Mariah Carey’s Manager Blasts Dick Clark Productions for Botched Performance
Mariah Carey suffered an embarrassing moment on live television when her vocal track malfunctioned during her performance on Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve with Ryan Seacrest last Saturday (Dec. 31). Carey’s manager, Stella Bulochnikov, blamed Dick Clark Productions for the snafu and alleges that the entire set up was not “Artist Friendly” to begin with.
According to Bulochnikov, things went downhill when Carey started performing “Emotions" and “We Belong Together," during which the pop star couldn't hear through her in-ear monitors.
"We told them [the stage managers] that the in-ears were not working 10 minutes before the performance," Bulochnikov says in a statement to Billboard. "They then changed the battery pack, and they were still not working on the frequency four minutes before the show. We let them know again, and they just kept counting her down and reassuring her that they will work as soon as they go live, which never happened -- at which point she pulled them out but could not hear the music over the crowd."
"After the show, I called [Dick Clark Productions'] Mark Shimmel and I said, 'What the f--- happened?' He said, 'Let me call you back,' then called me back and confirmed the in-ears were not working and asked if I would make a joint statement," she continued. "I said, 'No way.' I asked him to cut the West Coast feed. He said he could not do that. I asked him why would they want to run a performance with mechanical glitches unless they just want eyeballs at any expense ... It's not artist friendly, especially when the artist cut her vacation short as a New Year's Eve gift to them."
Dick Clark Productions has refuted Bulochnikov's allegations and claims that everything was working properly on their end.
"As the premier producer of live television events for nearly 50 years, we pride ourselves on our reputation and long-standing relationships with artists," reads a statement. "To suggest that dcp...would ever intentionally compromise the success of any artist is defamatory, outrageous and frankly absurd."
"An initial investigation has indicated that dcp had no involvement in the challenges associated with Ms. Carey’s New Year’s Eve performance," it reads further. "We want to be clear that we have the utmost respect for Ms. Carey as an artist and acknowledge her tremendous accomplishments in the industry."
So who's at fault for this fiasco? At this point, both parties need to move forward. Meanwhile, Mimi seems to have gotten over her snafu and is enjoying the early parts of 2017.