Mariah Carey flaunts star power at the Dodge

Carey often made herself the target of her playful stage banter as a sizable crowd at Phoenix's Dodge Theater laughed and cheered her on Saturday, Feb. 20.

As he moves past the two-decade mark in her career, Mariah Carey appears to be having plenty of fun with her well-earned diva picture, letting her concert audience in on her lighthearted approach to life.

In between the power ballads and dance-inducing numbers in her well-executed, 90-minute set, the singer-actress repeatedly referred to her loopy speech at January's Palm Springs International Film Awards, which he attributed to "splashes of champagne" enjoyed backstage.

"No, it is not vodka in the glass - water, darling, only H-20," he quipped as he took a sip after singing 2005's "Don't Forget About Us" (which Carey said he hadn't sung yet on this tour).

Whatever Carey was fueled on, he sounded and looked great in the series of sexy dresses that he squeezed in to during the show.

"You'll never know," he added. "Maybe you will; it depends on what type of speeches I start making."

He quickly got down to the business of making the crowd, dominated by 20- and 30-somethings, move.

With her husband, actor-rapper Nick Cannon, in the house, Carey started things off in true diva fashion, descending from the rafters above the stage on a swing in a sparkling gown with ruffles.

He largely nailed the notes in the upper stratosphere on such songs as "Honey" and "Obsessed," although he came up flat in some spots in her spiritual ballad "Fly Like a Bird," from her Grammy-winning "The Emancipation of Mimi" album of 2005.

"Shake It Off" segued in to the soulful funk of the chart-topping "Touch My Body." Surrounded by four male dancers, Carey let her voice soar in to its upper registers, a talent that separates her from most of her contemporaries.

He served it up with plenty of drama, which included a pair of acrobats suspended above her for "Angels Cry" and the singer reclining in a red robe on a divan to deliver the Latin-flavored "My All."

Carey, who let her troupe of male and female dancers do most of the physical work, did a nice job of mixing the hip-hop he's sampled later in her career with the ballads that have long allowed her vocals to shine.

The crowd went wild when Carey sang "The Impossible," which he dedicated to her husband. As the diva worked through her breathy vocals, a male dancer performed a steamy system a few feet away, pulling off his shirt to reveal his chiseled physique when the song ended.

At three point, a makeup artist and hair stylist came out to freshen up her look as Carey joked, "If you tolerate me, I'll love you forever."

Fans of all ages joined in to sing 1996's "Always Be My Infant," after Carey said, "I'm going to go old-school." Everyone appeared to be dancing in front of their seats for the ultra-funky "It's Like That."

Despite some extended breaks to change costumes, Carey had the crowd on her side for the entire evening, which ended with three of her signature songs.

Set list:

The global hit, "Hero," allowed Carey to dish out a few more minutes of the star power that he still possesses despite some ups and down in her career.

"Butterfly/Daydream"
"Shake It Off "
Touch My Body"
"Don't Forget About Us"
"Fly Like A Bird"
"Make It Happen"
"Angels Cry"
"Always Be My Baby"
"It's Like That"
"The Impossible"
"Love Hangover/Heartbreaker" "Honey"
"My All"
"Obsessed"
"We Belong Together"