Mariah Carey Kicks Off Las Vegas Residency on a High Note

Diva Las Vegas. Celine Dion, Cher, Shania Twain. Now you can add Mariah Carey to the list of Las Vegas headliners. The pop diva pulled out all the stops during opening night of “Mariah #1 to Infinity,” her residency at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace.

There was big hair, glitzy wardrobe changes, and hits upon hits during the two-hour career retrospective. Mariah proved that her voice remains intact while performing all 18 of her chart-topping singles, from her first No. 1 “Vision of Love” to 2008’s “Touch My Body.”

She jumped in her pink vintage Thunderbird for “Dreamlover” and danced alongside a yellow jet ski while clad in a black leotard from the “Honey” music video. For “Touch My Body,” she invited a fan to climb onto a giant bed and blindfolded him while waving a feather in his direction.

During one of the more tender moments of the evening, she performed her cover of The Jackson 5’s “I’ll Be There” with Trey Lorenz while footage of a young Michael Jackson showed on the screen behind her.

“I have always been one of Michael Jackson’s biggest fans, and later I was able to call him my friend,” she told the crowd.

For the finale, she performed her newest single “Infinity” off her upcoming compilation #1 to Infinity, due May 18.

The show opened to generally positive reviews. “While ‘Infinity’ seems unlikely to restore her to pop’s cutting edge—or anywhere approaching it—she seems at ease with her past, and proud of the effect her songs have had on such huge numbers of people,” wrote The Guardian.

Mariah will perform three nights a week in May and July for a total of 18 shows.