Rainbow World Tour
| Tour by Mariah Carey | |
| Location |
|
|---|---|
| Associated album | Rainbow |
| Start date | February 14, 2000 |
| End date | April 18, 2000 |
| Legs | 3 |
| No. of shows | 19 |
| Attendance | 234,541 |
| Box office | US $6.4 million ($11.97 million in 2025 dollars)[1] |
| Mariah Carey concert chronology | |
The Rainbow World Tour was the fourth concert tour in 2000 by American singer-songwriter Mariah Carey, and supports her seventh studio album Rainbow (1999). The tour started in Europe on February 14, in Antwerp, Belgium, also an itinerary that included North America and ended on April 18, in Toronto. The tour's nine-date North American leg grossed $7.1 million according to Billboard.[2]
The Rainbow World Tour received mixed reviews, with some reviewers critcizing Carey's vocal decline and confusing staging, while others praised it as a lively celebration of her career. Despite the divided reception, many critics felt the tour marked a bold shift in her image and performance style.
Background
The Rainbow World Tour was Carey's fourth headlining and third worldwide tour, consisting of nineteen shows across Europe, Asia, the United States, and Canada. While her previous two tours were limited to Europe and Asia following the lukewarm reception of her 1993 U.S. debut tour, the Music Box Tour, the overwhelming success of those international stops — marked by record-breaking ticket sales in Asia and rapid sellouts in Europe — gave Carey the confidence to return to her home country. The tour ultimately became her first U.S. trek in seven years, with tickets for the entire North American leg selling out within days. In addition to revisiting key international markets, Carey expanded her itinerary by performing in Singapore for the first time. The setlist blended songs from Rainbow with many of her earlier hits, offering fans a comprehensive showcase of her career. U.S. shows featured Missy Elliott and Da Brat as opening acts, while Trey Lorenz once again joined Carey as a backing vocalist. Notably, although Dallas, Texas, appeared on tour merchandise, the show was never scheduled.
The Toronto Star reported that the concert in Toronto was filmed for a future television special, but it never aired.[3] Footage recorded from the tour was used for the music video for "Against All Odds (Take a Look at Me Now)".[4]
Critical response
The tour received generally mixed reviews. Some critics and fans reproached her of having a "tired and hoarse voice," while others commented on Carey's choice of wardrobe. Despite these criticisms, several critics and many concert-goers praised the tour, calling it an intense celebration of Carey's career.[5]
Phil Gallo of Variety said: "Mariah Carey's show begs for either simplicity or coherency", and called the show a visual "mess".[6] While reflecting that this was the first time Mariah was scantily clad touring, Jim DeRogatis from the Chicago Sun-Times said that Carey had "been transformed from a wannabe Whitney to a wannabe Britney", and called her approach to concert performance "difficult to fathom" considering she was "the only artist to have scored a No. 1 hit in every year of the '90s, selling some 125 million records worldwide."[7]
Set list
The following set list is from the February 17 concert in Milan. It is not intended to represent all dates throughout the tour.[8]
- "Mariah & Bianca" (Introduction) (contains elements of "Rainbow (Interlude)" and "Butterfly")
- "Emotions"
- "My All"
- "Dreamlover"
- "X-Girlfriend"
- "Vulnerability" (Video interlude)
- "Against All Odds (Take a Look at Me Now)"
- "Without You"
- "Make It Happen"
- "Thank God I Found You" (performed with Trey Lorenz) (contains elements of the Make It Last Remix)
- "Make You Happy" (Interlude) (performed by Trey Lorenz)
- "Fantasy" (Bad Boy Remix)
- "Always Be My Baby"
- "Crybaby"
- "Close My Eyes"
- "Petals"
- "Can't Take That Away (Mariah's Theme)"
- "Money Ain't a Thang" (Dance Interlude)
- "Heartbreaker" (contains elements of the Desert Storm Remix)
- "Honey" (contains elements of the Bad Boy Remix)
- "Vision of Love"
- "Rainbow" (Interlude)
- "Hero"
- "Butterfly Reprise" (Outro)
- During the opening show in Antwerp, Carey performed "Sweetheart".
- "Make It Happen" was cut from the set list on February 23.
- Starting on February 29, "Without You" was no longer performed.
- "All I Want for Christmas Is You" was temporarily performed from March 4 to 9.
- The "Vulnerability" video interlude was cut from the set list on March 4.
- "Vision of Love" was not performed in Tokyo.
- Carey sang a snippet of Lauryn Hill's "Ex-Factor" in Singapore.
- Starting on March 13, "Always Be My Baby" was moved up earlier in the set list, being performed after "My All". Additionally, "Heartbreaker" was performed before "Dreamlover".
- A snippet of "Daydream Interlude (Fantasy Sweet Dub Mix)" was performed in Los Angeles, San Jose, Boston and Toronto.
- A snippet of "Vanishing" was performed in Las Vegas.
- A medley of "I Still Believe" and "Pure Imagination" was performed in Singapore and Los Angeles.
- A snippet of "Breakdown" was performed in Los Angeles and Chicago.
