The adoration for Mariah the Scientist is real.
The Atlanta-raised songstress with an angelic voice has sold out almost all of the venues on her “The Experimental Tour.”
In Silver Spring, Maryland the line for her May 11 show wrapped around The Fillmore and spanned several blocks as fans waited anxiously to see the budding R&B singer. Although doors officially opened at 8 p.m. the first group of fans was in line around 5:15 p.m.
Sharif Naven, 21, traveled from Springfield, Virginia to see Mariah. “I have to come out to support my girl,” he told REVOLT. “She’s the next great R&B singer, that’s what I believe. I mean she’s got the vibes, she’s got the vocals, she’s got the look. She’s everything.”
Mary Spinler, 21, said that she’s “obsessed with Mariah.”
“She is just outrageously amazing. She’s got the talent, she’s got the vibe, she’s got the fucking lyrics and we appreciate her a lot,” the Alexandria, Virginia native said.
Lidia E., a 23-year-old Washington D.C. resident said she came out to see Mariah because she just “fucks with her.”
“Right before COVID started, I saw ‘Beetlejuice’ on Twitter. I pressed on the link and I fucked with her,” she explained.
Inside the standing-room-only event, Mariah graced the stage donning a see-through sheer mesh dress with leopard-print pants and a diamond-encrusted cross chain around her neck.
She arrived singing “Revenge,” a song from her 2021 breakout EP RY RY World. And followed up with “Aurora” and “Thanks 4 Nothing.”
Kayla Newman, 25, traveled to see Mariah from Alexandria, Virginia. “I came from Virginia because I love Mariah,” she said before giggling.
“I’ve been a day-one fan since ‘Beetlejuice.’ I found her on SoundCloud.”
“I want to see her put on a show and prove these haters wrong and show them she can really sing,” Newman added.
She wasn’t the only one. Every time the 24-year-old rising star would stretch one of her notes on a song, the crowd would erupt.
Mariah would bashfully laugh it off as if she was sharing a moment with close friends.
She performed “Spread Thin” — a hit from her latest project Buckles Laboratories Presents: The Intermission— twice. And then launched into “Walked In,” her bouncy banger featuring rumored boyfriend Young Thug.
At her Boston show the night before, Mariah wore a “Free Thugger” crop top as “Free Thugger” and “Free YSL” flashed on the screen behind her.
In Maryland, the crowd chanted “Free Thugger” ahead of the song but Mariah didn’t spend much time addressing the arrest. She held a brief twerk contest as the song played and attendees selected a winner.
A fan gave her a bouquet of pink flowers and Mariah took her shoes off as she got comfortable on the stage. She called the Washington D.C. area her “second home” and asked for fans to choose which songs she should perform next.
She gracefully sang “Maybe,” “Brain,” the soothing “2 You,” and closed with her Lil Baby-assisted track “Always n Forever.”
Ricky Brooks, 25, said that she’s been listening to Mariah “for about four years now.”
“‘Note to Self’ that was the first song that I listened to … I’ve been listening to her ever since,” she said.
When asked what is it about Mariah that appeals to her the most, Brooks said it’s, “Her originality. She’s not like any other artist and she doesn’t try to be. She’s just in a lane of her own; you can’t really put her in a category.”
Check out highlights from the show below: