Mariah Carey closed out the year with a blunder-filled performance on “Dick Clark’s Rockin’ New Year’s Eve with Ryan Seacrest.”
Live from Times Square, Mimi began a botched mini-set with “Auld Lang Syne,” a New Year’s Eve anthem. However, things quickly took a turn when “Emotions” began playing, causing what’s been deemed by some as an onstage “meltdown.” “Well, happy new year,” she told the crowd as a backing track played. “We can’t hear.”
She paused before explaining issues with prep. “We didn’t have a [sound]check for this song, so we’ll just say, it went to No. 1,” she added. “That’s what it is…We’re missing some of this vocal but it is what it is.”
As she spoke, the backing track kept going, showing that some of MC’s high notes were embedded in the instrumental. “I’ma say, let the audience sing,” she continued. “We didn’t have a soundcheck for this New Year’s, baby. That’s okay, you guys…Get these monitors on, please.”
While walking across the stage, Mariah also seemed to complain about having to perform on a holiday. “I want a holiday too,” she said. “Can I not have one? I’m trying to be a good sport here.”
Once “Emotions” ended, Mariah continued speaking. “That was amazing,” she said. “It just don’t get any better.”
However, the performance wasn’t over. It resumed with the album version of “We Belong Together” playing as Mariah continued lip-synching, sometimes putting the microphone down when high notes were played.
A source would later tell Billboard that prep time was an issue here. “She didn’t have the kind of time that she usually gets for her ‘Mariah-ness,’” the insider revealed. Meanwhile, her reps tell TMZ that the issues were due to “technical difficulties.”
In any case, Mariah responded to the performance with a statement on social media accompanied by a GIF of herself shrugging. “Shit happens,” she wrote. “Have a happy and healthy new year everybody! Here’s to making more headlines in 2017.”
(Photo by Theo Wargo / Getty Images)
