at very available opportunity. At one point, she was swung around at speed, her hair a golden blur.

Vocally, Mariah sounded confident and gorgeous. Her voice has a raspier tone than back in the 90s, for sure, but on Hero and Without You, she shone the most for me. Here, her voice stood out thanks to the sparse instrumentation of each song and with no dancers to distract, it was Mariah doing what she ultimately built her career on — standing in one spot, glittering, and delivering a knockout vocal performance.

There were no stage props. Nothing to detract from one of the great voices of our generation. It was the kind of simplistic performance that we don’t get anymore, the kind that isn’t enough anymore, but for which many of us over 25 crave.

Despite seating for everyone in attendance, nobody sat down for the full duration. Mariah only left the stage for (surprisingly quick) outfit changes, which means the energy was never allowed to dip.

As always, she took a few moments to engage with the crowd, reading out a few signs in the audience (more specifically, reading out MINE within the first 15 minutes!), and playfully questioning if we knew a few of the songs she was about to perform, before she performed them (of COURSE we knew EVERY song).

She touched on the back story to some of her songs, and no matter how many times the diehard fans have heard these stories, they’re a reminder that here is a true artist who writes and is immersed in all parts of the music she creates, not just the recording session in the studio.

Classily, she sang When You Believe to the backdrop of the song’s music video, a truly emotional moment as we got to see Whitney on screen. When Whitney had her vocal peaks in the song, Mariah appeared to step back, resign herself to waiting for her own turn, and wave her hand in the other legend’s direction, as if to say: “do your THANG, Whitney”. She sang One Sweet Day too, and in the middle of her cover of I’ll Be There, a (very) young Michael Jackson suddenly appeared on screen to sing the chorus, which left everyone in the crowd emotional.

She also sang We Belong Together, my favourite song of all time, with those first few piano intro bars naturally sending me into a bit of a frenzy.

While I took a few pictures, mostly at the start of the show, I soon forgot about my phone and everything else around me. I needed to soak up the moment because somehow, there I was — front row, seeing my favourite artist and the greatest singer I have ever known — performing live and proving to all of us that she still has it.

The comments from random strangers all around me confirmed my own subjective opinion, with many commenting on how she exceeded their expectations. In short, she looked and sounded like the legend she is.

It was the best concert I have ever been to.

It was a night I will never forget.

See you in Durban, Mariah.