We love it when celeb singers surprise their biggest fans in the flesh (ever seen that viral vid where Adele stuns her impressionists and impersonators while singing in disguise?). When Mariah Carey rocked up to “Late Night With Jimmy Fallon” back in 2013, the pair had a similarly cunning idea – inviting Mariah’s super-fans to a listening party for her new single, “The Art of Letting Go,” but with an extra special twist; so stellar that the moment would go on to amass over 3.5 million YouTube views to date!
The clip kicks off with a quick explanation of the prank to come – Mariah’s super-fans being led in small groups to a sofa to listen to her presumably studio-recorded new single, only for Mariah to walk out of the vocal booth, singing live and stunning fans with a once-in-a-lifetime meet and greet experience. It’s a dream opportunity for any pop nerd, but no one could have expected how wholesome and emotional this gimmick was about to become.
Any ex-teenage fangirl will instantly relate to Mariah’s super-fans as they bubble and buzz over the opening lines of Carey’s new single, played over the speakers, and being among the first people in the entire world blessed to hear it.
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But once Mariah steps out of the booth, beaming smiles and clutching a glittered microphone in her hand, the deafening screaming begins; Beatlemania resurrects itself, ladies and grown men fighting back the tears as Jimmy Fallon laughs like some kind of fairy godmother-meets-supervillain beside the star-struck super-fans.
Miraculously, Mariah doesn’t let her fans’ emotions overwhelm her, slaying her song live in the small, backstage room. Despite this likely being the most intimate performance of Mariah’s entire career, she serves absolute pop goddess energy, hitting incredible vocal runs which make her tiny audience swoon. While the instant uplift as the super-fans glimpse Mariah for the first time is enough to make any Music Man reader’s day, it’s impossible not to live vicariously through moments such as these!
As show-stealing as Mariah is in this clip, it’s her fans’ reactions which make this clip so great. From couples to single ladies and LGBT+ individuals, this ecstatic cross-section of Mariah’s audience only proves how far her influence spreads, Mariah’s music soundtracking stories from all walks of life; each uniquely elated reaction a testament to how deeply Mariah’s fans connect to her music. It’d be easy to assume that Mariah is just another A-lister doing her job for the chat show, but this viral vid streams with touchingly genuine energy as she hugs fans, sings with them, moves them to tears and connects heart-to-heart with those her music has affected most of all.