Lionel Richie wants to replace Mariah Carey with Diana Ross after poor tickets sales.

[jack020]

In Europe Tina drew a large male audience: she was more considered a [[stadium) rock act in the 80's and 90's.

[PeaceNHarmony]

I honestly think you would be doing yourself a favour if you got yourself a refund Guy. I love Mariah from way back but the truth is she cannot cut it anymore. She always lack charisma and stage presence when performing live but always sounded great on record. Now she has lost the ability to sing decently on record , and despite all the tricks of the trade no producer or mixer on this earth can change that. It is a great pity because i regarded her as the new Whitney in the early 90's. Working with her presented some difficult challenges but i remained a fan until an incident around 14 years ago that confirmed to me what i had been fearing - Mariah was losing her vocal ability, and this is because she did not look after her voice despite pleas from her inner circle. Now her "live" shows are virtually 100% lip synched and that is not good.
As regards Lionel he too has lost a considerable amount of his vocal ability but not through neglect. Some artists voices deteriorate faster than others. With Lionel it is purely down to age and little else, but to his great credit he remains a showman and can still put on a good show if you are willing to accept it will not be the Lionel from the 70's and 80's.

Interesting; Mariah seems to be a sort of cautionary tale of a musician preferring image over talent. I think Mariah could have had a Streisand-like career if she had abandoned the materialistic/hip-hop/sex bomb image-making 15 years ago, but I guess that's just not who she is. I'm never comfortable watching Mariah; she seems so ... unbalanced. I wish her well.

[pghmusiclover]

Not that I ever saw Mariah live, as I think her tours are not that frequent, but when I've seen her live on TV she never seems comfortable -- she just really doesn't have the charisma that so many live performers naturally exude.

Incidentally, their show scheduled here in Pittsburgh was cancelled.

[reese]

I saw Mariah in concert on what I believe was her first tour. I have to say she put on a great show. This was around the time of MUSIC BOX cd. Up to then, I had bought all of her cds and especially loved her MTV UNPLUGGED ep. After MUSIC BOX, I found her music less interesting and haven't bought any of it since, aside from her Xmas cd and her first greatest hits compilation.

Re the Lionel/Mariah tour, yesterday I received an email saying that the show I had purchased a ticket for had been postponed until August.

[Bluebrock]

Interesting; Mariah seems to be a sort of cautionary tale of a musician preferring image over talent. I think Mariah could have had a Streisand-like career if she had abandoned the materialistic/hip-hop/sex bomb image-making 15 years ago, but I guess that's just not who she is. I'm never comfortable watching Mariah; she seems so ... unbalanced. I wish her well.

I do worry for her i have to say. She is not at all comfortable performing live. She was always far better studio based, but even that seems beyond her now. I wish she would just quit the business and move out of the public eye. It could yet save her life. We do not want another breakdown or even worse a Whitney style tragedy. I also wish her well.

[pghmusiclover]

I would love Mariah to record an "age appropriate" album without trying to score a hit single or featuring guests, etc. I think she could make a terrific album, but as long as she is chasing chart success and trends, I have no interest in her music.

[PeaceNHarmony]

News from Billboard -
http://www.billboard.com/articles/bu...-concert-dates

[Albator]

Good question, and although I do not know the answer, I wonder if it has to do with the type of show both ladies present on stage. Tina's is more energetic with a harder edge while Diana's is laid back and smooth. Plus I think Tina's comeback in 1984 opened her up to the MTV audience which is very different from Diana's audience. Just an opinion...

I don't know if this is the reason, but I feel the same way you do. It is very true that even if she had a career before MTV, a lot of her fans, if not all, are from the Madonna, Whitney Houston generation. She is associated with the Rolling Stones, David Bowie and the rock world.

[mpn1jco]

I honestly think you would be doing yourself a favour if you got yourself a refund Guy. I love Mariah from way back but the truth is she cannot cut it anymore. She always lack charisma and stage presence when performing live but always sounded great on record. Now she has lost the ability to sing decently on record , and despite all the tricks of the trade no producer or mixer on this earth can change that. It is a great pity because i regarded her as the new Whitney in the early 90's. Working with her presented some difficult challenges but i remained a fan until an incident around 14 years ago that confirmed to me what i had been fearing - Mariah was losing her vocal ability, and this is because she did not look after her voice despite pleas from her inner circle. Now her "live" shows are virtually 100% lip synched and that is not good.
As regards Lionel he too has lost a considerable amount of his vocal ability but not through neglect. Some artists voices deteriorate faster than others. With Lionel it is purely down to age and little else, but to his great credit he remains a showman and can still put on a good show if you are willing to accept it will not be the Lionel from the 70's and 80's.

Interesting...

http://diana-ross.freeforums.net/thr...kessaa?page=18

[PeaceNHarmony]

Interesting...

http://diana-ross.freeforums.net/thr...kessaa?page=18

Chose to delete comment.

[Bluebrock]

No, not interesting at all. Just a repetition of decades-old slander.

Which is exactly why i did not respond to it peacenharmony.

[PeaceNHarmony]

Which is exactly why i did not respond to it peacenharmony.

Wise, and I shall follow your lead, Bluebrock!

[jobeterob]

Well the billboard article indicates they've done what was necessary - reduced the sizes of the venues and cut the tour back

[mpn1jco]

It is always important to do what is necessary.

http://diana-ross.freeforums.net/thr...&scrollTo=3819

[PeaceNHarmony]

Well the billboard article indicates they've done what was necessary - reduced the sizes of the venues and cut the tour back

Yes . Fact is Lionel and Mariah are both beloved hit-makers with long histories of hits and enthusiastic audiences; presented correctly the tour should be a hit. I wish them well; why not? After all I don't have to go if I don't want to!

[midnightman]

This is one of those questions that puzzels/ interests me. How does a Diana Ross that has so many hit records not be able to fill a stadium/arena but a Tina Turner with less hits can?

Tina Turner was re-invented as an '80s rock megastar, that's why. Plus she was able to shake off the Ike Turner cobwebs. Otherwise, she'd probably would've been in the same boat. Thank her smarts she found the right manager [[Roger Davies) to take her out of the chitlin' circuit for good and play rock stadiums and arenas for the rest of her career until she finally called it quits.

[Luciano]

Thanks to everybody for your responses.

I have to say I was surprised to see this act schedule to perform in an arena. Hall and Oates with Tears For Fear. I wonder how well they will be able to fill the place. In my area they usually perform in small venues. The tickets are starting at $40.

I was thinking a good opening act might have been Charlie Wilson. Although Uncle Charlie might put on a tough act for Lionel to follow.