Mariah Carey is shaking off her failed New Year’s Eve performance, while her team is insinuating that she was set up to fail by producers.
By now, you’ve likely seen or at least heard about the music icon’s disastrous night in Times Square on Saturday night in NYC:
Carey failed to complete her planned performances for Ryan Seacrest’s annual New Year’s Rockin’ Eve special, baffling viewers nationwide.
Her reaction, in her own words:
S–t happens, people!
“Have a happy and healthy new year everybody! Here’s to making more headlines in 2017,” she added in a brief message to her Twitter fans.
Severe audio issues 86’d the performance, in which she was supposed to sing “Emotion,” “We Belong Together” and “Auld Lang Syne.”
Throughout the live gig, Carey told the crowd she couldn’t hear through her earpiece, telling them she was still “trying to be a good sport.”
“We didn’t have a [sound]check for this song, so we’ll just say it went to number one,” she said, adding that the track was missing “some of the vocals.”
“It is what it is.”
Carey ended her time on stage, a fitting conclusion to the year that was, by saying, “That was … amazing” and “it just don’t get any better.”
A rep for ABC had no comment when asked what the deal was, while a publicist for Dick Clark Productions was not immediately available.
Likely getting too hammered or too busy reading the Twitter comments, or both, as these were the national pastimes on Saturday night.
Singer Josh Groban notably tweeted, “Any time one of the greatest voices of my generation lip syncs an angel loses its wings.”
He didn’t name names, but it was obvious who he was referring to, and after getting some less-than favorable responses, he apologized.
Groban nixed the tweet and wrote:
“Deleted my tweets about a certain performance because it was made in humor but taken way more meanly than intended. Not out to diss artist.”
Jennifer Lopez also addressed the Carey disaster on social media, by liking a comment on Power 106 KMEL Big Von’s Instagram page.
Big Von shared a link to the performance and wrote, “Ever seen an accident you couldn’t take your eyes away from? That was her tonight!”
Fans noticed that one of the Likes on that comment is from none other than Lopez’s official account. Subtle shade, but shade nonetheless.
Sources in Carey’s camp, meanwhile, told TMZ and Billboard that believe she was “sabotaged” and that “production set her up to fail.”
Anyone buying that?
Dick Clark Productions sure as heck isn’t, and released the following statement about Mariah’s performance in response to those stories:
As the premier producer of live television events for nearly 50 years, we pride ourselves on our reputation and long-standing relationships with artists.
To suggest that DCP, as producer of music shows including the American Music Awards, Billboard Music Awards, New Year’s Rockin’ Eve and Academy of Country Music Awards, would ever intentionally compromise the success of any artist is defamatory, outrageous and frankly absurd.
The production company seemingly acknowledged that the issues faced by the 46-year-old singer were not her fault … or the company’s:
In very rare instances there are of course technical errors that can occur with live television.
However, an initial investigation has indicated that DCP had no involvement in the challenges associated with Ms. Carey’s New Year’s Eve performance.
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.
What do you make of all this, THGers? Obviously, we may never know what happened that night in Times Square, but we can tell you this:
It was the most 2016 thing ever.
