Mariah Carey and Sir Elton John were reportedly paid millions to sing at the wedding of a Russian billionaire’s granddaughter.
John and Carey were the centrepiece of the nine-hour celebrations for Irene Kogan and Daniel Kenvey, both 19-years-old, who wed at London’s Landmark hotel on Saturday (14Jan17). No expense was spared by Irene’s 65-year-old grandfather Valery Kogan who, along with his business partner Dmitry Kamenshchik, owns Moscow’s Domodedovo Airport – the largest in eastern Europe.
According to Britain’s The Sun newspaper, Valery secured the talents of Mariah and Elton alongside six-time Grammy-award winning producer and DJ Mark Ronson, who performed a DJ set at the ceremony.
Mariah, who allegedly charges $3 million (£2.5 million) for private performances, dedicated her 2005 chart-topping ballad We Belong Together to the young bride and groom, after flying in from the U.S. at their request. The singer was pictured at the hotel on Saturday, wearing a black cleavage-baring dress, and smiled broadly following her first appearance since her disastrous New Year’s Eve concert in New York.
Meanwhile, Elton, who reportedly charges a minimum of £1 million, is said to have kickstarted the nine-hour celebrations with a 12-song set. He dedicated his hit Tiny Dancer to Irene, telling the audience, “This is for Irene. She’s not that tiny, but I know she’s a really good dancer because I can see her down there.”
As well as Elton and Mariah, Hollywood actor Antonio Banderas toasted the couple in a speech and there were performances from Russian stars.
