Mariah Carey is the toast of Tao on the Las Vegas Strip

The Billboard Icon Award winner was the toast of the scene, greeted with balloons spelling ICON and welcomed by Jennifer Hudson, who presented the award. Hudson and Taylor Swift were among the superstars who went nuts for Carey in her medley during the BBMA show. Carey swung through her hits, including “Always be My Baby” and “We Belong Together.”

Carey was joined by her boyfriend, Bryan Tanaka, and several friends. This week, she doubly announced her “All I Want For Christmas” show and also “The Butterfly Returns” would be back at the Colosseum at Caesars Palace.

Madonna with her X

Madonna debuted her “Medellin” single during the BBMA show, reportedly laying out $5 million for the full production with special guest Mamula. She later hit Beauty & Essex at the Cosmopolitan, where she and her party were presented cupcakes frosted with M and X, for the new album, “Madame X.”

Abdul’s ‘lightning’ moment

A freind of Paula Abdul’s is saying the pop superstar and inspired groover still was stunned a day after her show-closing finale: “She hasn’t made this big a splash since ‘American Idol.’”

Abdul’s lighting-in-a-bottle medley at the BBMAs arrived just hours after her “Forever Your Girl” residency at Flamingo Las Vegas was announced.

During her performance, which started with a tap-dance segment, Abdul threw her top hat at fellow dance great Julianne Hough. The hat struck Hough in the neck as Abdul sashayed past, seeming not to notice, as the audience roared.

On Thursday, Hough posted a photo of herself on Twitter wearing a neck brace and saying, “The result of the honor of being hit in the neck by @PaulaAbdul’s flying hat! I love you, Babe!!” Abdul responded, “OMG IM PEEING IN MY PANTS!!!!! You know it was with love.”

The solution: Top hats at the merch table during the Abdul residency …

Diplo packs Encore

Wynn Las Vegas resident headliner DJ Diplo sold out Encore Beach Club at the BBMAs official after-party. He has extended his series with Wynn Nightlife through 2021.

Halsey showed up for a medley of “Closer,” “Eastside,” “Bad at Love” and “Without Me.” Lil Jon, Bazzi, Tori Kelly, Ross Lynch, Rocky Lynch, Chantel Jeffries, CNCO, David Dobrik, Lovelytheband, Tye Sheridan and Kyle and Michael Trewartha of Grey were among the name-checks on the scene.

Angel’s room

Criss Angel has announced he is opening a “Mindfreak”-themed exam room at Cure 4 The Kids medical facility on 1 Breakthrough Way.

Angel has long been an advocate for childhood cancer treatment, as his 5-year-old son Johnny Crisstopher ended a series of chemotherapy treatments in December to fight a rare form of leukemia.

(FWIW, we far prefer Angel in his charity mode, rather than his Cirque-trashing mode.)

The unveiling ceremony is set for Thursday afternoon, and the Angel will be joined by his partner, Shaunyl Benson; Johnny Cristopher; and Cure 4 The Kids CEO Annette Logan-Parker. The “Mindfreak” exam room joins Gwen Stefani’s similarly themed room at Cure 4 Kids headquarters. Stefani showed off her room in March.

VegasVille!

By lucky coincidence, I followed famed producer Jeff Beacher into the men’s room at the Billboard Music Awards show. It gave me a chance to ask about reports that he was on Fremont Street about five weeks ago, reviewing the old “Fear The Walking Dead Survival” space at the base of SlotZilla.

He was there. The man behind Beacher’s Madhouse is up to something downtown, believe it.

Beacher’s most recent Beacher’s Madhouse club didn’t take hold at MGM Grand, but downtown might be a more inviting climate for his next madhouse (lowercase). Potential cast members are all over FSE.

What Works In Vegas

A show that keeps chugging along: “Marc Savard’s Comedy Hypnosis,” notched show No. 3,333 on Thursday night. Savard, a major Edmonton Oilers fan, opened at V Theater at Miracle Mile Shops at Planet Hollywood on Feb. 4, 2007.

“The mind responds really well to 3s,” Savard says. “Hypnotists say things in 3s. Let your body be, ‘limp, loose and lazy.”

Hey that’s easy …

Also, Savard says, “Three is the number of time. It represents Past, Present and Future — 3,333 shows represent where I have been, where I am now, and a reference point to where I’m going to go.” It’s also the favored number for famed Musketeers, Stooges and Amigos.

So, this …

“Puppetry Of The Penis” marked its fourth anniversary at Erotic Heritage Museum last month. A success! Cirque should buy that show, too.

ShowBuzz!

“Legends In Concert” has cut its 4 p.m. shows at its eponymous theater at Tropicana. The 7:30 p.m. show times remain the same. No official explanation, but such a move (which has gone unannounced) is either a seasonal maneuver, to account for a slow June, or a response to lagging sales … “Little Miss Nasty” is closing at Hooters’ Night Owl Showroom on June 8. Room manager Pete Housley says he is not renewing the act’s contract. I really liked the show, which never found enough of an audience willing to pay $69 a ticket for a hard rock, adult dance production at Hooters … “Absinthe” is working on a sway-pole number, starring the Silicon Valley Girls, adding a fourth member for the act … Quite a week for Vegas dancer Genise Ruidiaz: She closed out “Larger Than Life” with Backstreet Boys at Zappos Theater on Saturday and backed the Jonas Brothers at the BBMAs on Wednesday … Ken Henderson’s the Notoriety entertainment complex at Neonopolis opening has been pushed to mid-July, at the earliest, for a variety of hiccups … Vegas favorite Lisa Gay is opening a Saturday night series at Pegasus Room at Alexis Park on July 8. Gay is a great singer (jazz, R&B, some rock ‘n’ roll), a survivor, and an inspiration.

John Katsilometes’ column runs daily in the A section. His PodKats! podcast can be found at reviewjournal.com/podcasts. Contact him at jkatsilometes@reviewjournal.com. Follow @johnnykats on Twitter, @JohnnyKats1 on Instagram.