Happy 2026

Singer brought her holiday magic and 2009's "Obsessed" to the last night of the year

She’s the undeniable queen of Christmas, but could Mariah Carey be the queen of New Years, too? On Wednesday night, the music diva joined Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve With Ryan Seacrest for a performance of “Obsessed” from Las Vegas that made a good case for the title.

Wearing a glittering pink dress, Carey performed the hit track from her 2009 album, Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel. The singer is part of a star-studded Rockin’ Eve lineup that includes Chappell Roan, 50 Cent, Ciara, 4 Non Blondes, Jessie Murph, Pitbull, Zara Larsson, Madison Beer, the singing voices of KPop Demon Hunters, Lil Jon, Charlie Puth, and Little Big Town.

A Google search of “Mariah Carey New Year’s Eve” will remind viewers of the time the singer turned heads with a chaotic performance when ringing in 2017. She addressed the moment. “The New Year’s Eve situation — that couldn’t be helped,” she told Rolling Stone in February of that year. “It’s just something where if I can’t explain it to the entire world, then they’re not going to understand it, because it’s not what they do. Just like I wouldn’t understand somebody who had a desk job and how to do that.”

Carey later redeemed herself with a performance to bring in 2018, performing “Vision of Love,” her 1990 single, and “Hero” from Times Square.

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It has been a big year for Carey, who released her album Here for It All in September, and wrapped her Mariah Carey’s Christmas Time tour with a 10-night residency at Las Vegas’ Dolby Live on Dec. 13. She also extended her chart record for “All I Want for Christmas Is You” for the most weeks spent at Number One on the Billboard Hot 100, with it hitting its 22nd week at the top of the chart.

Penske Media Corporation owns Dick Clark Productions, which is also the parent company of Rolling Stone.