Live at the Pearl

Background

It was rumored in early July 2009 that Carey would perform a mini-residency at The Palms Resort & Casino in Las Vegas.

Carey announced the end of July on her official website that she was going to do four concerts (September 11 and 12 and October 9 and 10, 2009) at The Palms Resort & Casino in Las Vegas in the 2,500-seat Pearl Concert Theatre.

For the September shows, Carey performed her debut single "Obsessed" from her current album Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel as well as the second single "I Want to Know What Love Is". Carey also debuted two other songs from Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel, which were "Angels Cry" and "Up Out My Face". Carey and back-in singer–friend Trey Lorenz sang Michael Jackson's song "Rock With You" as a tribute to him.

For the October shows, Carey changed the set list slightly. The first five songs stayed remained unchanged, however Always Be My Baby was removed and an a capella snippet of the Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel song "The Impossible" was sung instead. The rest of the songs after stayed the same, apart from "H.A.T.E.U." which was sung after "Up Out My Face."

On the second night of the October shows, Carey made a further two changes to the set list. This time she switched "Fly Like a Bird" for "I Want to Know What Love Is" and sung an a capella snippet of a Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel song, "It's A Wrap", after "Touch My Body". Also on the second night (October 10, 2009) Carey brought two fans on stage, for the first gay proposal during a concert, causing worldwide coverage.

Broadcasts and recordings

The September 11 and 12 concerts were filmed and later broadcast worldwide in over 200 countries and on 235 devices. A news report read: "Mariah Carey, one of the best selling recording and performing artists of our time will make history, Saturday, Oct. 10, when her performance “Mariah Carey Live In Las Vegas” becomes the first concert to be simulcast to mobile (internet enabled phones) and other digital devices worldwide". The digital version included 10 songs from the concert, and lasts approximately 45 minutes and was priced at $9.99.

Steve Bartels, President/COO, Island Def Jam Music Group said of the event: "Fans from all over the world can now share the excitement of a live concert, wherever, whenever, and on whatever digital device they chose". For promotional use, one-minute clips of "Obsessed" and "I Want To Know What Love Is" were recorded at the September shows. A trailer was also created for promotional purposes for her Japanese fans. Ten of the songs from the show were released on a digital album in 2015, available on iTunes, called At the Pearl Palms Concert Theatre.