Christmas is still a long way off, so all we want for the time being is to know if Mariah Carey is doing well. A fan recorded the legendary singer performing in Las Vegas as part of her Celebration of Mimi residency at the Dolby Live theater — and Carey did not look like the seasoned stage performer we know her to be. In the clip, which was posted to Instagram, she sings her mega-hit song “Fantasy,” and while it sounded like she was hitting all the right notes (or the pre-recorded track was, at least), she tittered across the stage in slow motion and looked like she needed one of her backup dancers to make sure she didn’t fall over. Wearing a pink bodysuit with a see-through sheer skirt that did her no favors in escaping plastic surgery rumors, Carey clutched her microphone tightly and stumbled through the song with little to no excitement or stage presence.
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What made the video even more concerning was the noticeable difference between the Grammy winner and her backup dancers, with Carey nowhere close to matching their energy and appearing to desperately need their help. In fact, it looked like the same dancer who held the singer’s hand to keep her in place and then had to rush to the other side of the stage to show her where to go next. And while we wish we could attribute this off-kilter performance to the steep high heels that Carey was wearing, we can’t help but feel like the Barbie-adjacent outfit looks more like someone cosplaying as Mimi rather than Carey actually performing in one of her dazzlingly expensive outfits.
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Her fans are just as worried (and just as critical)
We weren’t the only ones concerned about Mariah Carey after watching the video of her lackluster Vegas performance. Her most diehard fans (or “lambs” as she lovingly calls them) were quick to comment and lend their support. One came to her age-related defense and posted, “Y’all do realize Mariah is 55 years old right? Let her be.” Another user also pointed out that it could have been the heels throwing her off, reasoning, “She is petrified to walk in those heels. Maybe it’s time for her to start wearing flats.” But one member of the Lambily came to a hard realization, proclaiming, “Love her but It’s retirement time.” And sadly, those were some of the nicer comments.
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The most popular comment called it like they saw it: “Why is she moving like she’s 105 years old?” Another user also found the outfit ill-fitting, wondering, “Why do these performers wear stuff like this. It’s horrible. Just put a dress on and go sing.” Meanwhile, one critic offered a different job for Carey after her residency, quipping, “She is giving me that auntie who sits at the barbecue and orders young people to bring her food.”
The “Heartbreaker” hitmaker has certainly been through a lot of hard times over the course of her celebrated career, including the tragic deaths of Carey’s mother and sister on the same day, but we can’t help but feel like this is a pretty big step backwards in Carey’s stunning transformation. Hopefully this rather lifeless performance will be just another thing that happened in Vegas and will stay in Vegas whenever Mimi decides to move on.
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