Review: Velma Celli's Christmas Show, The Basement, City Screen, York, December 8; Mariah Carey: All I Want For Christmas Is You Tour, Leeds First Direct Arena, December 10

WHAT do York's Velma Celli and New York's Mariah Carey have in common?

Both are queens, of the drag variety in Velma's case; of "Grand High Christmas Queen" status, as Velma's alter ego, actor and cabaret turn Ian Stroughair, puts it in Mariah's case.

Both are doing Christmas shows, Velma on a pound-shop budget, tacky tinsel, tackier raffle prizes and all; Mariah, no expense spared (except at the disappointing merchandise stand). Both finish their night on a Yorkshire stage with Mariah's perkiest of perky Christmas love songs, All I Want For Christmas Is You.

Velma Celli's Christmas Show marked the drag diva's second anniversary of glittering, garrulous, gloriously camp nights of spectacular song at The Basement for this supreme West End talent, who may have left Acomb for the exotic bright lights but still relishes a northern night out.

Bonny North East lad and Huge frontman Ian Donaghy had warmed up the full house to lose all inhibitions, while asking "What does it say about York that the city's fourth most beautiful lass is a 6ft bloke from Acomb?!"

6ft 2ins actually, or 6ft 5 in Velma's silver-spangly high heels to top off his/her shimmering dress, dazzling make-up and punk shock of hair. The voice, unquestionably the most spectacular in its range in York, has your jaw dropping at a ravishing take on Radiohead's Creep, and no less so when this Jesus Christ non-believer mixes irreverence with heavenly singing in Silent Night and O Holy Night.

On this unholy night, Velma Celli is naughty, haughty, fruity and piercingly witty, and Donaghy and audience alike will never forget his Shane to Velma's Kirsty in Fairytale Of New York.

York Press:

Have yourself a Mariah little Christmas: soul diva Mariah Carey in her festive regalia

Two nights later, Mariah Carey was opening her Christmas show in Leeds in angel wings and a white dress with twinkling lights inside. Vamping Velma would surely have loved it.

The stage was white, save for a huge Christmas tree and presents and the MC motifs above; her musicians were in white; the drapes were white, even the grand piano was white. Wow, very Vegas, very American. Fun, camp, dazzling; why don't more superstars do such Christmas glitz?

Mariah, now 48, with two Christmas albums to her name, has been doing such shows for five years, and she has perfected the whole Christmas razzmatazz: the "I love you" chat; the gospel choir and ever attentive dancers; a cameo from her seven- year-old twins; the dapper gent to guide her down all of two steps; a young boy in a solo spotlight in mini-Michael Jackson mode; the fabulous costume changes that conclude with Carey's drum majorette leading All I Want For Christmas Is You.

Oh, and then there is the voice, that voice, the one that had Velma Celli teasing Mariah in The Press about "over-singing as much as possible and trying to riff as many notes into songs as possible". That OTT Mariah has gone: what we heard in Leeds was bravura, yes, but controlled, breathtakingly so, from the opening Hark The Herald Angels Sing, through O Holy Night to We Belong Together and beyond.

Have a very Mariah Christmas. Oh, too late, you missed a cracker.