I’ve been spellbound by Mariah Carey from the moment she shot to fame in the early nineties with break-out hits “Vision of Love”, “Someday” and “I don’t wanna cry”. The attraction of course was the voice – pure, angelic with a super-talent of hitting impossibly high notes. She came across as an innocent starlit who had no inkling how stunning she was or how her music was going to take the world by storm. Two years later she released her second album of explosive hits such as “Emotions” and “Make it happen” and proved to be a force to be reckoned with.

One of her best tracks undoubtedly has to be “Hero”. I recall going through my first break-up, thinking my life was in shambles when I stumbled upon it. Needless to say I had it on repeat for a week. I swear that song mended my heart and made me believe there was a hero within! I could relate to so many of her compositions and felt as if she’d written them especially for me.

I’ve followed her musical career ever since and became one of her “lambs” as she calls her legions of fans. I’ve watched her transform her squeaky clean image to that of a sexy siren, eventually becoming the spectacular diva she is today. Mariah has dabbled in various genres and collaborated with a string of artists to immense success; however her musicality shines in love ballads.

When I got wind that Mariah was set to perform in Cape Town on the 26^th of April, I went ballistic. I knew I couldn’t miss out on this once in a lifetime opportunity to see my much-loved singer live. Even my girls adore her, having been exposed to her music from a young age. Neil moaned over the steep price of the tickets, but I reminded him how we revelled in live performances and with some sweet loving, I won in the end 🙂

The 26^th of April was a day filled with sunshine in Cape Town. The local radio stations were belting out Mariah’s songs and I was anxiously counting down the hours to the concert. As the time arrived to set off to the venue, the weather had become nippy and windy all at once. The Cape Town stadium is breath-taking, however the open dome doesn’t offer much protection and we went armed in warm jackets, scarves and beanies.

Mariah’s show commenced at nine the evening. She was carried on stage, draped on a luxury lounger by her beefy topless dancers. She dazzled in a nude ensemble, flaunting her enviable figure, letting loose upbeat songs like “Sweet Fantasy” and “Emotions”. She sang “Always be my baby” and introduced her children, Monroe and Morrocco, dedicating the song to them. An aww moment for sure! Even when Mariah interacted with the crowd she sounded like a song bird. She attempted a “baie donkie” which had me in stitches!

During the course of her gobsmacking concert Mariah changed into a number of sequined figure-hugging dresses, each more fabulous than the other. She complimented these with riveting performances of “I’ll be there” with Trey Lorenz and showcased a digital duet with Whitney Houston to their smash hit “When you believe”.

There were moments during Mariah’s performance when I just sat back in awe of her flawless voice and the inimitable whistle she’s perfected. Her concert was like unwrapping your favourite chocolate, taking a bite into the gooey middle and falling apart at the seams. Mariah Carey exceeded my expectations and gave her lambs exactly what they craved … a sweet sweet fantasy 🙂