What Happened to Mariah Carey?
On December 31, 2016, Mariah Carey gave the last performance of the year on the show, “New Year’s Rockin’ Eve with Ryan Seacrest” which was airing live on ABC. As millions of viewers worldwide and in New York City’s Times Square were watching the singer perform her three-set show, many were left shocked and confused by the end.
The beginning of the show seemed promising with Mariah singing her rendition of New York City’s “Auld Lang Syne,” but it dramatically went south with her 1991 hit, “Emotions,” and her 2005 hit, “We Belong Together.” During her song, “Emotions,” she could be heard repeatedly complaining about her earpiece not working. She even stated, “I’m trying to be a good sport here,” while adding her own sarcastic review of the performance. “That was… amazing.” At one point in time, Mariah moved the microphone toward the audience, so they could sing her hit song instead of her.
According to Fox News, “The next song, “We Belong Together,” went no better. At times, she lowered the microphone from her mouth and the music, vocals and all, kept playing, making it clear she was lip-synching.” Her dancers were performing the entire time, but it seemed like Mariah herself stopped. After the performance, both representatives of Mariah Carey and Dick Clark Productions commented about the incident.
“Representatives for Mariah Carey reportedly complained that the diva’s troubled performance on “Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin Eve with Ryan Seacrest” was set up by the show’s producers “’so they could get Mariah drama,’” according to Fox News. Mariah Carey’s BWR-PR, Nicole Perna, commented that “Carey took the evening’s performance seriously, rehearsing the night before the show for three hours. She then rehearsed at 3 p.m. on New Year’s Eve with “no sound issues.” Perna added, “Carey alerted production and the stage managers that her ear piece was not working. Instead of endeavoring to fix the issue so that Mariah could perform, they went live.” Commenting to ABC News, Perna concluded by stating, “She was intent on honoring her commitment and therefore took the stage essentially flying blind. It is not uncommon for artists to sing to track during certain live performances. Any allegations that she planned to lip sync are just adding insult to injury."
On the other hand, Dick Clark Productions representatives paint a different picture. A representative from Dick Clark Productions stated, “We want to be clear that we have the utmost respect for Ms. Carey as an artist and acknowledge her tremendous accomplishments in the industry." Dick Clark Productions also produce music shows including the American Music Awards, Billboard Music Awards, and the Academy of Country Music according to ABC News. A representative speaking with Billboard stated, “Any claim of sabotage for ratings, as TMZ alluded in a story published New Year’s Day, “Doesn’t make sense,” says the production source, emphasizing that Dick Clark Productions’ foremost concern is the artist. “Why would they risk the reputation of a company that’s been around since 1957?” On a final note, a production source stated, “that Carey had ample time to rehearse and chose not to." The insider adds that Carey used a body double to rehearse in her place earlier on New Year's Eve day and that, even though the singer did not do a vocal run-through, "all was working" on the technical side.”
There are definitely two sides to this story. The performance was mocked heavily on social media. Some commentators called the disaster a “fitting end to a traumatic year for the music industry, marked by the deaths of Prince, David Bowie, and George Michael among others,” according to Fox News. By the end of the night, “Mariah later tweeted, starting with brief profanity, throwing in a couple of sad emojis and concluding with, “Here’s to making more headlines in 2017.”
Sources
Fox News: http://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/2017/01/01/mariah-careys-team-says-new-years-rockin-eve-performance-was-sabotaged.html
Billboard: http://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/pop/7640608/mariah-carey-rep-technical-problems-bungle-new-years-show-dick-clark
ABC News: http://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/reps-mariah-carey-singers-ear-piece-working-years/story?id=44498231
