The Charmbracelet World Tour was the fifth worldwide concert tour in 2003–2004 by American singer-songwriter Mariah Carey in support of her ninth studio album Charmbracelet (2002). The tour started on June 21, 2003 in Seoul, South Korea, and visited several countries in Asia, Europe, and North America before ending on February 26, 2004 in Dubai. At the end of 2003, the tour placed 83rd on Pollstar's "Top 100 Tours", grossing more than $6.0 million with 25 shows from her first North American leg.

Background

In April 2003, Carey announced a world tour in support of her recent studio album Charmbracelet. The tour followed her Rainbow World Tour in 2000 and was her most extensive lasting for sixty-nine shows over eight months. The tour reached many places in East Asia, Southeast Asia, and the Middle East.

Since her debut on the music scene in 1990, Carey has toured very infrequently compared to many other established acts. As such, the length of this tour had actually been extended due to Carey attempting to promote the Charmbracelet album which was underperforming. After the initial stretch of the tour, Carey decided to add additional dates. For the new dates, she performed a more condensed show, removing several songs from the set list and performing a few new songs in their place with Christmas elements during the seasonal period.

In the United States, venues were switched from large arenas to smaller, more intimate theatre shows due to slow sales in some cities. According to Carey, however, the change was made in order to give fans a more intimate show. She said, "It's much more intimate so you'll feel like you had an experience. You experience a night with me." However, while smaller venues were booked for the US leg of the tour, Carey performed at some arenas in Asia and Europe, and performed for a crowd of over 35,000 in Manila, 50,000 in Malaysia, and to over 70,000 people in China. In the UK, it was Carey's first tour to feature shows outside London; she performed in Glasgow, Birmingham and Manchester.

Critical response

The tour garnered praise from music critics and audiences, many of whom complimented the quality of Carey's live vocals and the production of the shows. Fans were given the opportunity to request songs from Carey's catalog, which added to its positive reception. At her concert in Manila, Rito P. Asilo from Philippine Daily Inquirer wrote, "I didn't expect her voice to be that crystal clear!" He added, "After 15 songs, we couldn't seem to get enough of Mariahand we became a believer!".

Carey's sexual image also generated some controversy during the tour. In various countries, she was often criticized for her choice of dress, and a Pan-Islamic youth leader attempted to have her banned from performing in Malaysia.

Set list

"Looking In" (Instrumental introduction) contains elements of "Butterfly") "Heartbreaker" (includes elements of the "Desert Storm Remix") "Dreamlover" (includes elements of "Juicy" by The Notorious B.I.G.) "Through the Rain" "My All" (includes elements of "Classic Club Mix") "Marionette Show" (interlude) "Clown" "Can't Take That Away (Mariah's Theme)" "Honey" (video interlude) "Honey" (includes elements of "Bad Boy Remix") "I Know What You Want" "Subtle Invitation" "My Saving Grace" "I'll Be There" (with Trey Lorenz) "Friend of Mine" (Trey Lorenz solo) "Bringin' On the Heartbreak" "Fantasy" (Bad Boy Remix) "Always Be My Baby" "Make It Happen"

Encore "Vision of Love" "Hero" "Butterfly Reprise" (Outro)

Shows + List of Asian concerts Date(2003) City Country Venue Attendance (Tickets sold / available) RevenueJune 21SeoulSouth KoreaJamsil ArenaJune 24OsakaJapanOsaka-Jo HallJune 26June 29FukuokaMarine Messe FukuokaJuly 1July 3HiroshimaHiroshima Sun PlazaJuly 6TokyoBudokan ArenaJuly 8July 10July 13NagoyaRainbow HallJuly 15 + List of North American concerts Date(2003) City Country Venue Attendance (Tickets sold / available) RevenueJuly 26Las VegasUnited StatesColosseum at Caesars PalaceJuly 29ChicagoUnited CenterAugust 1St. LouisFox TheatreAugust 3ClevelandThe Scene CenterAugust 5ColumbiaMerriweather Post PavilionAugust 7TorontoCanadaSears TheaterAugust 10MorrisonUnited StatesRed Rocks AmphitheatreAugust 13Concord Chronicle PavilionAugust 15San DiegoSDSU Open Air TheatreAugust 18Los AngelesUniversal AmphitheatreAugust 21August 23PhoenixDodge TheatreAugust 26Grand PrairieNextStage TheatreAugust 28The WoodlandsThe Woodlands PavilionAugust 30OrlandoBob Carr Performing Arts CenterSeptember 1Fort LauderdaleAu-Rene TheaterSeptember 3TampaCarol Morsani HallSeptember 6MashantucketFoxwoods Resort CasinoSeptember 8BostonWang TheatreSeptember 10Upper Darby TownshipTower TheaterSeptember 12WallingfordOakdale TheatreSeptember 14CincinnatiU.S. Bank ArenaSeptember 18New York CityRadio City Music Hall5,922 / 5,922$426,945September 20Atlantic CityMark Etess ArenaSeptember 23ManchesterVerizon Wireless Arena4,531 / 6,715$305,775

+ List of European concerts Date(2003) City Country Venue Attendance (Tickets sold / available) RevenueSeptember 27MoscowRussiaState Kremlin PalaceSeptember 29October 2Saint PetersburgIce PalaceOctober 5StockholmSwedenGloben ArenaOctober 8RotterdamNetherlandsSportpaleis van AhoyOctober 10HamburgGermanyColor Line ArenaOctober 13BerlinMax-Schmeling-HalleOctober 16MunichOlympiahalleOctober 19ViennaAustriaWiener StadthalleOctober 22ZürichSwitzerlandHallenstadionOctober 25GlasgowScotlandScottish Exhibition Hall 4October 28BirminghamEnglandNational Exhibition CentreOctober 30LondonWembley ArenaNovember 1ManchesterManchester Evening News ArenaNovember 4ParisFrancePalais Omnisports de Paris-BercyNovember 7MilanItalyFila Forum + List of Asian concerts Date(2003) City Country Venue Attendance (Tickets sold / available) RevenueNovember 12ShanghaiChinaHong Kou StadiumNovember 14November 16TaguigPhilippinesBonifacio Global City Open Field + List of North American concerts Date(2003) City Country Venue Attendance (Tickets sold / available) RevenueDecember 9PortlandUnited StatesArlene Schnitzer Concert HallDecember 10SeattleMcCaw HallDecember 12San JoseHP Pavilion5,508 / 5,508$303,943December 15Santa BarbaraArlington TheatreDecember 17Los AngelesUniversal Amphitheater5,614 / 5,769$302,675December 19TucsonTucson ArenaDecember 20Las VegasTheatre for the Performing ArtsDecember 22Costa MesaOrange County Performing Arts Center + List of Asian concerts Date(2004) City Country Venue Attendance (Tickets sold / available) RevenueFebruary 13BusanSouth KoreaBusan Convention CenterFebruary 15JakartaIndonesia Jakarta Convention CenterFebruary 17Bangkok Thailand Impact ArenaFebruary 20Kuala LumpurMalaysiaStadium MerdekaFebruary 24BeirutLebanonB.I.E.L.February 26DubaiUnited Arab EmiratesDubai Media CityTotal21,575 / 23,914 (98%)$1,339,338

Personnel Randy Jackson – musical director Lionel Cole - piano, keyboards Eric Daniels – keyboards Sam Sims - bass Vernon Black – guitar Gregory "Gigi" Gonoway – drums Trey Lorenz – background vocals Mary Ann Tatum – background vocals Sherry Tatum - background vocals Takeytha Johnson – background vocals

References