Mariah Carey stole the show at the 2025 iHeartRadio Music Awards ceremony when her brilliant reaction to a dodgy lighting arrangement went viral.
Appearing at the Los Angeles awards ceremony on Monday (17 March), the “Obsessed” singer was presented with the prestigious Icon Award when she arrived onstage and instantly remarked: “Is the lighting OK cause I don’t like bad lighting…”
The audience instantly erupted into laughter and the production team quickly adjusted the lighting to give Carey a brighter spotlight.
The five-time Grammy winner then asked the audience, “Do you like the ensemble?” before twirling for the cheering crowd and showing off her outfit – a black shimmering figure-hugging gown with a fishtail-style skirt.
“Thank you iHeart for this honour,” she began a heartfelt speech.
“As a kid I used to listen to my favourite artists on the radio and dream of being on the airwaves myself,” she said. “Now, for those of you who may not know what airwaves are, think of it as the non-WiFi of streaming.”
She added: “Even now I still get excited when I hear one of my songs playing on the radio. It never stops being magical.”
Carey thanked iHeartRadio President John Sykes as her first manager, saying: “He was my first manager by the way. Some people think it was this other guy, but it wasn’t him. It was John,” indirectly referencing her ex-husband, the music executive Tommy Mottola.
The singer married Mottola – the former boss of Columbia Records and Sony Music – in 1993 but their marriage ended in divorce in 1998, with Carey describing the relationship in her 2020 memoir as controlling and “like being a prisoner”.
Elsewhere in her speech, Carey went on to thank the DJs and interns working at the radio stations who were “friendly faces who were there when I arrived at the stations at 7am – not exactly my ideal wake up time”.
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“On this St Patrick’s day, I want to honour my mother Patricia Carey for giving me the gift of music,” she said.
Singers Tori Kelly and Muni Long gave a tribute performance honouring Carey by covering her hits including “Always Be My Baby” and “We Belong Together”.
When Long performed 2005 song “We Belong Together,” cameras panned to Carey who seemed to be making a disinterested facial expression, which was also quickly turned into a GIF online.
Fans have been praising Carey for her hilarious onstage quip, with one fan writing on X/Twitter: “Mariah always delivers a moment in her speeches!
“What an icon,” chimed one fan, as another said: “Iconic Mariah moment… she’s always looking flawless!
