Mariah Carey
Why Aren’t You ‘Obsessed’ with My Choreography???
Awkward Stage Combat at VMAs
Published September 7, 2025 7:01 PM PDT
MTV
Mariah Carey‘s clearly not onstage a ton anymore … ’cause her choreography was a bit awkward onstage at the MTV Video Music Awards — including a fake slap she really didn’t sell.
The singer-songwriter took the stage at UBS Arena in New York Sunday night to perform some of her hits and accept the Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award — a lifetime achievement presented at the ceremony each year.
After finishing up a song, a woman in an all-red outfit — who Mariah called Bianca, a reference to a character from the 1999 “The Heartbreaker” music video — came out … and, Mariah pretended to smack her in the face — all rehearsed choreogrphy.
Well, perhaps not rehearesed enough … ’cause Mariah’s fake slap was off-time — and, looked pretty cringy. She seemed to heistate and got nowhere close to the dancer — who did her best to sell the movement with a cartoonish flop to the floor.
Mariah kept right on performing … and, she got a huge ovation when the show ended — so, it seems no one minded the less than believeable smack.
Worth noting … Mariah didn’t do a ton of dancing during the show — moving around the stage a bit gingerly and holding hands with dancers who seemed to be leading her around. She doesn’t do a lot of live shows, so she might be a bit out or practice.
She sounded great though … and, she thanked everyone when she accepted the lifetime trophy — though she had to ask what took MTV so dang long!
So, Mariah’s finally got her VMA … though she’s probably not getting one for her stage combat anytime soon!