- "(You're Puttin') A Rush On Me" and "Slipping Away" were performed in Chicago. Additionally, 98 Degrees joined Carey onstage to perform "Thank God I Found You".
Shows
| Date | City | Country | Venue | Attendance | Revenue |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Europe | |||||
| February 14, 2000 | Antwerp | Belgium | Sportpaleis | ||
| February 17, 2000 | Milan | Italy | Fila Forum | ||
| February 20, 2000 | Cologne | Germany | Kölnarena | ||
| February 23, 2000 | Paris | France | Palais Omnisports de Paris-Bercy | ||
| February 26, 2000 | London | England | Wembley Arena | ||
| February 29, 2000 | Madrid | Spain | Palacio de Deportes | ||
| Asia | |||||
| March 4, 2000 | Osaka | Japan | Osaka Dome | ~35,000[9] - ~40,000[10] / ? | N/a |
| March 7, 2000[a] | Tokyo | Tokyo Dome | 100,000 / 100,000 | ||
| March 9, 2000[a] | |||||
| March 13, 2000 | Singapore | National Stadium | N/a | ||
| North America[11][12] | |||||
| March 16, 2000 | Los Angeles | United States | Staples Center | 15,627 / 15,627 | $990,648 |
| March 18, 2000 | Las Vegas | Thomas & Mack Center | 13,591 / 13,591 | $681,068 | |
| March 21, 2000 | San Jose | San Jose Arena | 13,999 / 13,999 | $862,170 | |
| March 25, 2000 | Chicago | United Center | 14,892 / 14,892 | $848,156 | |
| March 29, 2000 | Miami | American Airlines Arena | 12,008 / 12,008 | $662,514 | |
| April 1, 2000 | Atlanta | Philips Arena | 12,956 / 12,956 | $664,229 | |
| April 11, 2000 | New York City | Madison Square Garden | 14,870 / 14,870 | $1,066,413 | |
| April 13, 2000[b] | Boston | FleetCenter | N/a | N/a | |
| April 18, 2000[c] | Toronto | Canada | Air Canada Centre | 13,598 / 13,598 | $606,118 |
| Total | 234,541 / 234,541 (100%) | $6,381,316 | |||
Notes
- ^ a b The concerts of March 7 and March 9, 2000, were originally scheduled to take place at Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium.
- ^ The April 13, 2000 concert in Boston, Massachusetts at the Fleet Center was originally planned to take place on April 4 but was rescheduled due to illness.[13]
- ^ The April 18, 2000 concert in Toronto, Ontario at the Air Canada Centre was originally planned to take place on April 7 but was rescheduled due to illness.[13]
Personnel
- Randy Jackson – musical director
- Eric Daniels – keyboards
- Sam Sims - bass
- Vernon Black – guitar
- Gregory "Gigi" Gonoway – drums
- Marquinho Brasil – percussion
- Melonie Daniels – background vocals
- Mary Ann Tatum – background vocals
- Tracy Harris - background vocals
- Lloyd Smith – background vocals
- Trey Lorenz – vocals, background vocals
References
- ^ 1634–1699: McCusker, J. J. (1997). How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States: Addenda et Corrigenda (PDF). American Antiquarian Society. 1700–1799: McCusker, J. J. (1992). How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States (PDF). American Antiquarian Society. 1800–present: Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. "Consumer Price Index (estimate) 1800–". Retrieved February 29, 2024.
- ^ "Carey Aims TO Charm World On Tour". Billboard. 2001-12-24.
- ^ Infantry, Ashante (August 19, 2000). "Carey in command". Toronto Star. p. D6. Retrieved February 26, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ MariahCareyVEVO (2015-08-25). Mariah Carey - Against All Odds (Take a Look at Me Now) (Live). Retrieved 2024-11-04 – via YouTube.
- ^ Shapiro, Marc (2001), Mariah Carey: The Unauthorized Biography, Toronto: ECW Press, ISBN 978-1-55022-444-3
- ^ Gallo, Phil (March 19, 2000). "Mariah Carey". Variety. Archived from the original on November 12, 2023. Retrieved November 11, 2023.
- ^ DeRogatis, Jim (March 27, 2000). "Mariah Carey at United Center". Chicago Sun-Times. Archived from the original on June 9, 2011. Retrieved November 11, 2023.
- ^ "Mariah Carey Setlist at FilaForum di Assago, Assago". setlist.fm. Retrieved 2022-02-25.
- ^ "Mariah Carey Rainbow Tour". www.zyuka.com.
- ^ "Mariah Carey in Japan | The Mariah Carey Archives". www.mcarchives.com.
- ^ Allen, Bob (March 27, 2000). "Boxscore Concerts". Amusement Business. p. 17. ProQuest 209451233.
- ^ Allen, Bob (May 8, 2000). "Boxscore Concerts". Amusement Business. p. 9. ProQuest 209423321.
- ^ a b Mark Woodlief (April 4, 2000). "Mariah Carey Recovering From Food Poisoning". Billboard. Archived from the original on November 24, 2014. Retrieved November 1, 2014.