Cohesion Audio Makes Full-Scale China Debut at Mariah Carey’s Sold-Out Shanghai Shows

When Mariah Carey returned to Shanghai’s HongKou Football Stadium on 16 and 17 May for two sold-out performances, the occasion carried weight far beyond the music itself. The concerts — part of The Celebration of Mimi tour extending her Las Vegas residency and marking the anniversary of The Emancipation of Mimi — not only drew more than 75,000 fans each night, but also heralded the Chinese debut of a large-format Cohesion Audio system.

The milestone deployment was realised through Jiangsu RenTian, with local vendor Shanghai AKUS Co. Ltd providing the system in partnership with AirFusion Global. At front of house, long-time Mariah Carey collaborator Paul Falcone was once again at the helm, joined by System Engineer Connor Murray. Both engineers underscored why Cohesion has become their system of choice.

“I always talk about how the throw of Cohesion, its density, it feels like it’s against the laws of physics,” said Falcone, who first encountered the system while mixing Carey’s famed Christmas tour last year.

“Cohesion is our PA of choice for Mariah Carey since Paul and I initially weighed our options,” added Murray. “Most people talk about the power with Cohesion, and the SPL output by weight is surely leading the industry, but that’s not why we chose it. It ultimately came down to a few key strengths Cohesion has: clarity, coverage, and adaptability.”

The Shanghai system was designed in an end-stage configuration, with main hangs of sixteen units of the Cohesion CO12 to the left and right of the stage each; mirrored by an additional sixteen units of the CO12 deployed as outrigger hangs on either side of the principal FOH system. For 270° reinforcement, six units of the Cohesion CO8 per side were deployed upstage of the side hangs, ensuring coverage for near sides and the upper bowl.

“It’s amazing to me, the coverage, and of course Connor is great at finding the right angles for the PA to achieve that full coverage,” noted Falcone.

Murray highlighted what distinguishes Cohesion in such stadium-scale applications: “Any PA can sound great directly on-axis, but only a fraction of an audience is actually on-axis. With Cohesion, we can deliver the same show to everyone in the audience. The speaker design centres on phase coherence at every wavelength everywhere in its coverage. We deliver exactly what we want, evenly, everywhere we want it.”

Low-frequency power was provided by nine units of the Cohesion CP218 II+ subwoofers flown behind the mains in gradient configuration, delivering significant infra rejection directly behind the CO12 arrays. On the ground, a further nine units of the CP218 II+ subs were stacked on the left and right in cardioid formation beneath the main hangs.

“I’m so impressed by the entire frequency spectrum,” said Falcone. “The crossover is set so high that it’s out of the vocal range, so I get that clear high end. Maybe with another system, I have to boost my highs, but with Cohesion, if anything, I can pull it back. One of the coolest parts of this PA is how staggeringly good the subs, the lows, and low-mids are. Even if you have that clarity on the high end, it won’t mean anything if you can’t push the low end. I can shake a stadium with these subs. There’s power to spare, and I can push it without distortion.”

Further reinforcement came from twelve units of the CO8 as front fills, while two arrays of three units of the CO10 per side were flown within the stagehouse for side fill reinforcement, as Falcone explained, “I typically have a multi-band compressor and use that essentially as an EQ, and I found I did not need that with the Cohesion rig. A lot of it was mixed on the near fields, and it translated very well to the mix itself with just a little bit of system EQ.”

Finally, for delay coverage, two hangs comprising six units each of the CO12 were positioned at the rear of the FOH structure, carefully tailored to serve fans in those sections while limiting spill outside the venue in line with promoter and municipal requirements.

And the results spoke for themselves, both technically and emotionally. “We had a huge responsibility since it was the vendor’s first run with this PA,” said Falcone. “They had a lot on the line, and if I had a bad mix or if we experienced any technical issues, it wouldn’t be a great look, but in the end, it was all hugs and smiles. Everyone knew we were using Cohesion for the first time, and we only heard how great it was. The audience was loving it.”

Beyond the flawless sound, the concerts underscored the global readiness of Cohesion’s touring infrastructure. “Working with the vendors who partnered with Cohesion was such a high point,” reflected Falcone. “The seamlessness of being able to use Cohesion in the States and then again in China, I said, ‘Wow, it’s like we’re back on the Christmas tour!’”

Murray agreed: “We advance the spec as much as we can for one-offs, so we don’t always know what we’ll get, but arriving in Shanghai, the last thing we had to worry about was the PA. I walked the venue to listen to every section, and I spent the majority of my time laughing at how clear the sound was in some pretty difficult sections for the audience. The system in Shanghai was set up exactly to the Cohesion standard that we’re used to as if we carried our own PA.”

Following the shows, Falcone was invited to address thousands at Prolight + Sound Guangzhou, sharing his experience of mixing Carey on a Cohesion rig. His verdict was unequivocal: “Everyone in China is very welcoming. They love American music, and they’re ready for it, this exchange of musical cultures. I see many more American and European artists coming to perform here. As for me, I’d 100% go back and work in Shanghai. It’s a great city, the people are awesome, and now that we have Cohesion there? It’s a real pleasure.”