Mariah Carey stumbled on a few notes but gamely sang two songs on a freezing New Year’s Eve in New York City’s Times Square, returning to the scene of her disastrous “New Year’s Rockin’ Eve” performance of a year ago. While a bit bumpy, the performance would have been challenging for any singer: She sang “”Vision of Love” and “Hero” in on a raised platform in 10-degree weather that felt like -7, factoring in wind chill.
The performance was not without a diva moment, albeit a minor one. After performing “Vision of Love,” she said: “I’m just going to take a sip of tea if they’ll let me. They told me there would be tea.” When no tea materialized, she said, “Ugh, it’s a disaster. Okay, well, we’ll just have to rough it. I’m going to be just like everybody else with no hot tea,” and then launched into “Hero.”
Standing with Ryan Seacrest, Camilla Cabello and others on the podium after the countdown, Seacrest asked her how she felt. “Much better than last year,” she replied, as a sub-zero wind blew back her hair.
Despite unfounded rumblings earlier in the day about the extreme cold in Times Square possibly making it impossible for Carey to rehearse — temperatures remained in the teens all day and into the night — the singer arrived to her soundcheck at 2 p.m. and ran through her performance. According to a source, Carey “was great all day” and “on time for everything.”
“Dick Clark’s Rockin’ New Year’s Eve with Ryan Seacrest” featured several more performers live from Times Square, including Camila Cabello, who delivered her hit song “Havana” and Nick Jonas, who performed a medley. Many fans had been lined up since early in the morning to secure prime views of the acts, and many had traveled to New York from out of state or other countries for the holiday. Cabello graciously stopped to snap some photos with a few admirers from London following her bow.
Another highly touted return was that of country duo Sugarland, who hadn’t performed together in six years. The band ran through their best-known numbers, including 2010’s “Stuck Like Glue.”
