Merry Christmas to All! was a show by Mariah Carey held at the Scotiabank Arena and Madison Square Garden in December 2022. Originally a two-date-only run, an additional show was later announced for each venue due to high demand.
Concert synopsis[]
The show begins with an short instrumental introduction of "The Nutcracker March." The curtain is lifted, dancers appear on stage and the "Sugar Plum Fairy Introlude" starts playing while Carey descends from the ceiling sat on a giant snowflake-shaped swing. As Carey approaches the floor, the dancers aid her stand up and "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing / Gloria (In Excelsis Deo)" starts, with the choir walking on stage halfway through the song. From there, and with the choir behind Carey, Daniel Moore II plays an impromptu melody in the piano, which turns out to be the "Joy to the World" intro, prompting Carey, the band and the choir to start the song, which segues into the David Morales-produced "Celebration Mix" after the third verse, before turning back into the original version for the ending. The choir then walks out and Carey chats with the audience about how she goes on actual sleigh rides at Christmas and how the idea of a 'sleigh ride' is a fantasy for many people, before the first chords of "Sleigh Ride" are heard (there is a tap dancing breakdown during the song, where all instruments will cease being played except for the drums; the rest of the instruments gradually come back). Carey then thanks the child dancers and introduces the next song, "Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)," by stating that there have been many versions of the song and that they'd like to perform their rendition for the audience. Before the bridge, Carey's vocals are replaced by an electric guitar solo and a backup dancer dressed as a nutcracker figurine appears pretending to play an electric guitar. Meanwhile, Carey walks off stage, but returns to finish the song (the same ending as the version on 2021's The Magic Continues). The choir comes back and the band starts "Silent Night," after which the curtain drops almost entirely, leaving only the right side of the stage visible to the audience. Carey introduces Monroe Cannon and they both sit on a divan that is placed on the only part of the stage that isn't covered by the curtain. They both perform "Away in a Manger."
During Carey's first costume change, the curtain is, once again, lifred and Trey Lorenz comes on stage to perform "Jesus Oh What a Wonderful Child." After his performance, he introduces Carey right before she walks back on stage.
As the second act of the show starts, Carey, assisted by Bryan Tanaka, walks to the microphone stand placed in the middle of the stage as a new orchestral intro for "Christmas Time Is in the Air Again" plays. Carey performs the song standing still and introduces the next song by saying that it was the winner of a 2019 Twitter poll where she asked the fans about which song they wanted her to perform the most on her Christmas tour. "Miss You Most (At Christmas Time)," the song in question, is then performed, albeit in an abridged form. After the song, Carey asks if there are any real fans in the audience and sings "When Christmas Comes," despite saying they weren't going to do it originally. The choir comes back for a performance of "O Holy Night" (only on the New York shows), which features the outro from the 2000 version as Carey walks off stage, once again aided by Tanaka.
While Carey changes her costume, Moore performs a piano solo of "God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen" and the backup dancers gather together for a ballet performance to the sound of "Carol of the Bells."
Right before Carey's return to the stage, the "Santa Claus Is Coming to Town Intro" plays, segueing into "Oh Santa!" at the same time the curtain lifts once again, showing her in the center of the stage surrounded by dancers. Carey performs the song, as well as "Here Comes Santa Claus (Right Down Santa Claus Lane) / House Top Celebration" and walks off stage for a brief moment. While backstage, Carey speaks to the audience about how she doesn't usually listen to non-Christmas songs during the holiday season, but has considered the fact that the fans want to hear some hits. The high note from the "Big Energy" remix is then heard and Carey comes back on stage to perform an 11-minute hits medley, starting with a version of the song infused with her own hit "Fantasy," featuring both O.D.B.'s and Latto's verses. The next number in the medley is a mashup of "Honey" and the "Heartbreaker" remix, first debuted at the Global Citizen Festival in September 2022, followed by a performance of "My All" featuring a flamenco dance solo while Carey sings the song. As the medley goes on, Carey sings "It's Like That" and "Emotions," turning her back to the audience during the latter's intro for a more dramatic effect. The potpourri's closing section is gospel-inspired and the choir comes back on stage once again (only during the New York shows) for the performances of "Make It Happen" and "Fly Like a Bird." Carey then has a quick "glam moment" and calls her hair and makeup artists on stage while the band improvises background music or plays a fan-favorite track ("Fall in Love at Christmas") as she gets a touch up. After that, Carey gets close to her microphone stand and dedicates a medley of both the original and the re-recorded 2021 versions of "We Belong Together" to the fans. "Hero" serves as the main show closer and, according to Carey, was the only non-Christmas song that felt right to be performed in the original Christmas shows. Carey sings the inspirational ballad and walks off stage as the songs' reprise is performed by the band and the singers. Carey plays her part during the show's fake ending by thanking everybody involved in the show, as well as the fans, wishing the audience a good night. "Hero Reprise" ends and the curtain drops.
Before the grand finale of the show, the curtain is lifter up once again, only to reveal Monroe Cannon, dressed in a Christmas-themed pop-punk-inspired outfit performing "Christmas Wrapping." She sings over Carey's pre-recorded vocals and is accompanied by several child dancers holding guitars and acting as backup singers. Carey appears on the big screen wearing a similar outfit. The curtain drops once again and everybody, apart from three dancers, walk off stage. One of the dancers pretends to find a diamond on stage and conferences with the other dancers about the possibility of it being fake, which prompts Moroccan Cannon to appear, angrily stating that his mother doesn't wear anything fake. One of the dancers asks him about the video game NBA 2K and Cannon offers to help her play the game. Everybody walks off stage.
