It wouldn’t be Christmas if Mariah Carey wasn’t scheduled to perform “All I Want For Christmas Is You” ten million times at multiple events around the country. Hiring Mariah for a Christmas event is a no-brainer. But at this point, producers have also got to know that Mariah is ALL DRAMA. People realize that, right? I mean, there’s no one going into negotiations with Mariah thinking, “Oh, this is going to be a breezy and utterly professional transaction,” right? So guess what happened with Mariah’s scheduled performance at Rockefeller Center this week:
Mariah Carey seemed to be the mother of all divas Tuesday as she kept her fans waiting in the freezing rain in front of the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree — but sources blame it on estranged hubby Nick Cannon’s legal team for keeping her tied up in custody talks. Sources close to Carey say it was all Nick’s fault that Carey showed up three hours late to Rock Center, where the audience had already left, and NBC execs angrily told her to go home.
Carey had a 7 p.m. call time Tuesday to pretape “All I Want for Christmas Is You” for the 82nd annual “Christmas in Rockefeller Center” tree-lighting show airing Wednesday. “She was going to be backed by an adorable troupe of child dancers clad head-to-toe in snow-white winter-wear,” a source told The Post’s Kirsten Fleming.
She’d also been scheduled for a 9 p.m. taped promo that would have featured her riding in a horse and carriage on Fifth Avenue, for which NBC had a permit to close traffic lanes. Instead, Carey was holed up in a nearby hotel room on the phone with Cannon’s team, arguing over custody of twins Monroe and Moroccan Scott.
“The talks were about custody and seeing their kids,” a source told Page Six, adding that it was Cannon’s team that made Mariah late. “What she went through was ridiculous. People in [Cannon’s] camp knew full well where she had to be. She had even stayed in a hotel a block away because she was worried about traffic.”
But once Carey finally arrived, “NBC had enough and canceled her after twiddling their thumbs for hours. After the network pulled the plug, the singer made frantic cellphone calls begging NBC to “bring the audience back.”
By 10:30 p.m., most fans, who had been issued free tickets to support the 20th anniversary of the release of Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas Is You” had trudged home and the production crew had packed up. Carey tweeted on Wednesday, “Last night’s situation was beyond my control. I apologize to all that showed up, you know that I would never want to disappoint you.”
But NBC confirmed Carey was still performing live Wednesday to open the national broadcast. Carey’s rep declined to comment on her “personal life.” Cannon’s lawyer didn’t get back to us.
It might be true that Nick’s lawyers kept Mariah tied up beyond her control. It’s also possible that the legal meeting could have literally been scheduled for any other time besides “just before Mariah was scheduled to sing a pre-taped appearance.” Some people just manufacture drama because that’s where they live, because that’s where they’re most comfortable.
Anyway, here’s Mariah’s live performance last night at the Christmas Tree lighting… I read some bad criticism of Mariah’s performance, but it really wasn’t awful? I mean, there are some notes that she’s struggles with these days, but it really wasn’t bad. The most offensive thing to me is that Mariah makes Christmas all about her boobs.
Photos courtesy of Fame/Flynet.
It really wasn’t awful you say ????
Yeah, it was pretty awful. She can’t sing anymore. At all. It’s sad.
I love this song. The beginning she didn’t have the timing down and her “whistle” register seems to have destroyed her “head” voice as well. If she can belt the note in her chest voice, she’s fine, in tune, no problem. But her head voice is shot–it’s like she can’t control it anymore and she used to be known for having superior vocal control and the ability to switch effortlessly from one “voice” to the next.
The kids were too scrumptious, though. And het shaking her hips got me doing the same. I watched more than once so given that, I’d say it was successful.
Is that something that comes with proper vocal training, or just goes away with time/age?
@Bridget, Many singers talk about how some notes are harder to reach as you age because your vocal cords become less elastic or something to that effect. Also, when you are singing all the time or really belting the way she does, it can tear these cords and speed up the process of damage. Besides Whitney Houston’s terrible lifestyle, I think her voice started to go which made her self-abuse worse.
This is such a cute song. Contrast with her Tokyo 1996 performance. She was sooooo cute and her voice was lovely back then. No matter how talented you are, you can’t take something like that for granted. Most *serious* singers take care of their voices and don’t need to lip sync even in a sound-stable place like a TV recording studio (this one was outdoors though, and I don’t think she was lip syncing here). Poor Mariah. And her outfits are just awful. She reminds me of Aretha Franklin now.
If I had on 5 layers of Spanx I would be on the caroling struggle bus, too.
THIS She was wrapped like a tight burrito (only big so Burro?)
anywhoo, Mariah was going through Puberty on front of our very eyes… and ears… that or she had Satanic Acid Reflux
OMG those are good points lol. It really isn’t a good performance. But maybe it is the burrito wrapping.
