A year after a disastrous performance that even she mocked, Mariah Carey will return to Times Square to headline “Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve with Ryan Seacrest 2018.” She’ll sing just before the ball drops at Midnight. Carey will join previously-announced performers including Camila Cabello, Nick Jonas, and Sugarland. The show airs Sunday, Dec. 31 starting at 8:00 p.m. EST on ABC.
“We can all agree that last year didn’t go exactly as planned,” Mariah Carey and dick clark productions said in a statement announcing the do-over show. “And we are thrilled to move forward together to provide America with an incredible night of music and celebration on Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve with Ryan Seacrest 2018. See you in Times Square!”
At last year’s edition of “New Year’s Rockin’ Eve,” the singer suffered what was said to be a significant audio equipment malfunction while on stage and live on ABC. As a result, she pretty much quit on even trying to salvage her performance.
Apparently, the singer could not hear herself — or possibly anything — in the on-stage monitors. The rest of the world could sure hear the music and backing track for her hit single, “Emotions,” however — including all those pre-recorded high notes.
Unfortunately for the “Mariah’s World” star and fortunately for Twitter, “Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve” didn’t cut away to commercial, making for an extremely awkward few minutes before midnight.
While Carey’s back-up dancers kept doing their thing, the vocalist pretty much walked around the stage, repeatedly asking a technician to turn her speakers on. At one point she told the crowd, “I’m trying to be a good sport here.”
The 46-year-old invited those in midtown Manhattan to do the singing for her, concluding, “This was … amazing.”