You know who's long overdue for a Get Out of Jail Free card? No, not Courtney Love, you jokesters! Mariah Carey, naturally. Even if in the past, she had the gall to chalk up the failure of Glitter to September 11 and not the screenplay itself, the stormy weather here in New York on this solemn day lets us know that it's time to forgive Mariah her trespasses against decency, people with ears, and basically anyone who has now come to associate Mean Girls with this tune. Until her next highly-publicized stumble, anyway. So how exactly will Mariah be spending this particular 9/11?

By playing to a room full of die-hards who shelled out upwards for $130 a head at The Pearl in Las Vegas. You may be wondering why you should care about a has-been who was clearly not affected on what happened on this day eight years ago, but only because within her simple 4/4-time slices of cookie-cutter pop, there's something reassuring. And though her recent stabs at publicity have been particularly not-gracious, a showcase of her pre-crazy bits and bobs of brilliance may at least soften, if not undo, the ennui that's got this lind in something of a chokehold today. Here's Carey being especially saccharine, kind of overdoing the patriotism, but still belting out a solid note or two.