I love the “burro” reference. Got a real chuckle.
QQ – I think you win the internets with “she looked like a burro” (or ass, or donkey)!
Boobs aren’t necessarily my thang, but that’s all I noticed watching it last night! Ugh.
Looks like two tabloid drama queens were involved. Ms. Rimes apparently thought she was going to get more air time and tweeted about it (of course).
I didn’t think her performance was horrible (she did keep messing with her earpiece and hair). But she, Leann and Gaga didn’t seem to dress for a family oriented show.
All the talented, professional people out there and NBC hired Leann Rimes and Mariah Carey?
Why don’t they have people from the Voice do it? A little network cross promotion?
It really is not the holiday season until you get a serving of Mariahs christmas puddings.
Let the festivities begin!
She seemed to be have an issue with her earpiece. She sang better and was less flat after she ripped it out. But the performance wasn’t good at any point. Too many runs on what should have been a simple song and then she couldn’t even perform the runs properly.
I heard Lady Gaga singing on Howard Stern the other day. It was just her and her piano and she just sang without any vocal pyrotechnics and it was gorgeous. Mariah, Christina, and Ariana Grande should try just singing.
Ariana can sing Mariah and LeAnn into the ground at this point. I listened to the live mic feeds from Mariah’s performance at this event and Ariana’s Saturday Night Live performances. It’s like night and day.
I have always thought Lady Gaga had a tremendous voice. She ruins it for me with the antics. This Tony Bennett might actually be perfect for showcasing her true talent without the side of crazy to go with it.
I’ve always loved Mariah….what a great voice over so many years. But lately, she has been blowing it a bit. There’s really no good excuse for not showing up on time to your own concert. She could have discussed legal issues the next day just as well as that night, so I’m not buying that. About her recent performances and voice issues, I’m not sure what’s happening, or whether it’s permanent or not. She needs to make us love her again, and we can……
She can’t sing anymore. And it’s not just about hitting the high notes. Her voice has massively deteriorated in every way to my ear. I’m honestly sorry about it.
I feel bad for her, she has been lving in this whimsical and princess state of mind for so long,i really think she has lost the plot. She should let her fans miss her and take a break after this album/tour for a long time.
“…she has lost the plot”
Perfect way to describe her these days.
I drank an entire bottle of champagne while I watched the show and I thought her performance was historic and it warmed the cockles of my heart.
I love bubble brain.
I think you joined Mariah in downing an entire bottle (or 2) of champagne before the show
Cockles.
Last night in NYC it was a mess period, there was protest. sit-ins and lay-ins at Grand Central Station and busy areas of NYC because of the Non indictment Choke-Hold death by a Police officer to a man name Eric Garner(spelling* ////
NBC , 30 ROCK were thinking of Cancelling the Tree Lighting all together, the tree was Finally lit, hours late. It was because of the chaos in the city regarding this NON-Idictment of the Police Officer in the Choke-hold case. People were protesting all around the city.
I was reading tweets from NY’kr’s and the tree lighting was in threat of being cancelled because of the protest, but NBC went ahead but it was late.
My husband texted me from NY last night – he got stuck in that and said he should have just walked.
I can’t believe that choke hold case. That poor man, saying he couldn’t breathe and they just killed him. When is this going to stop?
Isn’t it awful?? And I need to disconnect myself from Facebook for a while because the back and forth with some of my friends about all of this is making my blood boil.
I was there last night. I took some kids from my job down to see the tree lightening ceremony. A part of me wanted to join in that protest for Garner. It’s unbelievable that presently our Black men can be killed by cops and the cops doesn’t face indictment. There was no indictment in the case where a cop shot and killed unarmed 18 year old Michael Brown. No indictment for Garner who’s murder was caught on video where you can clearly see the cop put him in a chokehole while Garner repeatedly say I can’t breathe. Andllet’s not forget about the 12 year old Black boy who was shot and killed by cops two weeks ago. I feel like we’re back in the 60’s. At least the cop who shot an unarmed Black man who reached in his car for his wallet was fired.
Unfortunately stories like this doesn’t get covered on C/B. I know this is a gossip site geared towards celebrities and reality stars but it wouldn’t be such a bad idea to write about these injustices every now and then.
+1000
The absolute injustice of it makes my blood boil
it’s beyond nauseating. i keep thinking about it all – how does one even begin to affect change in this entire f-ed up system?
Yeah I’ve had to block people from my FB feed for some of the sh*t they posted.
On another note, I’ve really loved John Stewart’s coverage.
