Mariah Carey (and her secret grunge album) are honored at MusiCares charity gala

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If someone had told Mariah Carey beforehand that the MusiCares tribute on Friday night would include a live auction – and that the top prize was a meet-and-greet with her in Abu Dhabi – you wouldn’t have known it by watching her face. She seemed completely surprised.

Mariah Carey, sitting close to the stage at the Los Angeles Convention Center with a camera focused on her face and broadcasting to screens around the room, seemed truly surprised when the auctioneer described a private backstage meet-and-greet she’d be doing next month.

But such is the life of a queen.

Honestly, the best part of this year’s Grammy celebration – you know, the one that’s all about honoring an artist’s music and good deeds – was watching Mariah Carey react to everything! She only sang for about a minute herself at the very end, but it was so much fun seeing her watch other artists perform her songs – everything from the big hits to some of her more obscure tracks. She was genuinely delightful!

It was clear Jennifer Hudson understood and appreciated Busta Rhymes’ talent as she performed alongside him, and she absolutely nailed her rendition of “Vision of Love.” There was a growing sense of surprise and delight as Teddy Swims, a visibly tattooed man, proved he could powerfully deliver “Without You.”

“That was terrifying,” Swims said after completing the song, a truly epic power ballad with roots tracing back to artists like Mariah Carey, Harry Nilsson, and the band Badfinger.

The most amazing part was watching Carey joyfully sing along with Foo Fighters and Taylor Momsen as they played two songs from the underground grunge album she’d secretly recorded in the mid-90s under the name Chick.

The show also featured performances by Adam Lambert, who delivered a slow and emotional rendition of “Can’t Let Go”; the British group Flo, with a light and breezy take on “Dreamlover”; and Laufey, who frequently glanced at a large teleprompter displaying her lyrics while singing “It’s Like That.”

Billy Porter’s rendition of “Always Be My Baby” was incredibly energetic, featuring elaborate vocal runs. While not always perfectly precise, he more than made up for it with sheer power and volume.

Carey took the stage later in the evening and expressed her gratitude for the many people she knew and respected – colleagues, those she’d always admired, and even some she hadn’t expected to see. Following her speech, Jon Batiste surprised everyone by leading a group of famous performers in a lively rendition of “All I Want for Christmas Is You,” a song that recently broke the record for the most weeks at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.

Charlie Puth? Gayle King? Rita Wilson? Carey looked pleased(-ish) to see each one.

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2026-02-01 05:01