Mariah Carey Kicks Off Her ‘The Butterfly Returns’ Vegas Residency

Mike Nied | July 6, 2018 12:40 pm

Last night (July 5) Mariah Carey returned to the Las Vegas strip for the first night of her The Butterfly Returns residency. After gracing The Colosseum at Caesars Palace with her Number 1 To Infinity show between 2015 and 2017, she announced plans for a second tenure back in April. Reclaiming her stage, the diva celebrated the evening with a hit-filled setlist and dazzling costume changes. Opening the evening with “Fly Away (Butterfly Reprise)” off 1997’s Butterfly, Mimi highlighted her impressive career by revisiting iconic moments across the years. She played her debut single “Vision of Love” as well as her enduring anthem “Hero” and the timeless “Always Be My Baby.” 2005’s The Emancipation Of Mimi provided a handful of hits including “Shake It Off,” “It’s Like That” and “We Belong Together.”

The pop icon worked in her most recent chart-topper, “Touch My Body.” She also paid tribute to her Miguel-assisted “#Beautiful” from 2013. However, she overlooked some of her latest material. Noticeably absent was last year’s underrated “I Don’t” as well as 2015’s “Infinity.” The latter was released to commemorate the release of her #1 To Infinity compilation album, which inspired the setlist for her first Vegas residency. Mimi also worked a cover of Diana Ross’ “Love Hangover” into a remix of 1999’s “Heartbreaker.” Performing in a series of glamorous gowns and alongside dancers, the show appears to have been a wild success.

Mimi took to social media after the show to share a photo and thank her fans for their support on opening night. “Opening night of #TheButterflyReturns in #Vegas! Thank you all for being an amazing audience,” she tweeted. She will reclaim the stage for 12 shows between now and September. Her final set is scheduled for September 10. After wrapping things up she will travel internationally for two legs of her The Number 1’s Tour this fall and winter. In the meantime, it seems like she is continuing to work on material for a new album. In an interview with V magazine earlier this year the diva opened up about the recording process.

“I’ve already been in the studio last year and the year before that, just playing around and doing some music, some other things,” Mimi says. “I don’t want to give away too many people that I’m working with, but there’s a different approach that I’m taking as an artist. I think it’s like a fresh start. A lot of people see that whole other image. They see this diva… they don’t think songwriter. But I look at myself as a songwriter first, and then a singer. That’s what I love to do the most.” Check out the setlist and some fan footage from the evening below!

Mariah Carey’s The Butterfly Returns Setlist

1. “Fly Away (Butterfly Reprise)” – Intro

2. “Honey”

3. “Shake It Off”

4. “Make It Happen”

5. “Fantasy (Bad Boy Fantasy Mix)”

6. “Always Be My Baby”

7. “Vision Of Love”

8. “Emotions”

9. “#Beautiful”

10. “I’ll Be There”

11. “One Sweet Day”

12. “Can’t Let Go”

13. “Can’t Take That Away (Mariah’s Theme)”

14. “My All”

15. “It’s Like That”

16. “Love Hangover” / “Heartbreaker” (Diva Remix)

17. “Touch My Body”

18. “We Belong Together”

19. “Hero”

20. “Butterfly Reprise” – Outro

#thebutterflyreturns #MariahCarey #MiMi #ShakeItOff @mariahcarey

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