Mariah Carey's NYE Performance was "Amazing" and Other Live Fails

     I'll be honest, I was occupied and missed Mariah Carey's now legendary train wreck of a performance on Dick Clark's Rockin' New Years Eve. I watched so many videos and news clips yesterday, I feel like I saw it live. Mariah has long been known for "Diva-ing" out during live events. First there was her 2001 appearance on TRL, stripping out of an oversize T-shirt. She lamented how this was her "therapy session." I also reminisced about a 2002 episode of MTV Cribs, where Mariah was just bizarre. Some of her antics are highlighted in this MTV article. I also remember vividly her wearing heels while working out a on a machine in her home gym. To put it lightly, she had a few breakdown a while back. She took some time off recover, married Nick Cannon, and had kids. Then she took over as a judge on American Idol. She continued to be a Diva there, often fighting on camera with fellow judge Nicki Minaj.

     Back to the present, Mariah's poor performance on the NYE countdown was the result of a complete lack of professionalism.  First of all, she was not dressed appropriately for a woman of her age. She is over 45 and does not need to wear a dude see-through bodysuit (same goes for you, Ms. Britney). It was obvious that there was a track for some of the songs. I understand that, fair enough. Mariah could have chosen to lip sync along to every song (since the venue was cold, dark and outdoors). But instead she picked and chose what she wanted to sing. When she couldn't keep up with the music, she just closed her mouth and tried to make conversation with the crowd. "(Emotions) went to #1...." It was also obvious that she was such a diva that she  didn't show up for rehearsal or sound check. The stage choreography was also pretty bad, as evidenced by the lazy dove-feather fans fans spinning around and the dancers wincing while trying to lasciviously hold her leg while she leaned back. Maybe this was a blessing in disguise, 2016 went out on a low point, which a lot  of people sympathized with via social media.

     Have no fear, Miss Mimi is not the first diva to flop on a live stage. She is not the first person to start making weird comments on New Year's Eve. That honor goes straight to co-host Jenny McCarthy, who seems drunk from the moment the broadcast goes on. This will certainly not be the last time.Here are 2 of my favorite worst live performances on live TV.

Meghan Trainor falls on The Tonight Show
     This summer, Ms. Trainor wiped out after finishing a choreography-challenging performance of her song, NO.  I was pretty worried during the song that she was attempting to dance in 5-inch heels. I almost thought my worry was for nothing.  She rolled her ankle when moving back to the microphone stand and dropped to the floor, spreading out like a snow angel. This overall wasn't too bad. MS. Trainor did make it through the song.

Ashlee Simpson lip syncs on SNL
     I was reminiscing with my friends a few weeks about about Ashlee's tragic debut on Saturday Night Live in 2004. It seems like just yesterday, Ashlee Simpson-Wentz-Ross had a famous sister, an MTV biopic show, Ryan Cabrera on her arm, and a lot of acid reflux. (I can relate to the girl, stomach acid can really mess you up.)So, a wise decision was made for Ms. Simpson to lip sync to her debut single Pieces of Me on the live show. What she didn't count on was the track malfunctioning the second it started. A back beat and her vocals began, and Ashlee immediately knew the show had to go on. What did she do? She began dancing a jig like a pirate. When the band finally caught up with the music, she waltzed offstage. That being said, my friends and I jumped into a circle and clapped our hands as Ashlee's LOVE rocked out at a wedding. Time can heal all wounds.

My Mommy Likes Underwear Dance Parties and Red Wine- Odd Mom Out

   I just discovered my new favorite half hour show, Bravo's Odd Mom Out. In a network long dedicated to desperate housewives of whatever city (this week someone launched a new wine), and opinionated gay fashion moguls, they're trying to make a go at real scripted television.

Author of the novel  Momzillas, Jill Kargman plays a fictionalized version of herself. At that, she is a carbo-loading, dark-joking mom of three that doesn't buy into her in-laws crazy NY rich airs. Yes, these people make the Gossip Girl trust funders look tame). I think they might be on to something here. I could not stop laughing during the first episode when Jill attend her sister-in-law's soul cycle fundraiser to end childhood obesity (giving gastric bypass to low income kids). She manages to make it to the top of the leader board, then gets stuck squatting in pain and can't get back up in the bathroom. Of course, the mommy mafia is non too kind to Jill and she has one normal friend, who is a doctor and also not well off enough to be considered  truly NY rich.

In the second episode, Jill's mother in law, brother-in-law and stick thin  pregnant sister-in-law (the fiercely peppy Abby Elliot) insist they have to change their last name to Von Weber after discovering family history on a trip to Austria. Jill and her lawyer husband protest, until Jill starts seeing the papering and perks of being a Von Weber, and the true escalated level of soul one must sell with that level of presiege (facials, burial plots with a view, better interviews for kindergartens.

The main thing that sets this show apart from other sitcommy shows is that everyone has been Jill at some point, over stressed, judged, wearing a unicorn t-shirt to the gym, and her character is very accessible.

A Note About Smelling the Subway

In recent weeks, I've noticed a spike in subway stations being show in TV. My fundamental position is that if you cannot smell the dinginess of the subway - the pee, the homeless people,- then you are not doing your due diligence to your pre-show research.


Blue Bloods- the second episode, which featured a gruesome string of subway murders, looked like a real subway. Ok, so they do actually film in New York, so they have that advantage. But the subway looked like a Subway. A dirty, urine-covered subway. Huzzah!

How I Met Your Mother- In the quintessential "New York" episode, I commend this show, which is not shot in New York (its outdoor streets are fake Hollywood sets) for its real-looking subway. When Lily deciphered the muffled subway conductor's voice, it was a true New York mement. And the subway did not look like it smelled like urine, but it had implications of being a real subway.

Nikita- The NY cat-and-mouse thriller had a subway scene in its second episode, a traditional shootout in the 34th street station. This station was real looking, but way too squeaky clean for Penn station, and it looked nothing like the real station. Props for the real wooden seats!

Covert Affairs- This was in D.C., but the pilot episode ended with another shootout in the subway. It had no implications of urine smell, a way-too-clean subway.