Charmbracelet World Tour
 |
| Tour by Mariah Carey | |
| File:CharmbracletWorldTour.jpg | |
| Start date | June 21, 2003 |
|---|---|
| End date | February 26, 2004 |
| Legs | 7 |
| No. of shows | 23 in Asia 25 in North America 13 in Europe 61 in total |
| Mariah Carey concert chronology | |
Charmbracelet World Tour: An Intimate Evening with Mariah Carey was the name of Mariah Carey's 2003-2004 worldwide concert tour. It takes its name from Carey's 2002 album Charmbracelet, which had been released six months earlier.
History
This was Carey's first tour since her 2000 Rainbow Tour, and the first after her career setbacks revolving around the Glitter project. Overall it was Carey's fifth tour and her most extensive, lasting for sixty-one shows over eight months. Carey's previous tours had been restricted to a few European countries and the United States, usually consisting of around fifteen shows. The Charmbracelet World Tour, on the other hand, was truly a world tour, playing many places in East Asia, Southeast Asia, and the Middle East that American musical artists rarely visit.
The tour was seen as an attempt to bolster Carey's declining commercial fortunes on the heels of her Glitter and Charmbracelet disappointments. [1] Initial ticket sales in North America were somewhat slack and tour venues there were downsized from arenas to theaters, although Carey's management said they just wanted a more intimate setting. [2] Carey's appeal was stronger overseas and many of those dates were played in arenas or even stadiums.
The long-running length of the tour had actually not been planned. After the initial stretch of the tour, Carey decided to add additional dates. For the new dates, she performed a more condensed show, cutting off several songs from the setlist and perfroming new songs in their place with Christmas elements during seasonal periods.
Carey's sexual image also generated some controversy during the tour. In various countries, she was often criticised for her choice of dress, and a Pan-Islamic youth leader attempted to have her banned from performing in Malaysia [3]. Carey was permitted to perform in more conservative countries, but wore less sexy clothes there.
According to Pollstar, the tour grossed $30 million overseas, but in the U.S., just $6 million. In the end, only 10 of 28 North American dates sold out, and at least a couple were only half full or less. [4] Lowest attendance was at St. Louis' Fox Theatre, where only 1,841 of a possible 4,278 seats were sold. [5]
The tour of some Asian countries were either rescheduled or canceled due to a respiratory disease known as Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome. The tour in Singapore was canceled, and the tour in Korea was rescheduled.
The show
Although Carey had previously worn more sexual and colorful costumers since her last tour, she decided to change them up further by introducing more clashing colors. As opposed to the relative harmony of her previous tours, the outfits on this tour churned out to stick out by purposely clashing or by being relatively unusual. As in most of her tours, a typical Carey show began with an instrumental introduction; here, as in her Butterfly Tour, "Looking In", but with a new, more upbeat remixed form segued into a short pre-recorded medley of her hits.
Carey would perform her first set which would include a medley of "Heartbreaker Remix", "Dreamlover", "Through the Rain", and "My All". These were typical live Carey arrangements. The medley of "Heartbreaker" was separated by their verses, "Through the Rain" featured new background arrangements, and "My All" would end with its dance remix.
Following an interlude from a clown, Carey would then proceed to perform "Clown". Carey then typically announced the song picked from her website (see below). While "Clown" was close to the album version, Carey combined the Bad Boy remix and album version of "Honey" , and rearranged the melodies of "Can't Take That Away (Mariah's Theme)".
After a quick costume change, Carey returned in a motorbike outfit to perform "I Know What You Want", singing only the bridge (the rest of the song was performed by playing the song's music videos and having background vocalists add new arrangements over the performance track). She then changed again for "Subtle Invitation" and "My Saving Grace" before uniquely introducing the band by literally singing their names aloud. Trey Lorenz, who was a background vocalist for the tour, joined Carey in singing "I'll Be There". Carey would then leave the stage and Lorenz proceeded to perform a song of his own, usually "Friend of Mine". This was followed by a costume change by Carey to The Rose-like attire to perform "Bringin' on the Heartbreak".
Other songs such as "Fantasy (Bad Boy Remix)", "Always Be My Baby", "Make It Happen", and "Without You" followed. At the end of "Without You", Carey bowed out, but she would come back for an encore of "Hero", followed by an outro on "Butterfly".
Set list
Carey's website asked fans to design and submit set lists for the show, though the songs Carey ended up performing differed from their preferences. A second poll was then introduced asking fans to vote for one of three songs: "Can't Take That Away (Mariah's Theme)" won for almost every night of the tour, "One Sweet Day" won a few times, and "Love Takes Time" never won.
Set list performed in North America
- Looking In (Intro)
- Heartbreaker/ Heartbreaker Remix
- Dreamlover
- Through the Rain
- My All / Club Mix (Dancers only)
- Clown (After Marionette Show Intro)
- Honey
- I Know What You Want
- Subtle Invitation
- My Saving Grace
- I'll Be There
- Bringin' on the Heartbreak
- Fantasy (Remix)
- Always Be My Baby
- Make It Happen
- Vision of Love
- Hero
- Butterfly (Outro)
Songs performed at additional venues
- "You Got Me"
- "One Sweet Day"
- "What Would You Do"
- "Joy to the World"
- "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing"
- "All I Want for Christmas Is You"
Tour dates
External links
| Studio albums | |
|---|---|
| Compilation albums | |
| Extended plays | |
| Video albums | |
| Concert tours |
|
| Concert residencies | |
| Books | |
| Television | |
| Works about Mariah Carey | |
| Related articles | |
