Mariah Carey was crowned MusiCares’ 2026 Person of the Year on Friday night – but it was Billy Porter who unexpectedly stole the spotlight, Daily Mail reports.
The pop icon was honored for her decades-long career and charitable work during the glitzy Grammy weekend gala packed with A-list performers.
Jennifer Hudson, Charlie Puth, Kesha, Busta Rhymes and the Foo Fighters were among the stars who took the stage to celebrate Carey’s legendary catalog.
Several tributes earned rave reviews, including Adam Lambert’s emotional take on Can’t Let Go and Teddy Swims’ powerhouse rendition of Without You.
Even Stevie Wonder made a surprise appearance, telling Mariah Carey, ‘The greatest thing about you and I is we have respect and love for each other.’
But social media quickly erupted over Billy Porter freestyling Always Be My Baby, with fans calling the performance painfully ‘cringe’ and zeroing in on Mariah’s ‘forced smile.’
One critic posted, ‘He sounds like a drunk man singing karaoke at a wedding,’ while another simply wrote, ‘Awful!’
Another chimed in, ‘Took me longer than I care to admit to realise what song he was singing… and to screw up the lyrics was just (cringe).’
Yet another declared bluntly, ‘Billy has needed to stop for a while now,’ as one commenter went even further, claiming, ‘My ears and eyes are literally bloody after listening to that.’
And one defended Mariah Carey, writing, ‘Cringe. Look at Mariah having to suffer through this with a forced smile on her face.’
Despite fans’ interpretations, Carey later joined Porter on stage, sharing a heartfelt hug.
Hudson kicked off the MusiCares gala with a powerhouse medley of I Don’t Wanna Cry, My All, Vision of Love and Make It Happen, setting the tone for an unforgettable night.
Next came a surprise from Mariah’s own archives: two tracks from Someone’s Ugly Daughter, the 1995 grunge project she recorded and co-produced under the name Chick.
Taylor Momsen and the Foo Fighters brought the songs to life on stage while Carey watched along from her seat at the L.A. Convention Center.
Other highlights included Charlie Puth covering I Still Believe, Kesha with a rendition of Obsessed, John Legend singing Hero, Laufey performing It’s Like That, Adam Lambert taking on Can’t Let Go, and Maggie Rogers delivering Honey.
Babyface, SZA, Richard Marx, Rita Wilson, Kim Burrell and Gayle King appeared as presenters throughout the night.
Wonder also reminded everyone, ‘When you speak, it’s for free. When you talk, it’s for free. When you sing, it’s for free… never let anyone think they can take your freedom away.’
When it came time for the award, Universal Music Publishing Group chairman Jody Gerson took the stage, celebrating how Carey ‘wrote or co-wrote virtually her entire catalog’ and blended ‘pop accessibility with R&B, gospel and hip-hop songwriting traditions,’ opening doors for the next generation of female artists.
Gerson added that Mariah Carey expanded ‘the collective vocabulary of millions of fans’ with lyrics that turned ‘SAT words into chart-toppers’ and redefined what it meant to be a self-directed female pop star.
‘Mariah combined glamour and intellect, vulnerability and power, technical mastery and emotional storytelling. She is a symbol of resilience, reinvention and creative self-determination – and yes, she owns Christmas.’
Mariah Carey accepted the honor to a standing ovation, joking she was ‘surrounded by so many friendly and familiar faces – people I’ve worked with, people I’ve long admired, even people I thought I’d never see again.’
Reflecting on the moment, Carey said, ‘Receiving this honor is one of the most profound moments of my life and career.
‘Tonight has been sublime. To hear my songs reimagined by some of the world’s greatest artists – it’s surreal.
‘When I was a little girl scribbling lyrics in my notebook late at night, I could only dream of someone hearing those words and relating to them.
‘Never in my wildest dreams did I think I’d be here with all of these magnificent artists singing my songs back to me, infusing them with their own artistry and giving them all new life. This has given me life, and I appreciate you so much.’