I saw Mariah Carey and this is what I learnt

In case you didn’t know, I am an avid music lover. I sing. I write songs. I write songs about singing. I’m really into it. Consider my love for music similar to that of a coffee snobs need for great java. It is one of the great loves of my life. Why the overshare, I hear you ask. Well, I needed to explain all of that to you so that you could understand my deep appreciation for good vocals. I was especially excited when I discovered that the vocal dynamo herself, my favorite singer in the history of song, Mariah Carey, was to grace SA shores in 2016! (Please excuse the terrible photo quality in this post – my Huawei could only do so much) 

I mean, if you’re sitting around waiting for pigs to fly, then let’s just say all my pigs were flying when I found out that she was coming to South Africa. This was something that I had been waiting for ever since I learnt how to talk. Literally. Okay, not literally. But it was up there on my bucket list and I think that just about every single member of my family and inner circle knew it! Who says your hearts desires can’t become a reality? Slap that person and unfriend, immediately!

The build up to the concert was pretty lame. Oh sorry, were you expecting something else? Haha. Why, you ask? Well, because I have a family and a 9 to 5 and I really could not spend a lot of time being excited about it. But a few days before, reality sunk in! It was a dream come true! We boarded a plane to Cape Town (Cape Town is a great town), with some friends of ours who shared our exact sentiments (she’s a fan, he’s not) and besides for the brilliant opportunity to take a break and enjoy being in another city, us girls were really pumped up about finally seeing Mimi, live!

The concert was amazing, the vibe was amazing and the lady’s vocal was A-mazing! It’s been 26 years since her debut release and Mariah’s still got it, no doubt. Hubstopher appreciated the musical genius of the band and I loved hearing all my favorite songs, being sung by my favorite singer, in living color! Watching her prance around on stage taught me a couple of other things too:

If you want to be the boss, BE the boss
This woman is not only good at taking command while on stage, she is pretty much executive producer on all her albums and writes her own songs. She knows what she wants. She knows how she wants it done. She works hard to make it happen. She owns it! I was so encouraged to take authority in my career space.

Looking good in the bodysuit is not always enough
Look, I love me some Mariah, but Mimi needs to give up the scantily clad outfits now. The girl is not a girl anymore. Wear some pants, for crying out loud! Okay, okay, her dresses were breathtaking. But the bodysuit… nah. Fortunately, I don’t listen with my eyes. Vocals were on point, so I was good to go. But it reminded me that looking good isn’t everything, yo. You don’t have to be sexy in order to be successful.

Keep your inner circle close
Mariah is surrounded by a whole bunch of Day 1 peeps who are still on her team, still working together, to get the job done, years after her initial success. I like that. It gives this sometimes glamorous, sometimes fake, music industry some creditability when there are like minded individuals in it, together, for the long haul. Relationships are beautiful. Who are you surrounding yourself with? How healthy are your relationships?

Human beings should not be worshiped 
People pretty much lost their minds as they all clamored after Mariah. These uber fans take their jobs pretty seriously, yo! Someone even called her Jesus, because her birthday is during Easter and she has the highest selling Christmas album. That is hilarious. Hilariously dumb. I can appreciate the artist without worshiping the artist, because really, she is just another human being. You know? Hey, I’m a fan for life! But being a fan won’t take over my life.

There can only be one Mariah
Many have tried and some may come close but there can only be one Mariah Carey! All in all, it was a top notch experience and it left me pretty motivated to chase my dreams and work hard for what I want. I love seeing passionate, strong women succeed!

To end, I need to quote a Mariah song (it’s only fitting) (don’t roll your eyes at me): “If you believe in yourself enough and know in your heart you’re going to make it happen (make it happen!) and if you go down on your knees at night and pray to the Lord, He’s going to make it happen (make it happen!)”  *and scene*