Mariah Carey Addresses New Year’s Eve Performance, In Her Own Words

Update: Mariah Carey has issued a statement, via Twitter, addressing her New Year's Eve performance.

"I haven’t really addressed the situation that happened on New Year’s Eve, and in time I will. But for now, I want everyone to know that I came to New Year’s Eve in New York in great spirits and was looking forward to a celebratory moment with the world,” Carey said. “It’s a shame that we were put into the hands of a production team with technical issues who chose to capitalize on circumstances beyond our control." She goes on to blame the production team on the show, saying they wanted to "humiliate" her and that she will “eventually” explain in greater detail what that means. She also explained the difficulties of singing in freezing cold amid smoke machines in a Times Square party, saying her “ear monitors [were] not working properly.

Carey closed her remarks by announcing she’s taking a break from social media until her March tour. Hear the entire statement below.

Update, January 1, 2016 at 3:25 p.m. ET: Mariah Carey's spokesperson issued a statement to the Associated Press addressing her performance on New Year's Eve. "Unfortunately there was nothing she could do to continue with the performance given the circumstances," Nicole Perna said, addressing Carey's inability to continue singing during the telecast. This story was originally published on January 1, 2017 at 9:30 a.m. ET.

It's been repeated, with increasing intensity as the new year drew near, that 2016 was a garbage fire. Mariah Carey did us all a favor on Dick Clark's New Years Rockin' Eve with Ryan Seacrest 2017 and gave it the send-off it deserved. Carey experienced major audio problems during her live TV performance when a vocal track didn't come in as expected during her performance of "Emotions." Carey also complained from the stage that she wasn't able to hear herself. Talking to Billboard, a source blamed the problems on a lack of rehearsal time before the performance, saying, "She didn't have the kind of time that she usually gets for her ‘Mariah-ness.'"

In this case, her "Mariah-ness" lead her to wander around the stage over the course of two songs, complaining to the live audience the entire time. Now, we all know portions of this show were pre-taped, if for no other reason than Camila Cabello appeared with Fifth Harmony. A note to all live television producers: always include Mariah Carey in the pre-tape and not the live show. Carey took to Twitter after the train wreck ended to offer these words of encouragement for us all as we head into 2017. "Shit happens. Have a happy and healthy new year everybody! Here's to making more headlines in 2017."