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Mariah Carey holding her 2025 iHeart Radio Music Awards trophy
Mariah Carey holding her 2025 iHeart Radio Music Awards trophy
@mariahcarey via Instagram
Culture > Entertainment

Mariah Carey’s Viral Reaction At The iHeart Radio Music Awards Was Next-Level Iconic

No matter where Mariah Carey is, she’s going to have her moment. Naturally, every moment she has is nothing short of iconic, and her tribute at the 2025 iHeartRadio Music Awards on March 17 was no exception. The musical icon was honored by both Tori Kelly and Muni Long, who gave incredible performances that were among the best moments of the night. But it was Carey’s facial expression during the tribute that has people talking, as it’s since become a viral meme. TBH, I think it might go down in history as the best meme to date.

ICYMI, Carey was honored with the 2025 iHeartRadio Icon Award, which celebrates her career as a singer, songwriter, and producer who has broken countless charts and records around the globe. She’s one of the best-selling artists of all time, with over 200 million records sold worldwide and 19 No.1 singles. This year also marks the 20th anniversary of Carey’s hit album The Emancipation of Mimi, so it was only right that she received this honor.

To celebrate, Long paid tribute to Carey by singing her 2005 hit “We Belong Together,” while Kelly performed “Always Be My Baby.” Both served major vocals (I personally was sat the entire time), but fans weren’t the only ones living for these performances. The Songbird Supreme herself, Carey, was all smiles as Long and Kelly serenaded her. She was even spotted singing along.

While watching Carey’s tribute performance, fans ran to X/Twitter to applaud Long and Kelly for their incredible performances. However, there was a moment during Long’s performance that truly went viral on social media: While Long performed “We Belong Together,” the camera panned to Carey giving rapper Anderson .Paak the side eye as he sang along to the performance, creating a moment that will probably live on the internet forever.

I’m in tears. This look was so Mariah.

But it wasn’t her only iconic moment of the night. As soon as she took the stage to accept the Icon Award, the singer wasted no time saying, “Is the lighting OK? ‘Cause I don’t like bad lighting.” Naturally, fans ate this up too.

Carey then gave an acceptance speech that just made fans love her even more. “Thank you iHeart for this incredible honor. As a kid, I used to listen to my favorite artists on the radio and dream of being on the airwaves myself. Now, for those of you who may not know what airwaves are, think of it as the non-WiFi of streaming,” she said. “Even now, I still get excited when I hear one of my songs playing on the radio. It never stops being magical.”

Honestly, Carey never disappoints when she’s out in public, and I can’t wait to see what viral meme she creates next.

Bre is the Entertainment Editor at Her Campus. She oversees the entertainment verticals on the site, including celebrities, movies, television, and music coverage. During her college career, Bre was a contributing writer and Entertainment Editor for the Montclair State University chapter of Her Campus. After graduating in 2018 with a bachelor's degree in Communications and Media Arts, Bre worked as a full-time writer at Showbiz Cheat Sheet, where she pitched, edited, and wrote articles covering trending news, movies, television, and celebrities. Bre has also written and conducted interviews for the entertainment site Shadow and Act. When she's not writing, you can find Bre binging 'New Girl' or 'Modern Family' for the millionth time or listening to her assorted Spotify playlist. She also loves spending time with her family and keeping herself busy with a little retail therapy!