Review: In her ‘Merry Christmas One And All’ tour, this is Mariah Carey’s wonderful time of year

For Mariah Carey, it’s a family affair. The Queen of Christmas made her return to the city Sunday night at the United Center as part of her ongoing “Merry Christmas One and All!” tour. Unlike other artists — who may release an occasional holiday single or a second-rate Christmas album — Carey has leaned into the season, crafting two classic albums (“Merry Christmas” and “Merry Christmas II You”) and a series of promotional movies, soundtracks and musical residencies to celebrate the holiday.

But this latest tour is her most spectacular embodiment of her love of Christmas, one that ties the spirit of the season with her lineage and familial legacy. Before her rendition of “Sleigh Ride,” Carey shared that it is a Christmas tradition for her to go on a two-horse open sleigh ride with her children. Carey’s two children (twins Moroccan and Monroe) made brief but memorable appearances throughout the show, whether they danced on stage, sang a solo track (the infectious ‘80s jam “Christmas Wrapping”) or performed a rap.

Carey even turned her song “Jesus Born on This Day” from her first Christmas album into a duet with Monroe. The two held hands and looked at each other while trading lines back and forth during the song. Carey even included a video slideshow of her celebrating the season with her kids throughout the years. It is clear this time of year is not just about her material and cultural success, but about how integral it is to the strength and love within her family.

This made for an overall family-friendly sort of evening, as if you were watching a dazzling televised Christmas special as a member of a live studio audience. Despite the abundance of elder millennial and Gen X fans in attendance, there were gaggles of children throughout the packed United Center, and Carey’s set often catered to their sensibilities.

The show began with two child ballet dancers who emerged from oversized gift boxes and did a brief performance of “Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy” from “The Nutcracker.” After, Carey, wearing a sparkly red mini dress, rose from underneath the stage and performed “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing” with her backing band clad in all white. Adult and child dancers both took the stage again for the next track of the night, “Oh Santa!” And this inclusion of all age groups continued sporadically throughout the night.

What could have come across as a gimmick worked quite well. For Carey, Christmas is not just a time to mark the return of her uber-popular Christmas classic “All I Want for Christmas is You.” It is a holiday and a season for togetherness, for the wonder of one’s childhood, for joy and delight in abundance.

Ignore the rumors of years past, Carey’s voice is still strong and powerful. She hit her signature whistle notes throughout the night, whether it was at the end of “Oh Santa!” or during her mega-hit “We Belong Together.”

I was especially blown away by her voice during the moments when Carey played a medley of her non-Christmas tracks such as “Emotions” and “Fantasy.” Donning a sequined, all-gold dress with an attached cape, Carey swept through some of her biggest hits, including “Always Be My Baby” and “It’s a Wrap” (which recently became a social media sensation after it was rediscovered by Gen Z).

During the quieter, yet still enjoyable and even campy moments of the evening, Carey shined. Carey welcomed her Glam Squad twice to the stage to touch up her hair and makeup in between songs. Her three background singers accompanied this moment with a cheeky song where they repeatedly sang, “It’s the glam squad” to the audience. “I want to look nice for you,” Carey explained, and the audience ate it up.

She often peppered breaks between the tracks to talk to and joke with her audience. What’s often missing from narratives around Mariah Carey is her humor and sass, her cleverness and intelligence. But her fans (known as “lambs”) have always known this, and Carey makes sure to engage with the folks who have seen her full self from the beginning.

However, it was the inclusion of songs like “Make it Happen” and “Fly Like a Bird” (this critic’s personal favorite) that truly made the evening. Carey has never hidden her strong religious faith (she is Episcopalian), but it is often overlooked by casual listeners who only know her biggest songs. Both tracks, which Carey performed back-to-back, incorporate gospel into her signature pop/R&B melodies. Carey saved some of her best vocals for this moment, giving the songs room to breathe and permeate throughout the arena. She was also joined by a gospel choir during these tracks and throughout the night (most poignantly during renditions of “Silent Night” and “Joy to the World”).

Both songs are also overtly religious, and their inclusion makes perfect sense for a Christmas-themed show. While there is sparkle and sweetness and silliness throughout Christmastime, there is also a reason for the season. Carey gets to the root of the season — the heart of the matter — and does so with ease.

Britt Julious is a freelance critic.