REVIEW; CAREY'S VOICE VIES WITH VIDEO.

Byline: Fred Shuster Music Critic 

A famous show-biz adage says never to follow animals or cuddly kids on stage. Mariah Carey did both Thursday at Staples Center in the opening night of her first U.S. tour in eight years.

The pop-soul diva threw in everything but the kitchen sink (although a prop refrigerator was used) in an often grueling two-hour set that was long on artifice but woefully short on artistry.

Carey seemed to be coasting while making little effort in the sold-out love fest. Maybe it's because her record sales of 128 million have paid Sony Music's rent for years that the entire show was apparently designed not to tire the cooing gold mine.

In a performance packed with time-consuming video segments, tacky set pieces that included a pseudo-boxing match, a beauty pageant and dance routines, plus a cameo from a couple of live lambs, Carey managed to sing less than two-dozen numbers. Even the lambs looked puzzled.

Concerns that Carey is largely a studio creation whose vocal performances are painstakingly patched together by top producers seemed to be borne out when her much-touted range fell flat several times during the evening, particularly when she attempted high Minnie Riperton-like squeals that careened out of human earshot. The lambs, however, looked pleased.

The concert opened with a 10-minute video setting up a running joke that Carey has an evil twin named Bianca (think of her as Mariah Scary) who runs around trying to sabotage the good Mariah. The fact that Carey thinks any of this is witty or entertaining is far more frightening than anything Bianca could come up with.

Finally, Carey rose from beneath the stage, singing her 1991 chart-topper ``Emotions,'' followed by other hits including ``My All,'' ``Heartbreaker'' and ``Dreamlover.''

It all came together in ``X-Girlfriend,'' a hip-hop-flavored tune from the ``Rainbow'' album that successfully blended a hard urban beat with some surprisingly soulful crooning.

For an audience packed with little Mariahs and often their moms, Carey accented her hip-hop leanings, bringing on rappers Krazy Bone of Bone Thugs-N-Harmony and opening act Da Brat for duets on ``I Still Believe,'' as well as performing several numbers with video accompaniment from Snoop Dogg and Wu-Tang Clan's Ol' Dirty Bastard.

At the same time, Carey, who turns 30 on March 27, is still marketed as the girl next door, which is a little hard to swallow when she's performing raunchy dance routines one minute and rapping with alleged street thugs the next.

Carey wasn't entirely devoid of humor, though, even if much of it was unintentional. At one point, after bringing a couple of young fans on stage for tearful hugs, she demanded: ``Somebody take a picture! Who has a camera?''

Somebody should clue Carey to the fact that patrons of her concerts are routinely held up at the door while security guards stop just short of a full cavity search looking for just those devices.

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Photo: Mariah Carey opens up her two-hour performance Thursday at the Staples Center, where videos, set pieces, guesting rappers and live animals were part of the show.

John Lazar/Staff Photographer