- Mariah Carey's tardiness forced NBC to cancel her live performance Tuesday night
- Carey then sang live during Wednesday's broadcast of the Rockefeller tree lighting
- Many observers criticized her performance
(CNN) -- Mariah Carey is known for her five-octave voice, her slinky dresses and her many hits, including "All I Want for Christmas is You."
Unfortunately, she is also known for her tardiness. And her behavior this week at the Rockefeller Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony in New York won't do anything to help that reputation.
Because of her history, NBC decided to tape Carey singing her holiday classic before a live audience Tuesday night, then air it Wednesday for the network's coverage of the 82nd annual Rockefeller Center tree lighting.
But the self-titled Queen of Christmas kept the audience waiting for three hours Tuesday before NBC made the decision to cancel the performance. According to TMZ, Carey was delayed because she was meeting with her lawyer about her divorce settlement with husband Nick Cannon.
Carey took to Twitter to apologize for failing to show up.
Last night's situation was beyond my control. I apologize to all that showed up, you know that I would never want to disappoint you.
— Mariah Carey #MC20 (@MariahCarey) December 3, 2014 But some fans were already annoyed.
"#Mariah Carey was nicknamed "Mirage" in high school because she never showed up for class."
— Taiwo Ademiju Joseph (@aredey_love) December 4, 2014 Her no-show forced NBC to air Carey singing "All I Want for Christmas is You" live during its broadcast of the tree-lighting Wednesday night.
The diva was on time, but many observers are saying her performance was less than stellar. Decked out in a tight red gown before a backdrop of costumed children, Carey seemed winded and had trouble hitting some of her trademark high notes.
A clip of Carey's raw microphone feed, without backing instrumentation, also was leaked to YouTube -- and probably did not do her any favors.
Twitter lit up during and after, with most of the tweets admonishing the singer for a lackluster performance.
Mariah Carey is doing a solid drunk karaoke version of a Mariah Carey song right now #RockefellerCenterTreeLighting
— Adam Epstein (@aepstein) December 4, 2014
Ummmmmm #MariahCarey maybe u should not have missed that sound check... 🙉 #RockCenterXMAS
— Shel Burks (@shelburks) December 4, 2014
All I want for #Christmas is auto-tune! via @TMZ http://t.co/gCnrHyzkkT #MariahCarey
— emma arnold (@emephant) December 4, 2014
I think Mariah Carey's voice just cracked the ice at Rockefeller Center. A little pitchy daaaawgg. #MariahCarey
— Joe C (@itsthejoeshow) December 4, 2014
32 seconds into the song and Mariah already butchered it. Ugh. So much for christmas this year. #nbc #RockefellerCenterTreeLighting
— Andrew Cutini (@andreweee) December 4, 2014 Still, some fans rallied to her side.
"So, was #mariahcarey 's Rockefeller performance perfect? No. Was it good? Yes! Do you know how cold it is out there???" said one.
I'n not a Mariah Carey fan, but I think she did just fine. Furthermore, I don't think she cares what any of us think lol. #MariahCarey
— Mark Kid Corona (@KidCorona) December 4, 2014
That raw #MariahCarey video of her vocals without the band, back-up vocals & zero reverb is released with malicious intent! Boooooo NBC! :(
— Jonathan Manalo (@JonathanManalo) December 4, 2014
So, was #mariahcarey 's Rockefeller performance perfect? No. Was it good? Yes! Do you know how cold it is out there???
— Sean P. Farley (@SeanPFarley) December 4, 2014 .
