Shanghai audiences can consider themselves very lucky - they have finally gained the chance to attend a live concert by R&B queen Mariah Carey, the pop star with five octaves at her easy disposal.

The diva is coming to Shanghai after canceling the other stops on her Asian tour.

Although the concert will last only 90 minutes, the repertoire includes almost all her greatest hits, such as "Hero", "One Sweet Day", "Emotions" and "Butterfly".

The concert will offer the sugar-sweet melodies, register-defying vocals and slick R&B groove most of Carey's fans will be hunting.

The fans need only buy the tickets and sit there at ease, popcorn in hand, to enjoy Carey's voice, which is capable of trajectories as unpredictably beautiful as a dancing feather in the wind.

However, the local working staff involved in the concert are not so lucky, as they will face a huge number of tasks appointed by the willful and arrogant pop queen.

In a period of less than a week, the staff have to make all the preparations to accommodate Mariah Carey, which will nearly drive them crazy.

This time, Carey's tour team will comprise a total of over 60 persons, which will occupy over 70 rooms of the Shanghai Hilton.

As for Carey herself, she requires the most luxurious suite in the hotel, whose windows should all be shielded with black paper. In the suite, there must be six air-conditioners and three international direct-dial lines.

Meanwhile, the beverage list she has drawn up is quite long - one bottle of crystal champagne, two bottles of Santa appetizers, two bottles of first-class red wines, six bottles of Coca-Cola, six bottles of Diet Coke, six bottles of mineral water, six bottles of lemon iced tea, herbal tea, fresh orange juice...

So far, no one knows how many costumes Carey will wear during her concert, but she has asked the hotel to provide at least 50 clothes racks.

A "limousine" does not suffice to define what Carey demands of the hotel, she specifies the latest six-seat Lincoln or Benz S-500. The chauffeur should be fluent in English and be available within a minute at any time.

7:15pm, November 12

Ticket: 240-1,600 yuan

(Shanghai Star November 10, 2003)