The 2026 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in Milan on Feb. 6 was nothing short of sparkle, spectacle, and of course, big-name performances, including none other than the legendary Mariah Carey. But while viewers expected to be wowed by her seemingly effortless powerhouse vocals, eagle-eyed fans on Twitter saw differently. By the end of her performance, social media was buzzing with one burning question: Did Mariah Carey lip sync her opening ceremony performance?
Not surprisingly, the internet did as the internet does. Fans and skeptics alike flooded the timelines with clips, GIFs — and of course, memes — of Mariah Carey’s opening ceremony performance, proving that not even the legends of the music industry are safe.
Aside from the alleged lip-syncing, another thing that got people talking was Carey singing in Italian. Hosts Mary Carillo and Terry Gannon reminded viewers that Carey’s mom was an opera singer, and that she often performs in multiple languages — but for fans, that didn’t stop the guessing game. Clips of the performance circulated almost instantly, with people insisting her lips weren’t syncing with the words — while others argued that she is simply too iconic to be expected to actually sing. So whether you laughed, watched in confusion, or simply didn’t care, these tweets did not disappoint.
Carey seemed to be taking her “Queen of Christmas” title very seriously during her performance, in the glittering white gown and feathered shawl that gave major ice princess energy. Queen of Christmas is a title she herself may never claim, but fans of Mariah Carey will always recognize her as such.
Carey has six Grammy Awards and 19 Billboard No. 1 singles to her name, but this Olympics opening ceremony performance marked the first time in her career that she performed in Italian. For the ceremony, she sang Domenico Modugno’s “Volare” before segueing into “Nothing Is Impossible,” a hit single from her latest album, Here For It All. So no matter how you slice it, Carey reminded us that Italian, English, or lip-syncing debates aside, she’s still very much in a league of her own.
So while fans may never know for sure if Carey lip-synced at the opening ceremony or not, they can all agree on one thing — she still delivered a performance worthy of the global stage. Between the Italian classics, her own hits, and Twitter’s nonstop scrutiny, this was one Olympic moment we definitely won’t forget.