Mariah Carey Makes Vegas Debut As Fans Debate ‘Racism’ Petition

Wednesday evening is a big one for Mariah Carey, who kicks off her much-hyped Las Vegas residency in Las Vegas. Given that there are still a lot of tickets left for her performances, a lot of pressure is on Ms. Carey to deliver tonight. Nevertheless, fans are very excited.

Though Mariah Carey’s fans are excited about her Las Vegas shows, they aren’t happy about her new single, “Infinity,” stalling on both radio and iTunes. Some of Mariah’s lambs have taken to Change.org to petition radio stations to play “Infinity.”

“Mariah Carey is the most important female artist in the history of music. She needs another number one hit and despite the fact that everybody loves ‘Infinity,’ radio stations are refusing to play the song. This is only because Mariah is a proud African-American woman who recently married and divorced and African-American man. Racism in the music industry needs to stop!”

The petition has garnered 287 signatures so far. However, many fans believe that ageism is the reason for the lack of airplay, not racism. In a recent article on the topic, Facebook user Michael Wegman summarizes what many other Mariah Carey fans think.

“Are you kidding me? Mariah Carey not getting radio play for her recent music has absolutely nothing to do with race. It has everything to do with age. Pop radio is notoriously ageist against female artists. Ask Madonna, Cher and Annie Lennox. They aren’t getting played and it has nothibf [sic] to do with their golor [sic].”

Another Facebook user, Timothy Pell, adds to the conversation.

“Racism? You are telling me we don’t hear black artists on the radio? I am not hearing Beyoncé and rihanna? Anyway, it is about age. Madonna just released her best single in a decade and it isn’t being played, either. It is a dad fact of the music industry, you are thrown away by a certain age.”

Mariah has one of the most dedicated fan bases in music history. Back in July of 2001, when Mariah’s single, “Loverboy,” was reduced to 49 cents after failing to take off at radio, Carey’s fans organized a campaign to buy multiple copies of the song to send it up the charts. The next week, “Loverboy” climbed all the way to No. 2.

Mariah’s fans have been with her through thick and thin and spend hours on the Internet defending her. It’s quite obvious Mariah Carey is appreciative of her dedicated fans and will no doubt surprise them with her shows in Las Vegas.

[Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images]