Mariah Carey is going viral after her reaction to Muni Long’s tribute to her during the iHeartRadio Music Awards on Monday.
Muni, 36, is a songwriter who wrote hits for other artists before establishing herself as a singer. She is best known for her 2021 hit single “Hrs and Hrs.” The song landed in the top 20 of the Billboard Hot 100. She won the Best R&B Performance trophy at the 65th Annual Grammy Awards.
However, Mariah’s fans say Muni doesn’t have the vocal prowess to do justice to a Mariah tribute on any stage. Muni gave it her best try, singing Mariah’s hit song, “We Belong Together.”
But a view of the front row showed Mariah with a pained expression on her face as Muni struggled with the lyrics.
Mariah Carey reaction to Muni Long singing her song just SENT ME OMFG????pic.twitter.com/xeTFfHUFGm
— Ken (@RihannaRelease) March 18, 2025
One fan wrote on Reddit: “I’m sorry but if you know you can’t sing half as good as Mariah why would you do a tribute to her right in front of her??”
Another fan wrote on X (Twitter): “Come on no one can sing these songs [like] the greats did. Specially not this generation and Mimi didn’t hide that fact.”
Watch Muni’s full performance below.
Muni Long performs Mariah Carey's "We Belong Together" #iHeartMusicAwards pic.twitter.com/Ik0tMXtFSl
— clubheartbreak (@clubheartbreak) March 18, 2025
I enjoyed this performance, I liked Tori’s performance. Was Mariah satisfied with anyone’s cover though? lol. But i agree with what people are saying: Mariah’s song are hard to cover.
— Anthony Collier (@AntCollierMusic) March 18, 2025
Mariah wasn’t feeling it
— markeith (@marBr04644288) March 18, 2025
Even she knew that song whooped her ass at the end of the video ??
— lanita (@lanitarosay) March 18, 2025