Mariah Carey gave an 8 minute looney tunes acceptance speech at the Songwriters Hall of Fme last night. Not once did she mention any of the people who wrote her songs. She took all the credit.
She also did not perform.
Annie Lennox and Dave Stewart performed. Smokey Robinson, too. The Isley Brothers sang their hearts out.
But Mariah Carey chose not to sing at last night’s Songwriters Hall of Fame induction dinner. I’m told the guests, who paid a lot of money, were alternately fuming and laughing.
When it was Carey’s turn to make a speech, I’m told she carried on about the fact that her make up artist got stuck in Los Angeles and she felt naked without the proper attention.
Carey did not explain how she wrote her hits, probably since she didn’t write them. Every one of her hits was written with at least one or more actual songwriters.
At the Hall of Fame dinner, most every inductee who’s a performer sings at least one of their own songs. Instead of Mariah singing, a 13 year old named Liamini sang “All I Want for Christmas Is You.” I am not kidding. The great Yolanda Adams sang a medley of Mariah’s other hits.
Smokey sang to honor his decades old Motown songwriting partner, William “Mickey” Stevenson.
Lennox and Stewart were inducted as the Eurythmics. I’m told Lennox blew the house down.
Actor Bryan Cranston inducted the great Steve Miller, who also performed. Other performers included Usher with Jon Batiste.
Here is Mariah’s speech. Note the absence of names starting with Ben Margulies who wrote “Vision of Love” and Mariah’s first album.
