Mariah Carey performs in Saudi Arabia!

Mimi is the highest profile star to ever have a concert in the Kingdom despite backlash and criticism from activists

Mariah Carey performed some of her biggest hits at the King Abdullah Economic City.

by Lulu Baker

Entertainment 1 February 2019

Everyone knows a Mariah Carey song no matter how old you are. The diva is a legend and if you had the chance, wouldn’t you go see her live? No doubt about it.

The multi award winning singer and song writer (and bona fide diva and pop cultural icon – she is the star of some of the most amazing memes and GIFS of all time) is the highest profile star to perform in the Kingdom since entertainment restrictions.

“I’m so happy to see you guys all together tonight,” Mariah said to the crowd at the Bay La Sun resort in King Abdullah Economic City when she first greeted them.

The same stage welcomed DJ Tiesto, Sean Paul and Yemenie singer Balqees Fathi last night, but it was Mariah who really made headlines around the world and of course backlash for choosing to preform there.

Mariah has been criticised by women’s rights activists and campaigners along with a lot of the public (on Twitter – where else really?) for choosing to perform in the country that has a poor human rights record.

Mariah decided to ignore (she’s sort of notorious for ignoring things…) responding directly to calls to boycott the concert or address the issue or respond to tweets such as the one below.

As a (kind of) response, Mariah’s publicists told the Associated Pressthat, (when) “presented with the offer to perform for an international and mixed gender audience in Saudi Arabia, Mariah accepted the opportunity as a positive step towards the dissolution of gender segregation”. Her team also said: “As the first female international artist to perform in Saudi Arabia, Mariah recognises the cultural significance of this event and will continue to support global efforts towards equality for all.” And that Mariah “looks forward to bringing inspiration and encouragement to all audiences.’ Based on the Twitters reaction during and since the concert, that’s exactly what Mariah has done – the emancipation of Mimi in Saudi will go down in the history’s entertainment and pop culture emergence. Below are some highlights we found for you guys on Twitter.

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