Dick Clark Productions claims Mariah's botched performance at 'Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve with Ryan Seacrest' was due to a lack of rehearsal.
- January 3, 2017
AceShowbiz -
Mariah Carey and Dick Clark Productions continue to battle over her botched performance at "Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve with Ryan Seacrest". Mariah believes her performance was "sabotaged" in an attempt to get higher TV ratings for the ABC broadcast, but the DCP claims her lip sync disaster was due to a lack of rehearsal.
In a response to DCP's allegation, Mariah's rep tells PEOPLE that the "All I Want for Christmas Is You" hitmaker attended sound check at 3 P.M. prior to her NYE performance. "She went through vocals and her team ran through sound. All was well at rehearsal," says the rep, "She was prompt for rehearsal and her performance."
On Saturday, Mariah shared on Instagram a photo of her rehearsing with backup dancers, including her toyboy Bryan Tanaka, on the Times Square stage.
Since Mariah took the stage, sound problems plagued her performances of "Auld Lang Syne", "Emotions" and "We Belong Together". She addressed the issue during "Emotions", telling the crowd, "We didn't have a [sound] check for this song, so we'll just say it went to No. 1 and that's what it is, okay? Well, Happy New Year! We can't hear, but I'll just get through the moment."
"[Dick Clark Productions] knew her earpiece wasn't working and sent her on stage regardless," a source close to Mariah reveals, "It was sloppy and unprofessional on their part. Their statement says they didn't intentionally sabotage her but it doesn't apologize for failing to do a good job producing her performance, which is what happened. Her team knows that there are sometimes technical issues with live performances. All her manager asked DCP for was an apology and support."
Mariah's manager Stella Bulochnikov previously sent a letter to DCP, claiming they set up the diva's lip sync disaster. She demanded a "formal apology" from DCP and threatened legal action if no mea culpa is forthcoming.
DCP called Stella's accusation "defamatory, outrageous and frankly absurd."
Regardless, it was clear that ratings for "Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve with Ryan Seacrest" were good as it drew a 9.0 rating, above NBC's "New Year's Eve with Carson Daly," which only drew a 5.1 rating.
