Live Performances
On the seventh season of the popular talent competition American Idol, Carey was featured as a mentor for the top-seven week. Titled "Mariah Carey Week" and airing live on April 14, 2008, the contestants were to perform a song from Carey's catalog. After all seven contestants sang their individual songs, they all came together for a live rendition of Carey's 1996 collaboration with Boyz II Men, "One Sweet Day". Overall, critics noted how a Carey themed week would be extremely difficult for the performers, due to their vocally strenuous nature. Following their joint performance, Carey emerged onto the stage in a black mini-dress, and performed "Bye Bye" live, while backed by a trio of supporting vocalists. Tamara Jones of The Washington Post jokingly commented on Carey's flailing hand movements during the performance, writing how she was "waving like a malevolent homecoming queen". Gil Kaufman fro MTV News complimented Carey's performance, commenting on her "barely there micro-dress" and writing how she "serenaded the audience with her homage to lost ones." The Calgary Sun's Lindsey Ward described it as a "less-than-fab performance", although complimenting on Carey's leaner figure, "Oh, who am I kidding? She would look hot in a paper bag."
On April 25, 2008, Carey opened the Good Morning America "Summer Concert Series" with a live performance in Times Square. Carey, wearing a pink mini-skirt, began the set with "Touch My Body" in front of thousands of fans. During the song, Carey's backing vocals began to malfunction, causing it to repeat phrases and play during her main vocal moments. In order to let the sound engineer know of the problem, she substituted part of the lyrics for "stop singing my part now baby", and completed the final chorus. She continued on with "I'm That Chick", and completed the three-song set-list with her follow-up single, "Bye Bye". After marking the album's stateside launch with her appearance on Good Morning America, Carey took to Europe to perform on several programs, one of which included a live rendition of "Bye Bye". She began with an interview on the British radio station, BBC Radio 1, and continued onto a live performance of the song on T4. On April 12, 2008, Carey made an appearance on The Oprah Winfrey Show. Winfrey interviewed the singer on her weight loss, E=MC², and even showed footage of Carey in her New York apartment, showing off her lingerie closet. Following the interview, Carey, dressed in a purple and black ensemble, performed a live rendition of "Bye Bye" for the audience, with three background vocalists assisting her. Kevin Johnson from St. Louis Post-Dispatch described the performance as "touching", and complimented the song's appeal.
Read more about this topic: Bye Bye (Mariah Carey Song)
Famous quotes containing the words live and/or performances:
“What we live by we die by.”
—Robert Frost (1874–1963)
“At one of the later performances you asked why they called it a “miracle,”
Since nothing ever happened. That, of course, was the miracle
But you wanted to know why so much action took on so much life
And still managed to remain itself, aloof, smiling and courteous.”
—John Ashbery (b. 1927)