SAN FRANCISCO – Mariah the Scientist serenaded San Francisco in shades of pink.

The Billboard Hot 100-charting artist returned to Outside Lands after three years to help round out the final day of the music festival. Fans cheered as orchestral piano music played to kick off the set. Two male dancers dressed in pink suits with silver shoulder cords walked onto the stage in a soldierlike formation. The synchronized, military-inspired choreography framed the R&B singer at center stage. Drawing the three-day festival to a close, her diaristic lyrics and theatrical production explored the longing, heartbreak and contradictions that come with relationships. For fans, like rising first-year UCLA student Bai Herman, Mariah’s performance was a long-anticipated experience.

“She’s the next voice of our generation,” Herman said. “She sets a tone about what it means to go through relationships.”

Festival attendees cheered as the Atlanta-based singer-songwriter began her first track of the evening, “United Nations + 1000 Ways to Die.” The song’s atmospheric production blended with the singer’s soulful voice as a steady drum beat paired with a searing electric guitar. She paused briefly between the song’s two parts to address the audience before returning to introspective lyrics about vulnerability.

The set continued to move through different sides of relationships. As she performed “All For Me,” Mariah waved toward the crowd, making eye contact with attendees who screamed in response. The artist wore an all-pink ensemble, featuring a mesh top and silk, bloomerlike shorts with a captain’s hat. Attached to the hat was a cascading silk bow that danced with every breath of wind.

For audience members, like Gianna Tatum, who attended the festival Sunday with her mother, Mariah’s physical proximity to the audience was one of the highlights of the set. She stayed close to the edge of the stage throughout the performance, regularly interacting with fans.

“I was closer than I thought I would be,” Tatum said.

Tatum said she was initially drawn to the singer-songwriter by her online presence, particularly the videos she posts of her traveling and attending concerts. But it was the relatability of Mariah’s music that turned Tatum into a fan, she added.

[Related: Malcolm Todd turns Outside Lands into a family affair]

“It’s too cold outside,” Mariah said. “We’ll make it hot. Don’t worry.”

The crowd grew louder as flames appeared across the screens behind her, with each burst accenting projected images of the singer. After performing “Eternal Flame,” the singer-songwriter paused and grinned at the crowd.

“Perhaps you’d like to hear some throwbacks,” she said.

These older tracks included her 2019 single “Beetlejuice,” detailing an addictive bittersweet romance, which she performed with a stripped-down vocal and production style. Throughout Mariah’s throwback section, the dancers’ precise movements continued – including one dancer who performed a series of flips as Mariah moved between light vocals and higher belts.

Later, the singer-songwriter stepped away from the stage before returning for “Sacrifice,” during which she moved from the lower portion of the stage to a raised pink-and-orange platform. “Good Times” followed, with a slower tempo carried by drums.

The pace shifted with another dual-part track, “All I Want + In Pursuit,” as electronic keyboards and pulsing synths complemented Mariah’s vocals. The artist moved to the beat and raised her hands toward the crowd, singing the lyrics, “Don’t you ever leave me / Don’t you ever go too far, yeah / I wanna be where you are.”

About halfway through her set, one of her dancers marched onstage to place a bedazzled pink microphone. Again, the singer smiled at fans in the audience, who let out piercing screams that only grew in intensity as the intro for “Always n Forever” began. The song sparked a scream-singalong from the audience, which swayed to the upbeat melody until a rock-sounding guitar crescendo closed out the track.

[Related: Q&A: Faouzia talks ‘FILM NOIR’ era, onstage world-building]

Later, a glossy guitar refrain played as an electronic-sounding voice sent a message over the loudspeaker as the military imagery returned.

“Operation hearts sold separately,” the voice said. “Soldier down. Soldier down. No man gets left behind.”

The message – a reference to “HEARTS SOLD SEPARATELY,” Mariah’s 2025 album featuring a green miniature toy soldier against a bubblegum pink backdrop – is often interpreted as a nod to the album’s concept of a “war on love” and the emotional battles within relationships. Mariah followed with “Rainy Days,” featuring subtle percussion accompanied by themes of renewal after heartbreak. Dancers moved their hands like rain as sparkles appeared on screen.

When Mariah announced that only three songs remained, the crowd immediately protested.

“Are you ready for my last three songs?” she said.

She continued with “No More Entertainers,” singing about seeking reassurance from a partner before flowing into “Is It a Crime.” The staging was stripped back for the latter song, with the artist appearing without the dancers as the electric guitar was cut throughout the arrangement.

For the final song, the dancers returned and marched across the center of the stage as blue waves appeared on the screens behind them. Mariah sang over a softer arrangement, her vocals contrasting with the heavier production that had accompanied earlier tracks.

She ended the set by sticking her tongue out playfully toward the crowd as she exited the stage.

“Thank you so much for staying to see me in the cold,” Mariah said. “If you’re ever looking for some warm weather, you just come find me in Atlanta.”