Mariah Carey Makes Her Live Performance Comeback on Jimmy Kimmel After Disastrous NYE Gig
The diva made her live performance return on Jimmy Kimmel Live after her disastrous New Year's Eve gig
She’s back, dahlings!
Mariah Carey made her big live performance return Wednesday night on Jimmy Kimmel Live! to perform her latest ballad, “I Don’t,” which was inspired by her high-profile split from Australian billionaire James Packer.
Donning a curve-hugging and plunging red gown, Mimi belted out the lyrics with the help of rapper YG and a live band, and it appeared to go off without a hitch.
In the revealing song, the diva tells her ex, “Probably think I’m coming back, but I don’t, I don’t.” In the accompanying music video, Carey, 46, sets her would-be wedding dress on fire.
The performance on Kimmel was Carey’s first since her nightmare live gig on ABC’s Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve, when her set was plagued with sound problems that left her “humiliated.”
During her set on New Year’s Eve, Carey fumbled her way through three songs, visibly struggling with her earpiece and appearing frustrated as the broadcast continued.
In the days following the performance, Carey’s team and Dick Clark Productions exchanged barbs after the singer’s manager asserted the show sabotaged the performance and “set [her] up to fail.”
“I came to New Year’s Eve in New York in great spirits and was looking forward to a celebratory moment with the world,” Carey said in a nearly two-minute audio recording posted to her Twitter page. “It’s a shame that we were put into the hands of a production team with technical issues, who chose to capitalize on circumstances beyond our control.”
“Listen guys, they foiled me. Thus, it turned into an opportunity to humiliate me and all those who were excited to ring in the new year with me,” the Glitter actress added. “I cannot deny that my feelings are hurt, but I’m working through this and I’m truly grateful for my fans and my true friends who have been so supportive in this time.”
The production company fired back, writing in a statement to PEOPLE: “To suggest that [Dick Clark Productions] … would ever intentionally compromise the success of any artist is defamatory, outrageous and frankly absurd … In very rare instances, there are, of course, technical errors that can occur with live television, however, an initial investigation has indicated that DCP had no involvement in the challenges associated with Ms. Carey’s New Year’s Eve performance.”
Carey will head out on tour with Lionel Richie beginning in March.