Mariah Carey attended the official opening ceremony of the 2026 Winter Olympics. Credit score: Unknown picture that went viral on X
The 2026 Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics opened with a spectacle of Italian tradition and world star energy, however pop icon Mariah Carey’s efficiency on the opening ceremony sparked heated debate on-line. The 55-year-old singer took to the stage at Milan’s San Siro stadium on February 6 in a glowing silver costume and carried out a rendition of the traditional Italian tune “Nel blu, dipinto di blu” (higher often called “Volare”), written by Domenico Modugno, earlier than segueing into her unique tune “Nothing Is Unattainable.”
Efficiency has fully leveled off
Whereas official sources described her look as dazzling and an homage to Italian music, Reddit and X had been livid, saying the efficiency was a complete catastrophe. The complaints confirmed how cautious followers had been, and centered round apparent lip-syncing, stilted expressions, and the collection of an American artist at a culturally necessary second in Italy.
Criticism erupted on social media. On X, @DFranciscoReal declared, “Mariah Carey simply ruined the Winter Olympics for everybody.”
@arcanedonovan lamented, “There are numerous nice Italian singers, however Mariah Carey sings within the worst Italian I’ve ever heard on a nationwide stage.” @DoronTam puzzled, “Why would you’re taking Mariah Carey out and simply stand there and lip-sync whereas staring out of her head into area??”
Teleprompter of Mariah Carey singing “Nel blu, dipinto di blu” (Volare) on the opening ceremony of the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics.pic.twitter.com/N78OXIP1WZ
— Recruiting in Rome (@wantedinrome) February 7, 2026
Different customers agreed, with @stephiemsantana calling it “horrible” and saying she “simply stood there wanting scared whereas lip syncing”, whereas @lessdeux referred to as it “the worst lip sync ever and stayed frozen your complete time”, including: “He regarded like he was kidnapped or one thing.”
Mariah’s efficiency criticized as ‘stiff’ and ‘lip-synced’
On Reddit, one commenter mentioned: “[Mariah]was as exhausting as a board. It was insane. It may have been a cardboard cutout of Mariah and I would not have observed the distinction.” Consumer Equipment Cassidy questioned the reserving, saying, “I like Mariah, however I believed it was odd that she did not function an Italian singer,” and mentioned she felt like Andrea Bocelli’s subsequent look was underutilized.
Following the backlash, organizers addressed hypothesis about lip-syncing and confirmed {that a} pre-recording was used for timing and broadcast high quality causes, however declined to verify whether or not Carey sang reside. Some followers got here to her protection, praising the return of the nostalgic “Volare.” For X, @jeffsheehan
“You have finished an awesome job. Volare’s unique tune…was an integral a part of my life as a baby, and it is nice to see it revived on the world stage in spite of everything these years,” he wrote. One other supporter @IAmMapes sarcastically however positively quipped, “Nobody is best at not truly singing reside than Mariah Carey.”
The ceremony featured a mixture of worldwide and Italian expertise, with Andrea Bocelli’s “Nessun Dorma” and pianist Lang Lang performing the Olympic Hymn. Regardless of their disagreements, Carey’s appearances had been all concerning the Olympic theme of “Concord,” which appeared incongruous to some. There was some hypothesis concerning the opening ceremony attended by Vice President J.D. Vance, the quantity of US funding within the occasion, and the true cause why Mariah Carey was chosen to headline the occasion reasonably than an Italian artist.
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