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Let It Go: Why Mariah Carey Will Rebound Just Fine From Her ‘Dick Clark’s Rockin’ Eve’ Performance [Opinion]

By Jonathan Brown
Published on: 08:58 PST, Jan 1, 2017

“Let it go, let it go
And I’ll rise like the break of dawn
Let it go, let it go
That perfect girl is gone
Here I stand
In the light of day
Let the storm rage on
The cold never bothered me anyway!”

  • “Let It Go” – Theme from Disney’s Frozen

The first hours of 2017 sure haven’t been too kind to Mariah Carey.

As everyone all over the planet is probably aware of by now, the legendary “Always Be My Baby” music diva had a bit of a rough night on the final night of 2016. Taking to the stage live in Times Square for the annual and televised Dick Clark’s Rockin’ Eve With Ryan Seacrest telecast, Carey had a bit of a major gaffe — and that’s probably putting it nicely as possible.

Due to certain audio troubles from off-stage monitors and her personal earpiece, Mariah was pretty much driven to silence, save for the odd occasional statement about how bad things got from the word “go” (the 46-year-old’s final, forlorn line of semi-conversation following her two-song set simplifies the entire matter best: “It just doesn’t get any better than this.”). It was stunning for all of the wrong reasons and more. It was heartbreaking and many of us, rightfully with Mariah, were heartbroken for the “Heartbreaker” performer.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mYlcAUt80s8

But some of us weren’t, as Bossip shares. And those people definitely made their judgment and opinions known.

The thing is, I can’t personally knock any of those people myself — mostly because I laughed at every response they posted, but not in a way that added to the mocking of Mimi (a popular nickname of Carey, for those who are confused). I laughed because, well, it really was kind of funny.

About midway into the Dick Clark performance, once she realized that things were truly not going to get any better, Mariah Carey stopped being “Grammy-awarded legend Mariah Carey” and became the aforementioned Mimi. Those who are longtime Lambily (Carey’s fan base) will totally get what I mean by that, but for those out of the loop, what you all had the pleasure of witnessing Saturday night was the real, honest and most true Mariah Carey that you will ever see.

[Image by Eugene Gologursky/Stringer/Getty Images]

Now, I know what most of you are probably thinking at this point: the “real, honest and most true” Mariah Carey is supposed to be able to sing. To that, I say, don’t get cute. You know, I know, and every person who shares even the most minuscule part of your DNA knows that she can sing you, I, and every person you’ve ever shared oxygen with, under the table and then some.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8sS9L0yJsnw

You can try to clown her for lip-syncing and being caught lip-syncing, but keep in mind that even Ashlee Simpson, a name I often see brought up in relation to the “controversial” performing practice, was able to release two more albums that were probably the most underrated pop discs you’ve never heard, but I temporarily digress.

Mariah’s going to get past this, and those who are somewhat inclined to believe otherwise will be proven wrong sooner rather than later when her fifteenth studio album, which was said to be coming in the new year from Mariah herself, as Digital Spy relays, drops.

But truthfully, I’m not actually expressing all of this to solidify and obviously own my position as a longtime fan of Carey’s (27 years and counting). I say all of this to say: does anyone actually remember what went down in 2014 with the headliner of Dick Clark’s Rockin’ Eve 2015?

For those who need a memory jog, another powerful vocalist, Broadway icon Idina Menzel, was invited to the program to belt out a live take of the overplayed anthem to Disney’s Frozen, “Let It Go.” During the final notes of the performance; or more specifically, a high note toward the very end of the song, Menzel quite audibly missed the mark and was repeatedly lampooned all throughout the night and the very next day, as noted by Time, for four seconds of a 3:40-long song. Ridiculous, huh?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wka2L5HP3d0

In response, Menzel took to Twitter two days later and posted an old quote from an interview that effectively told everyone to, for lack of a better term, “let it go.”

“Performing isn’t only about the acrobatics and the high notes,” it reads, in part.

“It’s [about] staying in the moment, connecting with the audience in an authentic way, and making yourself real to them through the music. I am more than the notes I hit, and that’s how I try to make my approach in life.”

Mariah Carey has always been more than the notes she can still hit. If she wasn’t, she wouldn’t have been invited to last night’s telecast, and she most definitely would not be one of the most iconic performers ever to exist. As she’s said herself on Twitter, “sh** happens,” so let’s all let this one go. Besides, it’s obvious the “cold” never bothers her anyway — remember when we all swore she’d never bounce back from Glitter?

[Featured Image by Eugene Gologursky/Stringer/Getty Images]

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