News: Mariah Carey Gears Up For Mimi's Touring Adventure
Mariah Carey's comeback helped her reclaim her place in the spotlight, but now, she's seeking the spotlight on the stage, as she prepares to hit the road for a full North American arena tour.
Now that Mimi has gotten her act together, she's taking it on the road. Having re-established herself at the top of the pop heap last year with her six-times-platinum "The Emancipation of Mimi," Mariah Carey is launching her first U.S. tour since 2003.
The Adventures of Mimi tour will kick off Aug. 5 in Miami and take the star to more than 30 cities. (Sean Paul will open a number of shows.) She stops by the Wachovia Center in Philadelphia on Aug. 11, and the Taj Mahal in Atlantic City, N.J., on Aug. 17. According to Carey's official web site, most shows will go on sale June 2.
The tour, which is being dubbed The Adventures of Mimi: The Voice, the Hits, the Tour, will kick off the beginning of August in Miami and travel through 30 cities, ending in Phoenix, Arizona in October.
This will be the singer's first tour since 2003. According to MTV, the singer will only stop at big arenas, instead of doing the small venues like she usually does, because the diva needs to rest her voice between shows.
"As a singer, I need a certain amount of vocal rest, where I just don't talk before I do a show," Carey told MTV. "On tour it's like really hardcore singing moments and then resting."
Now that Mimi's been emancipated for a while, she's ready to have a little adventure - so Mariah Carey's taking her on one, launching her first full-scale North American arena tour, which she's calling The Adventures of Mimi: The Voice, the Hits, the Tour.
"My summer tour is what I'm gearing up for next," Carey said. "I'm really excited about it."
Carey has played U.S. arenas before, but she usually peppers her tours with smaller theater dates as well. Not this time. Carey has also allotted a break between each date to recover on her first tour since 2003. "As a singer, I need a certain amount of vocal rest, where I just don't talk before I do a show," Carey explained. "On tour it's like really hardcore singing moments and then resting."
Some of those hardcore singing moments on this tour will be within songs from her six-times-platinum The Emancipation of Mimi album, but Carey is also planning to revisit hits and deep album cuts from her 15-year catalog, including "Vision of Love," "My All" and "Close My Eyes." She's also considering including one of the 25 ring tones she recently wrote and produced for Pepsi, so that she can show off her "creative tangents."
"A friend of mine was over and we were going through different concepts for the tour, and he said, 'You should do one of the ring tones!' " she laughed. "So I'm actually thinking about doing the one we're doing the commercial for," called "Time of Your Life."
Opening the two-month trek for the first half will be Sean Paul, while other "surprise" guests remain to be announced. The tour launches August 5 in Miami and wraps October 10 in Phoenix. Tickets go on sale June 2, and despite Carey's reputation as a diva, the prices are comparatively affordable, in the $20-$155 range.
"People ask me, 'Why don't you just go on tour and charge huge amounts of money? Do these small venues, but charge thousands and thousands of dollars to go in,' " Carey previously explained. "Because I have fans of all different ages and different money ranges, and they can't afford to go out and spend that kind of money. Not everybody has a budget to go out and go really high-end" (see "Mariah Wants All Fans To See Her - And Even Smell Like Her").
Before Carey kicks off her tour, she will end her concert hiatus with a Pepsi Smash Concert featuring Chris Brown scheduled for July 29 at Hollywood's Kodak Theatre.
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