I’m with you, V4Real and it astounds me that the focus isn’t on why we allow law enforcement so much power, why we allow them to investigate themselves, and why it’s seen as fair and just to shoot an unarmed black man.
Yes to all of this. I can’t believe some people still think we live in a “postracial” America.
It really may have been Nick’s lawyers fault but the problem is it’s just such a predictable response now for her to pass the buck (anonymously of course and in the press).
she did fine. it must be super difficult to sing live outside, in an uncontrolled environment, with all the noise etc. i love how EVERYONE is recording the performance. it’s just a sea of smart phones and tablets recording. f being in the moment – let’s record the crap out of it. lol
I noticed that too – why record something that’s being broadcast on TV and will be all over the internet? I could see snapping a few photos and then putting the phone away and actually enjoying the performance.
Im sorry how can anyone keep you on the phone for THREE hours. At some point you say, I have some place to be and get off the phone. It’ s not like the kids were going anywhere in the next hour she’d be away, please…
It’s sad when drama overshadows the good performances of the evening. There were more than a dozen performers, yet who gets the headlines. The drama queens!
On another note, the children who danced during Mariah’s performance were great. And apparently far more professional!
Still my favorite Christmas song!
mine too!
I get the feeling that in her “unicorns shitting rainbows” and “Swarovski-crystalled butterflies” noggin knows she doesn’t have it anymore, and she’s railing against it. So, she’s either consciously or subconsciously amping up the drama even more. I feel bad for the sound guy who mic’d her up last night – that poor soul is totally going to take the unwarranted blame. She was clearly making it known that she was having sound problems – pulling out her earpieces dramatically, wriggling out of her mic pack. Sad…………
What they aired on tv wasn’t *that* bad, but if you look up the YouTube video with the isolated mic feed… It’s really baaaad.
I was just gonna say that. The isolated sound from her mic on YouTube is horrifyingly bad.
For some reason when i look at MC now, i think that’s what Leann Rimmes will look in some years…Drunk, addictive to pills, dressed over the top and out of reality.
MC had more talent and was more beautiful in her ’20s and ’30s than Leann but still…
If it wasn’t bad, it was bad enough. Why not cover the best thing about the tree lighting – give some love to Pentatonix! Awesome group and great performance!
Mariah was obviously having issues with her earpiece which is why she was struggling. Give her a break. It wasn’t that bad. She has not lost her voice. She sounded superb live in recent concerts.
What concerts are you referring to?? She has been universally panned in her recent spate of concerts. She should stick to pre-recorded stuff.
Does anyone remember how hot MC used to look when she was young?
http://www.music-bazaar.com/album-images/vol3/264/264818/2058922-big/-1-S-cover.jpg
Not fair-we all were hot in our 20s
Not everyone is hot in their ’20s. I think she was super gorgeous and her body was to die for.
Mariah is one of the best female singers all time. Everyone has an off day. Give the girl a break.
She always pre-records her vocals for that song every year for this event. Because she was 3 hours late, they didn’t do it and sent her home. They were replacing her with LeAnn and she said she would show up for the actual show and sing it live.
Mariah is one of the best singers of all time, but her vocals have been struggling for several years. So really all of her performances for TV shows are pre-recorded and has been caught doing it when she denies it. She has sounded good on tour but not like her heyday at all.
I agree about Mariah being one of the best singers ,but this isn’t the first time her singing has sounded bad. There are youtube videos of her in concert and her voice is subpar.
Pffft, that’s what lawyers are for, Mariah. It’s why they’re called mouthpieces.
Yeah, I find it hard to believe the lawyer/phone call excuse. She would have put her lawyers on the phone without her, or just hung up. I think it’s just an excuse for her unprofessional behavior and another chance to take a dig at her ex.
I’m in a nasty custody battle and it’s not like you yell at each other on the phone. Emails are written back and forth until the actual court date.
So I don’t buy her excuse atall.
What I will give her is prayers for peace during this ugly and stressful time. I hope she gains more empowering coping skills.
I didn’t think it was horrible, but it was not her best work. I will say that dress was awful. Too much boobage and when she tries to dress in tight revealing stuff it just makes her look even bigger than she is. She should get a new stylist and get over the cleavage already.
At least she looked Christmasy as opposed to the slutty look for LR!
I just heard the vocals isolated on a radio show and it’s 16 shades of awful. It’s much worse than I could have ever imagined. And considering how amazing she once was, it’s tragic.
Blaming Canon’s attorneys is lame. The deal with lawyers could have been scheduled a different time that didn’t back right up to the taping….OR it could have been clearly communicated (and held to!) that MC had a “hard stop” time of such and such (and then stuck to it). It was diva drama for sure.
