Carey: Mimi or Me-Me?

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Discussing Mariah Carey can be as divisive as talking politics or football; before entering the fray, you need a steadfast stance, hard supporting evidence and, in the end, a willingness to drop the issue, unresolved.

Take her Thursday night performance at Verizon Center, for example, after which the streets echoed with mini-arguments: Which one of her ballads was the most heartfelt? Was the singer too chunky to be wearing glorified lingerie? Does she put on a better show than Beyonce?

But after seeing her live, there is one thing everyone can agree on: Even 16 years into her career, she's got a voice like a Ferrari. When she wants to take you for a ride, she kicks it into gear and floors it until your ears feel like they're going to pop.

Miss Carey's stop in the District was part of her current Adventures of Mimi tour, which follows the mega-success of her 2005 album, "The Emancipation of Mimi." More resurrection than emancipation, the disc marks the pop queen's return to rule after an all-too-public coup d'etat. For the tunes she sang and co-wrote on "Mimi," Miss Carey secured three Grammys and a mountain of other accolades. The disc became the best-selling album of 2005, proving that the diva still knows how to dominate charts and dance floors alike.

At Verizon, the songstress showed Washingtonians just how well her fresh tracks fit into her oeuvre. She mixed recent chart-toppers like the booty-shaking "It's Like That" and slow jam "Don't Forget About Us" with perennials like the upbeat "Fantasy" and tear-jerking "Hero." (The Jumbotron showed people crying. Seriously.)

Despite the rumors that have plagued the singer throughout her reign that her voice is going, she proved otherwise, managing equal parts belt and croon. That's not to say she didn't hit a few flats, drop a few notes, or de-emphasize some parts you wanted her to nail; it's just that her machine is so impressive this hardly matters.

What is harder to overlook is the ego fueling this drive train.

Lest anyone forget her initials during the concert, the stage was framed by a behemoth M-shape, its middle pointing below to center stage, where a 5-foot-tall silver "MC" emblem rested. Later, an illuminated MIMI sign -- so bright the star put on shades -- dropped from the ceiling.

Miss Carey's costume choices also displayed her, uh, confidence. She first appeared in a glittery black bikini thing "covered" by a matching dressing gown, and subsequent peek-a-boo dresses didn't conceal much more.

While she changed outfits some four times, the impromptu talent showcases for her DJ, back-up singers and dancers reeked of mediocrity (no offense, DJ Clue, Trey Lorenz and Da Brat) -- perhaps purposely so that no one would upstage the diva.

But most caustic was Miss Carey's insincere banter. She repeatedly queried, "Do you know this one?" and dropped her album titles as if everyone in the audience hadn't listened to each five thousand times.

During "Hero," the artist grasped a bouquet of sunflowers an audience member had passed toward the stage. "I'm gonna put these right here," she told the fan as she scuffled her stilettos stage right, chucking the flowers onto the ground without stooping down even an inch. "Thank you, baby," she said, batting her false eyelashes.

So she's a little high-maintenance, maybe a little temperamental; just because the clutch sticks doesn't mean those moments of sheer unadulterated power felt in, say, her classic "Vision of Love" are any less breathtaking.

Coupled with opener Sean Paul's boisterous dance-hall set, brought to life by bootylicious dancers who taught everyone how to wind and clap (and I'm not talking hands here), the evening provided many opportunities for dancing, singing-along, and future debates among friends.