Mariah Carey rocks Pittsburgh with soulful performance of holiday hits
Santa hats and sparkly outfits adorned the crowd Tuesday night at PPG Paints Arena in Uptown Pittsburgh, and with so much holiday bling, there’s only one show it could have been for — singer Mariah Carey’s “Merry Christmas One And All!” tour.
Opening the concert with an overture to “Sugar Plum Fairy Introlude” featuring Carey’s dancers, the show revealed its snow globe backdrop, which displayed animated, colorful holiday scenes throughout the performance.
Carey, beloved for her vocal range, rose up from underneath the stage wearing a sparkly red dress, and the first song of the night was a soulful rendition of “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing/Gloria (in excelsis Deo)” with heavy drums. From the get-go, Carey was riffing along, impressing the audience.
“Christmas is almost upon us,” she told the crowd. “I’m getting excited.”
Next, Carey brought out her famous whistle tones in “Oh Santa!,” which is an upbeat tune from her second Christmas album, “Merry Christmas II You.”
“This is quite the audience,” she said, looking out into the filled seats. “I can see all of you if I try hard enough.”
Before bringing out her “glam squad” for a touch-up, Carey sang her remade version of “Christmas (Baby Please Come Home).”
Carey said joy is what the world needs right now, and for her, there’s “no greater joy” than when Christmas arrives every year.
“We’re going to try and bring you some of that tonight,” she said, before singing “When Christmas Comes.”
One of her favorite activities to do with family or friends during the holiday season is going on a real sleigh ride with real horses. “It’s a very magical moment,” Carey said.
Her performance of “Sleigh Ride” lit up the arena and was complete with flips and tricks across the stage by her dancers.
During “Here Comes Santa Claus (Right Down Santa Claus Lane)/House Top Celebration,” Santa arrived onstage to give presents to kids. It was the first of a handful of times T-shirts from her merchandise line were thrown into the crowd. The rap verse in the middle added some fun to the piece, which the audience acknowledged with cheers.
@triblive Scenes from Mariah Carey’s holiday concert last night in Pittsburgh #itstiiiiiiiiiiimmmmmeeeeee #mariahcarey #ppgpaintsarena #pittsburgh #singer ♬ LOOP: Authentic Christmas song / good sound / Like a Mariah Carey style(1285941) - iON_k18
Carey’s twins — son Moroccan and daughter Monroe — were featured in the holiday show as part of a kids’ band while their mom was backstage for a costume change.
A gospel choir sang “Fall in Love at Christmas” as well, before Carey returned to the stage for a powerful performance of “O Holy Night,” dressed in a new glittery gold ensemble, which transitioned into a gospel rendition of “Silent Night.”
“Jesus Born on This Day” was the next song, and Carey brought her daughter, Monroe, out to sing it as a duet.
“This is my baby girl Miss Monroe,” Carey said, also calling her Roe Roe. “My children make such a difference in my life.”
She sang another song from her second Christmas album, “One Child,” before introducing her band and singers. Carey took the opportunity to throw some of the T-shirts herself, but they didn’t make it too far.
“I just never was good at throwing stuff,” she told the crowd, laughing.
In arguably one of the most memorable parts of the show, Carey and the gospel choir performed an upbeat “Joy to the World.”
Carey, in a silver, sparkly gown, sang “Christmas Time Is in the Air Again,” accompanied by a band member on the cello, highlighting a figure skater in a winter scene projected onto the snow globe.
It led into a beautiful piano instrumental interlude of “God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen,” before a stained-glass window background transformed the arena for a gospel choir feature of “My All.”
However, the tour didn’t just include holiday favorites.
Carey came out in a rose gold gown and performed a medley of her popular non-holiday songs, including “Always Be My Baby,” “Dreamlover,” “Honey,” “Heartbreaker,” “A No No,” “It’s a Wrap,” “Emotions,” “Make It Happen” and “Fly Like a Bird,” to which the audience sang along.
Wrapping up the concert, Carey sang “We Belong Together,” from her album “The Emancipation of Mimi,” and “Hero.”
The holiday spirit, Carey said, brings not just joy — but hope.
DJ Suss One opened for Carey, playing a variety of popular tunes from various eras, including “Crank That (Soulja Boy),” “Livin’ on a Prayer,” “Get Low,” “We Found Love” and “Hey Ya!”
He said he’s been performing with Carey since 2006 and been a fan of hers since 1990.
To the excitement of the crowd, Carey closed the night with her most popular holiday hit, “All I Want for Christmas Is You.”
She was wheeled out on a green life-size train with her kids for a heart-stopping, confetti-filled finale — with everyone screaming along to the well-known lyrics.
Megan Swift is a TribLive reporter covering trending news in Western Pennsylvania. A Murrysville native, she joined the Trib full time in 2023 after serving as editor-in-chief of The Daily Collegian at Penn State. She previously worked as a Jim Borden Scholarship intern at the Trib for three summers. She can be reached at mswift@triblive.com.
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