And I watched about 30 seconds of the video and I cringed. THe voice was horrible, her pressing her ear piece was second only in annoyance to the breasts on a family show. ANd when did she start looking like LaToya Jackson anyway?
SO disappointing, I really used to be awe of her talent.
Now I’m just hypnotized by her breasts–and not in a good way.
That’s why I’m not buying the attorney thing. First of all, who has conference calls that late in the evening? It’s not that pressing it can wait during business hours. Second attorneys are not bad people. They can negotiate another day to have this call. She’s just making it into a big deal when it’s a non-factor.
The Nick excuse is BOGUS. She could’ve taken her mobile phone with her. That’s the whole point of cellphones, they’re mobile. Got there told lawyers to hold 15 minutes, do her thing then get back on the phone. Wow
Ah! It’s too easy to accuse your ex-husband when you mess up, isn’t it? She’s been a mess for more than 5 years now (circa / I think?) so guess who’s surprised? Nobody.
I don’t believe that she wasn’t allowed to leave the phone for three hours. That’s what highly-paid lawyers are for.
She should have lip-synced. She needs to get rid of her “Yes Men” who tell her that she’s perfect so she can go back to working on her voice because this and Tokyo were disasters.
She needs to get her priorities straight. It’s either about a life of stroking her ego or reality.
1- Spanx probably affected her singing… I doubt she could breath properly to reach her notes.
2- She is known to change how she sings the song.
3- All in all, she was fine.
4- There is a cute video of her singing this song with Jimmy Fallon and the roots and it was actually good.
5- It was live and not auto-tuned. So, I am fine with the fact she couldn’t do her higher notes.
This was live and outside, hello! it’s not going to sound like it does on the radio. No human can really sound the way they do on radio….its all doctored up, this is real, raw singing. At least she did it live. I liked it. She is drama I get it, but I always loved this song, not bad.
I don’t beleive any of her excuses. She could have ended the phone call at any time if that’s even what was tying her up. She didn’t have to accept that date and time for the call in the first place. She does have say in that. She’s always late and always expecting everything and everyone to revolve around her. Good for NBC for telling her to go home. I’m sure she’s going to address her subpar performance and blame it on the sound/mic hence the pulling on her earpierce and obvious signs of ‘struggle.’ Again, I don’t buy it. That’s was a performance on her part so later she can blame the sound guy, the mic, etc.
Also read a blind the other day talking about a couple divorcing where the wife has laid the blame on the husband – that he cheater and hence, the divorce. The blind says it wasn’t the husband that cheated, but she’d have us think it was so she doesn’t look like the bad guy. I think it’s MC.
I’m beginning to think there’s something to Nick’s claims re: drinking, etc.
Stay strong MiMi you still sound better than 90% of female artists out there.This too shall pass.
She can still sing, but she refuses to warm up.
Look at her appearance with classroom instruments on Jimmy Fallon. Same thing. Can’t hit the high notes at the beginning. Then as she gets into the song, she can. Alas, in cold NYC weather, with no covering on her throat and entire chest, it is gonna take longer to get some flex into those vocal chords.
It would also be nice if she didn’t insist on trying to turn every 1 note into 7 random notes.
I don’t think it’s about warming up. She can’t hit those high notes any more. At least I haven’t heard her do it in the last 10 years. It’s her damaged voice. And she does that vibrato and the up and down thing because she can’t hold a note for too long. Her voice is damaged.
“All I want for Christmas is you” sings Mariah to her 90s voice, lol.
On a serious note, I’m no Mariah fan. I loved Whitney even with her addiction issues singing into the crowd like a mommy who’d “Always love you”. Gah! I’m doing it again with the song lyrics.But really, she looked beautiful and her voice sounded kind of like she’d been crying. At least to me. Even if she was drunk, I’ll give her a pass.
No wonder she wanted to pre-record it.
Yeesh. I’m embarrassed for her! She’s looks so trampy, and with that right hand in the air like she’s keeping herself on pitch vocally ! LOL. An unholy mess of a performance. She should have done what NBC asked and stayed home
OMG you guys, I just saw this video with just the mic feed, IT’S TERRIBLE http://severelyintellectual.tumblr.com/post/104369501825
Gah, Mariah is such a spoiled brat. She messed up by showing up insultingly late, missed pretaping and then can’t hear herself singing. I love that she’s flouncing around like this is someone else’s fault. Oh run Nick RUN
She’s worth $510 mill, apparently. Maybe that explains something.
Mariah is a mess. Its been obvious for anyone who knows addiction that she is an alcoholic. Her body is always swollen looking, her face too. I am really surprised that she functions at all. She shouldn’t have been given the opportunity to sing for the tree lighting. I hope for next years tree lighting they chose someone who is professional and can sing.