The Adventures of Mimi
The Adventures of Mimi was a 2006 concert tour by American singer-songwriter Mariah Carey. It was one of a few tours in her then-sixteen-year career and was named after a fan's "Carey-centric" diary of the same name.[1] The bus tour started in late July and ended in October, with two stops in Africa, twenty-five stops in the United States, seven in Canada, and seven in Asia. At the end of 2006, the tour placed 24th on Pollstar's "Top 100 Tours", earning $27.9 million with 32 shows from the North American leg.[2]
Tour by Mariah Carey | |
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Associated album | The Emancipation of Mimi |
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Start date | July 22, 2006 |
End date | October 28, 2006 |
Legs | 3 |
No. of shows | 40 |
Box office | $27.9 million (North American Leg) |
Mariah Carey concert chronology |
Background

Unlike her previous tour, three years prior, Carey started this tour 16 months after the release of her latest album, the successful The Emancipation of Mimi. She had initially not wanted to tour, dreading the long travel times and not needing one to promote Mimi. But after requests from fans to appear in concert, she decided to do so to celebrate one of the best times in her career.[3] For most dates, Carey did not schedule shows in two consecutive nights, as she "actually [has] to have a full day and a half off between shows, whereas most touring artists do it every night", and she spends her down time preserving her voice by not talking and "sitting in a humidified room, sleeping."[3]
Similar to the past tour, Carey gave her fans the chance to submit their ideas for set lists and for the title of the tour. Her long-time musical partner and American Idol judge Randy Jackson joined her tour as the musical director, although he did not often appear at shows due to concurrent Idol auditions.
During the tour, Carey revamped her image as a performer, performing remixes of her songs, dancing along with her dancers, having guests onstage, and going into the middle of each arena onto a checkerboard B-stage to perform "Fantasy", "Always Be My Baby" and "Don't Forget About Us." The main stage was a two-level affair, with the band situated on the lower level, backed by strands of glittering material, and a staircase between the two. Carey's "MC" logo was present in several places.

Once again, Carey invited her long-time friend and back-up singer Trey Lorenz to sing "I'll Be There" and "One Sweet Day" with her and perform several songs on his own during one of her costume changes. Except for an occasional guest appearance, raps on her songs were the pre-recorded originals, with the rapper shown on the video screens.
Critical reception
Reviews of the tour were generally positive. Most critics celebrated Carey's transformation from a pop star to a full-fledged hip hop artist. They also praised her vocal performances saying that was the main attraction of the spectacle.[4][5]
Some critics commented on the short length of the show, especially given that she was offstage for several breaks while undergoing costume changes,[6][7] while others felt Carey was trying too hard to make the public like her, especially in terms of the "rollercoaster" metaphor she used to begin the show.[8]
Recordings
According to Carey's musical director Randy Jackson, the show at Honda Center in Anaheim on October 8, 2006 was intended as the basis for a concert filming and subsequent DVD release. Indeed, Carey held a pre-concert taping there, in order to include fans, regulate the lighting, and review other technical aspects in preparation for the night's actual concert recording.
The resulting DVD, called The Adventures of Mimi, was released over a year later, beginning in Europe on November 19, 2007, with releases in other regions of the world coming over the following two weeks.
Set list
- "Rollercoaster" (Video introduction)
- "It's Like That" (contains elements of "Sucker MC's" and "Hollis Crew")
- "Heartbreaker" (contains elements of the Desert Storm Remix)
- "Dreamlover" (contains elements of "Juicy")
- "My All"
- "Shake It Off"
- "Vision of Love"
- "Fly Like a Bird"
- "I'll Be There" (with Trey Lorenz)
- "My Everything" (Interlude) (performed by Trey Lorenz)
- "Fantasy" (Bad Boy Remix)
- "Don't Forget About Us"
- "Always Be My Baby"
- "Honey" (contains elements of "Bad Boy Remix")
- "Thank God I Found You" (Make It Last Remix) (with Trey Lorenz)
- "One Sweet Day" (with Trey Lorenz)
- "Hero"
- "We Belong Together"
- "Fly Away (Butterfly Reprise)" (Outro)
- "Thank God I Found You" was not performed on select dates.
