People have been teasing Mariah Carey after it was noticed she used a teleprompter during her performance at the Winter Olympics Opening Ceremony to help her pronounce the Italian words she was singing.
A video is going around online showing the 56-year-old singer reading the lyrics to “Nel Blu Dipinto di Blu,” which is more famously known as “Volare.” The video also includes a pronunciation guide to help with the Italian words.
Originally released by Domenico Modugno in 1958, this famous Italian song represents a longing for freedom and happiness, capturing the feeling of soaring through the air as described in its lyrics.
The teleprompter spelled out: ‘Ay-een-comb-een-chah-voh. Voh-lah-reh.’
And people took to the comments to say: ‘Why wasn’t a Italian singing its Italia.’
I enjoy Mariah Carey’s work, but I think it would have been great to have an Italian artist like Andrea Bocelli perform this song. ‘Volare Nel blu, dipinto di blu’ is a beautiful Italian song with a lot of emotional depth.
‘I feel bad. Why did they make her sing an Italian song anyways she did her best.’
‘Pizza with pineapple. This how it looks & sounds.’
Rumors are swirling that the singer may have pretended to sing live during her Milan performance on Friday, and management hasn’t denied the claims.
The song kicked off the 25th Winter Olympics, but it was almost immediately met with criticism and jokes online.
The show’s director, Maria Laura Iascone, admitted that Mariah’s performance was partially prerecorded, but she wouldn’t confirm whether the prerecorded track was actually used during the live broadcast, according to The Guardian.
We record all ceremonies as a standard safety measure, which is common practice for events with significant broadcasting.
Iascone stated she was very pleased with Carey’s performance, describing it as a ‘truly exceptional show’.
Everyone was thrilled with the outcome, and the photos clearly show how wonderful it was – it was truly magical!
A Milan-Cortina spokesperson explained that parts of the opening ceremony were filmed in advance to guarantee precise timing, clear sound, and a smooth television broadcast.
The accusation follows claims that Mariah Carey didn’t seem to be fully engaging when trying to hit high notes, with some observers saying her lip movements didn’t match the sounds coming out.
The event was disrupted by boos directed at US Vice-President JD Vance as he watched Team USA enter during the opening ceremony at San Siro.
One frustrated X user posted during Mariah Carey’s performance, calling it the worst lip sync they’d seen in years.
One user criticized Mariah Carey’s lip syncing, saying it was terrible and questioning why Italy wouldn’t showcase its own singers instead. They expressed their disappointment with an emoji.
One social media post criticized Mariah Carey’s performance at the #Olympics2026 Opening Ceremony, claiming she appeared rigid, was clearly lip-syncing, and seemed to be reading from a screen.
‘mariah carey lip syncing looks awfully off,’ one user posted.
One person online pointed out that Mariah Carey isn’t bothering to pretend she’s singing live, and is clearly lip syncing.
‘Mariah Carey ain’t even singing this s**t smh hate lip syncing,’ wrote another upset commenter.
Another posted, ‘Mariah Carey is lip syncing at the f***ing Olympics.’
One social media user expressed confusion about why Mariah Carey appeared to be lip-syncing during the opening ceremony in Milan.
Although Mariah Carey’s background is Irish and Afro-Venezuelan, not Italian, she’s had operatic training and possesses a remarkably wide vocal range.
Still, her inclusion drew some confusion when it was initially announced in December.
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2026-02-09 15:34