Music

Watch Mariah Carey's disastrous performance at the 2012 NFL Kick-Off Concert

by Aaron Zorgel

Mariah Carey and No Doubt performed at the 2012 NFL Kick-Off Concert in Rockefeller Center in New York City last night, to commemorate the first game of the season between the New York Giants and the Dallas Cowboys.

In what was effectively a comeback performance for all involved, the two performances couldn’t have been more different in terms of execution. While No Doubt’s performance sounded good, looked good, and kept the energy up, Mariah’s performance sounded terrible, looked like a mess, and was ultimately frustrating to watch.

The critical consensus on Mariah’s “Triumphant (Get ‘Em)” seems to be that she is overshadowed by Rick Ross and Meek Mill on the track. This performance did nothing to dissuade these assertions, given that Mariah didn’t even appear on stage until 1:40 into the song. When she finally does appear, Rick Ross huffs and puffs through his verse while sitting on a throne for some reason, while Carey meanders through her ad-libs, searching for and clinging to her notes. She hits some of her trademark “falsetto whistle” notes towards the song’s conclusion, but it’s too little too late; this performance did absolutely nothing to cultivate Mariah’s already-fragile comeback. Seeing her botch a performance like this might even take away some of her credibility on the American Idol judges panel.

No Doubt’s performance, on the other hand, was surprisingly solid. They put together an engaging live version of their new single “Settle Down,” and Gwen showed the world that she hasn’t skipped a beat since No Doubt’s Rock Steady came out over 10 years ago.

Watch both of the performances below.

Mariah Carey – “Triumphant (Get ‘Em)” feat. Rick Ross and Meek Mill

No Doubt – “Settle Down”

[via Idolator]