The chanteuse's reps told 'Billboard' magazine that Carey's embarrassing performance may have been sabotaged.
Mariah Carey's disastrous New Year's Rockin' Eve performance was a fitting cap to a year many have called memorable for all the wrong reasons.
Carey's three-song set was slated to be lead up to the ball drop and began with the classic "Auld Lang Syne" before segueing into Carey classic "Emotion."
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And that's where things went downhill. "I’m trying to be a good sport here," Carey told one million Times Square revelers and an even wider global TV audience as she stopped singing and complained there were problems with her vocal track.
According to Carey, she was unable to hear the music through her ear piece.
"We're missing some of these vocals, but it is what it is," she said. "Let the audience sing."
When that didn't seem to work either, Carey said "It is what it is... It just don't get any better" before leaving the stage.
Her reps have since blamed the production company behind the annual event, telling Billboard that Carey put in hours of rehearsal time.
"She was not ‘winging’ this moment and took it very seriously," Nicole Perna said. "A shame that production set her up to fail."
Her reps also denied that Carey, whose backup vocals could be heard as the singer struggled to find her place in "Emotion" and "We Belong Together," was lip-syncing at the event.
“It is not uncommon for artists to sing to track during certain live performances," the rep said.
On Sunday night, Dick Clark Productions issued a statement refuting any suggestions that Carey was "set up."
"[Suggestions that Dick Clark Productions] would ever intentionally compromise the success of any artist is defamatory, outrageous and frankly absurd.
"In very rare instances, there are of course technical errors that can occur with live television," said the statement, which went on to also deny such an error was to blame for the high-profile snafu.
Regardless of who is to blame for the mishap, the legendary diva appears to be taking it in stride.
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Along with a GIF of herself looking incredulous, the singer tweeted early Sunday:
"S*** happens Have a happy and healthy new year everybody! Here's to making more headlines in 2017"
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