- "Without You and "Anytime You Need A Friend" were performed in Tunis.
- "Breakdown" was performed in Tunis and Miami.
- "I Know What You Want" was performed from Tunis, Miami, and Tampa.
- "Can't Let Go" was performed during select North American concerts.
- During the first Los Angeles show, "I Wish You Knew", "Thank God I Found You", "One Sweet Day" were not performed.
- "I Wish You Knew" was added to the set list on August 5.
- "Stay the Night" replaced "Vision of Love" during concerts in Miami, Tampa, Atlanta, Uncasville, Albany, Verona, Tokyo, Nagoya, and the first Saitama show.
- "Your Girl" was performed in Miami, Atlanta, Albany, Wantagh and Verona.
- "Joy Ride" was performed in Tampa.
- "One Sweet Day" was not performed in Tampa, the second Atlantic City show, and Verona. It was ultimately removed from the set list on October 16.
- "Make It Happen" was cut from the set list on August 21, but snippets were performed later during in shows in Boston, New York City, Calgary, and Anaheim.
- "Fly Like a Bird" were not performed on select dates in North America and Japan.
- A snippet of "Close My Eyes" was performed in Toronto, Montreal and Wantagh.
- During the show in New York City, Carey performed "Honey" with Diddy and "Heartbreaker" with Da Brat and JAY Z.
- In East Rutherford, Mario joined Carey on stage for the performance of "One Sweet Day" in East Rutherford. Afterwards, Mario performed "Let Me Love You" solo.
- "Fantasy" was not performed in Wantagh.
- "Fly Like a Bird" was not performed in Uncasville, Verona, and all shows in Japan, save the second Saitama concert.
- "My All" was not performed on Uncasville and the first Saitama show.
- "Melt Away" was performed in Auburn Hills.
- "Love Takes Time" was performed in Winnipeg.
- "My Saving Grace" was performed in San Diego.
- Da Brat joined Carey on stage for the performance of "Heartbreaker" in Los Angeles.
- "All I Want for Christmas Is You" was added to the set list on October 16-25.
Shows
Date | City | Country | Venue | Attendance | Revenue |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Leg 1 - Africa | |||||
July 22, 2006 | Tunis | Tunisia | Stade El Menzah | N/A | N/A |
July 24, 2006 | |||||
Leg 2 - North America | |||||
June 29, 2006[lower-alpha 1] | Los Angeles | United States | Kodak Theatre | N/A | N/A |
August 5, 2006 | Miami | American Airlines Arena | 13,156 / 13,156 | $1,074,620 | |
August 7, 2006 | Tampa | St. Pete Times Forum | 13,354 / 13,542 | $714,455 | |
August 9, 2006 | Atlanta | Philips Arena | 11,226 / 13,288 | $660,595 | |
August 11, 2006 | Philadelphia | Wachovia Center | 15,160 / 15,160 | $1,516,136 | |
August 13, 2006 | Toronto | Canada | Air Canada Centre | 27,064 / 27,064 | $2,039,161 |
August 15, 2006 | Montreal | Bell Centre | 13,200 / 14,161 | $1,046,560 | |
August 17, 2006 | Atlantic City | United States | Trump Taj | N/A | N/A |
August 19, 2006 | |||||
August 21, 2006 | Boston | TD Garden | 11,993 / 14,922 | $1,034,794 | |
August 23, 2006 | New York City | Madison Square Garden | 13,930 / 13,930 | $1,300,140 | |
August 25, 2006 | Uncasville | Mohegan Sun Arena | N/A | N/A | |
August 27, 2006 | East Rutherford | Continental Airlines Arena | 12,697 / 13,525 | $1,076,790 | |
August 29, 2006 | Toronto | Canada | Air Canada Centre | [lower-alpha 2] | [lower-alpha 2] |
September 1, 2006 | Albany | United States | Pepsi Arena | 6,519 / 6,519 | $449,248 |
September 3, 2006 | Wantagh | Nikon at Jones Beach Theater | 11,725 / 13,855 | $654,534 | |
September 5, 2006 | Verona | Turning Stone Resort & Casino | N/A | N/A | |
