Mariah performs for NBC special 24 hours later

Dec 4, 2014 08:06 GMT  ·  By
Mariah Carey performs “All I Want for Christmas” live for NBC special
8 photos
   Mariah Carey performs “All I Want for Christmas” live for NBC special

It’s not Christmas without Mariah Carey and her world-famous song “All I Want for Christmas,” which is just the thing to get you into the holiday spirit. The diva was scheduled to perform for the NBC Christmas special at the Rockefeller Center but arrived 3 hours late and got the boot.

And the problems just kept piling from there on.

Word online has it that the delay wasn’t entire Mariah’s fault, as she was on the phone with her divorce attorney, engaged in a conversation that allegedly suffered no postponing. Her bit for the NBC special was supposed to be pre-taped, but she eventually got NBC producers to give her another chance – on the promise that she’d be singing live.

Live it was, and a disaster

Deadspin has obtained a recording with Mariah’s isolated vocals from last night, when she performed live 24 hours later than she was initially booked to. As per the same media outlet (and not only), Mariah owes the fans another apology for leaving her voice at home: she’s already apologized for missing the initial appearance.  

You can find the recording with her isolated vocals embedded below as well: things become really painful at the 2.30-minute mark and then later, at the 3.30-minute mark, when Mariah can obviously, painfully not reach the notes that made her famous, and she leaves all the heavy lifting to her backup singers.

That’s not stopping her from pretending that she’s still singing the notes, though.

Because she was once one of the most talented singers on the scene and because she has that reputation to live up to, responses to this performance have been anything but kind. Deadspin writes that Mariah should ask Santa for a new voice this Christmas, while Gawker asks if Mariah’s voice knows it’s Christmas.

The things said online, especially on social media, are even worse, but many people do understand that one singer’s voice can change with time. To them, Mariah’s fault is in trying to keep up the illusion that it hasn’t, because that just makes her ridiculous and out of touch. Instead of adapting her sound to her “new” voice, she keeps on trying to relive her glory moments – and the results are nothing short of hilarious.

More diva talk

Then there’s the issue of why Mariah was late in the first place. Being on the phone with the divorce attorney is no excuse to arriving 3 hours late to an event you had already said you would attend on time.

Besides the fact that this makes you look unprofessional, it’s also insulting for the hundreds of fans who wait outside in the cold for hours on end, just to catch a glimpse of you on stage and to get the chance to sing along with you.

Mariah did apologize, but things shouldn’t have come to that, angry voices are saying online. She should have honored the agreement she had with NBC, because all divorce talk could wait a few hours until she did so.

All “could’ve” and “should’ve” talk aside, here’s what Mariah eventually delivered to fans. The first video below is what the people in the audience and at home heard, the “polished” version with pre-recorded vocals and backup singers. The second video is what Mariah actually sounded like.

It’s not her worst performance, but it’s definitely not her best either – and fans are probably right in feeling so bitterly disappointed.

 

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