Carey\u2019s disaster during the annual New Year\u2019s Eve special in Times Square made international headlines: The superstar vocally stumbled through her short set, failing to sing for most of it despite a pre-recorded track of her songs playing in the background.
Carey was visibly upset during the performance and afterward tweeted \u201c(expletive) happens.\u201d Her representative Nicole Perna blamed technical difficulties, and in an interview with Billboard she said Dick Clark Productions hampered Carey\u2019s performance.
\u201cShe was not winging this moment and took it very seriously,\u201d Perna told Billboard. \u201cA shame that production set her up to fail.\u201d
Perna said Carey\u2019s earpiece wasn\u2019t working and she flagged the issue to the production team but was told it would be OK when she got on stage.
New Year’s celebrations from Times Square and more
\u201cHowever, that was not the case, and they were again told that her earpiece was not working,\u201d Perna said. \u201cInstead of endeavoring to fix the issue so that Mariah could perform, they went live.\u201d
In a statement released on Sunday, the production company called such claims \u201cabsurd.\u201d
\u201cAs the premier producer of live television events for nearly 50 years, we pride ourselves on our reputation and long-standing relationships with artists,\u201d it said. \u201cTo suggest that dcp (Dick Clark Productions), as producer of music shows including the American Music Awards, Billboard Music Awards, New Year\u2019s Rockin\u2019 Eve and Academy of Country Music Awards, would ever intentionally compromise the success of any artist is defamatory, outrageous and frankly absurd.\u201d
It said that in \u201cvery rare instances\u201d there are technical errors that can occur with live television. It said an initial investigation, however, indicated it had no involvement in the challenges associated with Carey\u2019s performance.
\u201cWe want to be clear that we have the utmost respect for Ms. Carey as an artist and acknowledge her tremendous accomplishments in the industry,\u201d it said.
A person familiar with the production of the show who asked for anonymity to speak publicly about the incident said all of the other performers, including Gloria Estefan, rehearsed onsite for their performances and Carey was there but had a stand-in for her rehearsal, atypical for the show\u2019s performers. The person said all of the monitors were working and no technical problems were found.
Ironically, Carey was Dick Clark Productions\u2019 first live performer for the broadcast in 2005, when it went off without any such problems.<\/p>\n

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