For the performance of "All I Want for Christmas Is You", the curtain lifts once more and the iconic slow intro present in the original version of the song is preceded by the extra festive orchestral intro. The beat drops and Carey sings the song with dancers on stage and visual representations of candy canes are displayed on the screen behind her. A reprise is performed by the band after the main song ends, during which Carey thanks everybody for coming and for being a part of the experience. The dancers on stage are joined by the choir, the child dancers, Carey's kids and any guest performer brought out during the show. Carey ad libs during the outro and confetti and fake snow start dripping from the ceiling.
Broadcasts and recordings[]
The shows in New York were taped for an eponymously titled Christmas special, airing on CBS on December 20, 2022.
Setlist[]
- "The Nutcracker March" (Intro)
- "Sugar Plum Fairy Introlude"
- "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing / Gloria (In Excelsis Deo)"
- "Joy to the World" (With elements from the "Celebration Mix")
- "Sleigh Ride"
- "Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)"
- "Silent Night"
- "Away in a Manger" (With Monroe Cannon, with extended outro)
- "Jesus Oh What a Wonderful Child" (Performed by Trey Lorenz)
- "Christmas Time Is in the Air Again"
- "Miss You Most (At Christmas Time)" (Snippet)
- "When Christmas Comes" (Snippet)
- "O Holy Night" (With extended outro)
- "God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen" (Piano solo, performed by Daniel Moore II)
- "Carol of the Bells" (Ballet interlude, with elements from "Sing We Now of Christmas")
- "Oh Santa!" (With "Santa Claus Is Coming to Town" intro)
- "Here Comes Santa Claus (Right Down Santa Claus Lane) / House Top Celebration"
- Medley:
- "Big Energy / Fantasy (Remix)"
- "Heartbreaker / Honey" (Mashup)
- "My All"
- "It's Like That" (With elements from "Sucker MC's" and "Hollis Crew" by Run-DMC)
- "Emotions"
- "Make It Happen"
- "Fly Like a Bird" (Followed by band introductions)
- "We Belong Together" (With elements from "Mimi's Late Night Valentine's Mix")
- "Hero" (With extended outro)
- "Christmas Wrapping" (Performed by Monroe Cannon)
- "All I Want for Christmas Is You"
- "All I Want for Christmas Is You Reprise" (Outro)
Notes[]
- An instrumental interlude of "Christmas Time Is Here" was performed on the first Toronto show, between "Carol of the Bells" and "Oh Santa!" The same interlude was also performed after "Christmas Wrapping" on the second New York show.
- On the first New York show:
- "Jesus Oh What a Wonderful Child," usually performed by Trey Lorenz, was replaced by "Jesus Had a Mama Like Mine," performed by Billy Porter.
- An improvised piano snippet of "Jingle Bells" served as the ending to "When Christmas Comes."
- "Christmas Wrapping" was moved up earlier in the setlist, being performed between "Carol of the Bells" and "Oh Santa!"
- The Rockettes joined Carey onstage to perform "Oh Santa!." Additionally, an extended outro was performed for the song, where Carey thanked them for joining her in performing the song.
- Jermaine Dupri, Moroccan Cannon and Slick Rick joined Carey onstage to perform "Here Comes Santa Claus (Right Down Santa Claus Lane) / House Top Celebration." Additionally, Dupri joined Carey onstage to perform "It's Like That" later on in the show.
- This was also the case for the second New York show.
- The band introductions were performed over an impromptu instrumental version of "Fall in Love at Christmas."
- This was also the case for the second New York show.
- Drew Barrymore came onstage after "Hero" to introduce "All I Want for Christmas Is You."
- A ballet interlude to the sound of an instrumental medley of "Christmas (Baby Please Come Home) / Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow! / Santa Claus Is Coming to Town / We Wish You a Merry Christmas" was performed by The Rockettes before "All I Want for Christmas Is You."
Gallery[]
December 9 - Toronto[]
December 13 - New York[]
December 16 - New York[]
Merch[]
Shows[]
Date | City | Country | Venue | Opening act | Attendance | Revenue |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
North America[1] | ||||||
December 9, 2022 | Toronto | Canada | Scotiabank Arena | DJ Suss One | - | - |
December 11, 2022 | ||||||
December 13, 2022 | New York City | United States | Madison Square Garden | 23,484 / 23,484 | $3,641,811 | |
December 16, 2022 | ||||||
Total | 23,484 / 23,484 (100%) |
$3,641,811 |
Personnel[]
Band[]
- Musical Director, Piano — Daniel Moore II
- Drums — Joshua Foster
- Bass — Lance Tolbert
- Keyboards — Derrieux Edgecombe
- Background Vocals — Trey Lorenz, Maryann Tatum & Takeytha Johnson
Trivia[]
- This was Carey's first concert tour since the COVID-19 pandemic.
- The tour marked the live debut of several songs, such as "Sleigh Ride," "Away in a Manger" and "Miss You Most (At Christmas Time)." Additionally, it was the first time "Honey," the "Heartbreaker" remix, "My All," "It's Like That," "Make It Happen" and "Fly Like a Bird" were performed on a Christmas show.
- Carey stated that the first Toronto show was just the dress rehearsal for the tour.
- Carey was presented with a plaque honoring "All I Want for Christmas Is You" being certified Diamond in Canada on the first Toronto show. Moreover, Carey was also presented with a plaque honoring "All I Want for Christmas Is You" being certified 12x Platinum in the US on the first New York show.
- Following two sold out shows in New York, Carey was gifted a red robe with her initials encrusted with diamonds by Madison Square Garden.[2]