Mariah’s year ends in show disaster
THERE have been bitter recriminations after Mariah Carey’s televised New Year’s Eve performance went wrong.
The star’s live appearance in New York’s Times Square was beset by problems as she complained of sound difficulties and struggled to sing.
Her representative told Billboard the producers had set her up to fail.
But Dick Clark Productions said any suggestion it would compromise the success of any artist “is defamatory, outrageous and frankly absurd”.
The pop music diva endured an embarrassing technical meltdown during the show witnessed by thousands in New York’s Times Square and millions more across the US.
The huge malfunction happened during her performance on Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve With Ryan Seacrest.
But the sound system malfunctioned badly late on Saturday from the opening notes of her performance of Auld Lang Syne, leaving Carey flummoxed and visibly defeated.
“Well, Happy New Year. We can’t hear,” the star, 46, said as her entourage of male backup dancers continued their performance.
At one point, an audio track of Carey singing could be heard, even though she clearly was not singing.
“That was – I’m leaving,” the singer said into the microphone as the first song ended.
She stayed – but things did not go better during her performance of Emotions, one of her biggest hits, and she halfheartedly mimed her way through the number.
Twitter gleefully erupted over Carey’s woes.
“Even Milli Vanilli is embarrassed by Mariah Carey’s debacle,” @JimmyTraina tweeted, referring to an earlier singing duo cruelly mocked for their failed lip synching.
“Mariah Carey just summed up 2016 in a nutshell,” another tweeter, @MatthewLush, wrote.
Hours after Saturday’s disastrous outing, Carey posted a rueful, but somewhat hopeful, tweet.
“S**t happens,” she wrote on Twitter on Sunday, with a frownie face emoticon.
“Have a happy and healthy new year everybody!
“Here’s to making more headlines in 2017.”
Meanwhile, British star Robbie Williams has been mocked online after looking less than impressed after greeting fans, using hand sanitiser live on air while grimacing.
The singer jumped into the crowd to perform Auld Lang Syne during an intimate gig at Westminster Central Hall in London.
However, he appeared to regret doing so, looking disgusted and washing his hands immediately after.
Some thought his exaggerated expression meant he could be joking.
Others disagreed, concluding from his actions that he had not enjoyed the close encounter with his fans.