Mariah Carey to tour China

Pop diva Mariah Carey will kick off her concert tour of China in Beijing on Oct 10, 2014 before putting on concerts in four other mainland cities, promoters said Sunday.

Carey, who will sing her most popular hits and brand new songs, is the biggest international recording artist to ever perform at Beijing's landmark Workers' Stadium, organizers said.

Carey only held one other concert in Chinese mainland 11 years ago in Shanghai on Nov 15, 2003. Seats at the concert completely sold out.

Carey's new album, "Me. I Am Mariah... The Elusive Chanteuse," was just released in May 2014. Though the album has received generally positive reviews, it had the lowest opening sales for a non-holiday studio album since Nielsen SoundScan started tracking sales in 1991.

The pop singer announced in August she will embark on a 12-day Asian leg of "The Elusive Chanteuse Show" in support of the album. On the singer's website, Carey wrote: "I want to experience the spontaneity and emotion that I put into this album on stage with my fans. I can't stop writing songs, so don't be surprised if you hear a brand new song that I just wrote the night before the show in your city!"

"The Elusive Chanteuse Show" will launch with two dates on Oct 4 and 6 in Tokyo and Yokohama, Japan, a favorite stop for Carey, where she holds the title of best-selling international artist, with over 20 million albums sold. It will be Carey's first time on stage since her celebrated and extensive "The Adventures of Mimi" tour in 2006.

She will give concerts at Beijing's Workers Stadium on Oct 10, at the Chengdu Sports Center on Oct 12, at Chongqing's Olympic Sports Center on Oct 15, at Tianjin's Olympic Center Stadium on Oct 17 and at Shanghai's Hongkou Football Stadium on Oct 19. Promoter Live Nation and other Chinese local promoters said Carey's team is very strict and particular on every detail of the tour to ensure the best performance and equipment support.

Promoters also released special videos recorded by Carey for each Chinese city she will visit, in which she says hi to fans and asks them to come to her concerts.

Carey is the best-selling female artist of all time with more than 220 million albums sold to date and 18 Billboard Hot 100 No.1 singles, including "Fantasy," "Always Be My Baby," "Hero," "One Sweet Day" and "We Belong Together" -- more than any solo artist in history.

With her distinctive five-octave vocal range, prolific songwriting, and producing talent, Mariah has defined modern pop performance. As a singer/songwriter/producer, she has been recognized with multiple Grammy Awards, 21 American Music Awards, Billboard's "Artist of the Decade" Award, the World Music Award for "World's Best Selling Female Artist of the Millennium," and BMI's "Icon Award" for her outstanding achievements in songwriting.