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Whether it's the infamous missed note on 'All I Want For Christmas Is You' or the disastrous miming blunder in Jamaica just last year, when it comes to attending a Mariah Carey concert in 2016 you'd be forgiven for managing your expectations. No-one's disputing Mariah's vocal ability over the years, more questioning if she's still, well y'know, got it.

In true diva style, Mimi is carried out on stage on a chaise longue above her dancers' heads for the opening of her Sweet Sweet Fantasy tour at London's O2 arena. She's half an hour late (we're sure we'll find out why in her upcoming E! reality series), but for a personality as camp as Mariah's, a wispy and angelic take on 'Fantasy' is the perfect introduction, and the arena laps it up.

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However, despite the showgirl antics, it takes her a little while to thaw. Those trademark ad-libs are there in their full whistling glory during 'Emotion', but her movement across the stage needs to be less rigid for such an exuberant song. If anything – and we never thought we'd ever be criticising Mariah for this – we wanted her to take control of her own body a bit more, rather than constantly being guided across the stage by her dancers.

But it's a minor gripe, as the serious strutting and fabulous arm flailing comes later on. Dressed in a glittering black basque, Mariah transforms into a sultry vixen for 'Touch My Body', 'It's Like That' and 'Obsessed', proving that she was definitely naughtiest in the noughties. And her humour is as playful as ever too: "It's not true, I'm not that difficult," she tells the crowd with a knowing smile. "It just depends on perspective."

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It's a good job that Mariah's ego can fill the arena (in the nicest possible way of course), because the stage set up is basic. The visuals barely surpass Windows 98 screensaver quality, while there's only so many times topless hunky dancers can get a "woop woop". She doesn't even have the big screens on for those watching at the back. (Was she worried they wouldn't catch her best angle?)

So it really does come down to the standard of Mariah's vocal. And yes, she completely nails it. Naturally it shines brightest on big ballads like 'Hero', 'My All', 'Always Be My Baby', and 'Against All Odds' (where Westlife even get a shout out), but the most poignant moment comes for her Whitney Houston team-up 'When We Believe'.

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"I was blessed to do a duet with one of the world's best singers," Mariah says as she's introducing the song. It takes a lot to keep your ears and eyes off Mariah during one of her concerts, but Whitney being projected on the backdrop in the accompanying music video is an emotional and captivating point in the show.

So as Mariah belts out all the big notes for a finale of 'Without You', it is a lesson in not believing everything you watch on YouTube. Yeah, she's fluffed a few notes in recent memory, but when it comes down to it, Mariah hasn't lost that massive and magical voice. For hit after hit, the Elusive Chanteuse makes the 13-year wait for a proper European tour worthwhile.

Mariah Carey tickets for the remainder of her Sweet Sweet Fantasy European tour are on sale through StubHub here.

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