September 7, 2006 | Washington, D.C. | Verizon Center | 12,121 / 14,199 | $839,643 | |
September 9, 2006 | Auburn Hills | The Palace of Auburn Hills | 12,804 / 12,804 | $894,399 | |
September 11, 2006 | Chicago | United Center | 12,958 / 13,930 | $919,268 | |
September 14, 2006 | Houston | Toyota Center | 11,252 / 11,830 | $828,293 | |
September 16, 2006 | Dallas | American Airlines Center | 10,521 / 11,494 | $919,268 | |
September 19, 2006 | Winnipeg | Canada | MTS Centre | 8,915 / 9,557 | $611,223 |
September 21, 2006 | Edmonton | Rexall Place | 12,013 / 12,578 | $880,306 | |
September 23, 2006 | Vancouver | General Motors Place | 14,189 / 14,652 | $1,223,100 | |
September 25, 2006 | Calgary | Pengrowth Saddledome | 11,984 / 11,984 | $815,242 | |
September 27, 2006 | Sacramento | United States | ARCO Arena | 12,353 / 12,510 | $938,106 |
September 30, 2006 | Las Vegas | MGM Grand Garden Arena | 13,730 / 13,730 | $1,844,530 | |
October 2, 2006 | Oakland | Oracle Arena | 12,510 / 13,585 | $960,369 | |
October 4, 2006 | San Diego | San Diego Sports Arena | 9,480 / 10,000 | $765,431 | |
October 6, 2006 | Los Angeles | Staples Center | 12,844 / 13,882 | $1,230,397 | |
October 8, 2006 | Anaheim | Honda Center | 11,475 / 12,024 | $918,283 | |
October 10, 2006 | Phoenix | US Airways Center | 12,049 / 13,136 | $880,739 | |
Leg 3 - Asia | |||||
October 16, 2006 | Tokyo | Japan | Nippon Budokan | N/A | N/A |
October 18, 2006 | Nagoya | Nagoya Rainbow Hall | |||
October 20, 2006 | Saitama | Saitama Super Arena | |||
October 21, 2006 | |||||
October 24, 2006 | Osaka | Osaka-jō Hall | |||
October 25, 2006 | |||||
Total | 227,003 / 246,798 (92%) | $25,790,490 | |||
Cancelled shows
Date | City | Country | Venue | Reason |
---|---|---|---|---|
August 29, 2006 | New York City | United States | Madison Square Garden | Not enough tickets sold[4][9] |
September 3, 2006 | Hershey | Giant Center | ||
September 18, 2006 | Denver | Pepsi Center | ||
September 25, 2006 | Seattle | Key Arena | ||
October 28, 2006 | Hong Kong | Hong Kong | Tamar site | Promotion Conflicts[10][11] |
Personnel
Main
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Band
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Notes
- Part of the Pepsi Smash concert series. These tickets were not available to the public. Only winners selected through an online contest. The show featured the same stage setting but a shortened setlist with some different costumes.
- The score data is representative of the both shows at the Air Canada Centre on August 13 and August 29, respectively.
References
- MSN Mariah Carey takes on Madonna with new tour
- "Pollstar Top 100 Tours 2006" (PDF). Pollstar. Retrieved 28 May 2015.
- Asbury Park Press, AP story by Nekesa Mumbi Moody, August 11, 2006.
- Newsday What's wrong with Mariah Carey? Archived 2008-12-05 at the Wayback Machine
- The Detroit News Mariah was on fire in her 1st Metro show
- The Connecticut Post Mariah Carey concert disappointing Archived 2006-09-02 at the Wayback Machine
- Mass Live Mariah Carey performance brief
- Palm Beach Post Mariah Carey concert review
- MARIAH CAREY ANNOUNCES EAGERLY-ANTICIPATED TOUR – ‘THE ADVENTURES OF MIMI: THE VOICE, THE HITS, THE TOUR’ – THE EVENT OF THE YEAR!!
- "Mariah Carey's Hong Kong Show Canceled" The Washington Post
- Lutfia, Ismira (October 27, 2006). "Mariah Carey's Hong Kong Show Canceled". The Washington Post. Retrieved 26 October 2006.
External links
Media related to The Adventures of Mimi Tour at Wikimedia Commons