Mariah Carey performed on Thursday night’s American Idol finale and almost immediately, she had social media buzzing about the possibility that she was lip-syncing. A rep for the pop icon says otherwise though.
Audiences at home thought that the fact that Carey’s lips weren’t matching what she sang meant that she was clearly not performing live. Her rep sent a statement to E! News telling fans that everything she did was live. She only used a prerecorded track, which is the same thing that Beyonce did at the Presidential Inauguration in January and a common practice in the music business.
“She ABSOLUTELY DID NOT lip-sync,” the statement to E! read. “She performed LIVE in front of several thousands of people!!!! (and did it 3 times!!).”
The rep added that her medley of hits was performed with a 40-person choir. “No LIP-SYNCING whatsoever! She did 3 takes and thrilled the crowd with singing little songs in between that we're NOT part of her medley.”
Idol crowned Candice Glover as the season 12 winner. However, it was the lowest-rated finale ever, drawing just 14.3 million viewers and a 3.6 18-49 rating, notes Deadline. The show lost 8 million viewers from the 2012 finale.
image: Fox