Surprise appearances were made by Stevie Wonder, who spoke but did not sing, Busta Rhymes and Jon Batiste. The lineup included John Legend, Maggie Rogers, Charlie Puth, Billy Porter and others.
There wasn’t a hint of glitz or glitter when the Grateful Dead was saluted at last year’s MusiCares Person of the Year all-star concert in Los Angeles.
But Mariah Carey made up for that in a major way when she was honored Friday as the 2026 MusiCares Person of the Year at the Los Angeles Convention Center. She listened appreciatively — along with more than 2,500 well-heeled attendees — as her songs were performed by everyone from Jennifer Hudson, Kesha, Laufey and the vocal trio Flo to John Legend, Charlie Puth, the hard-rocking Foo Fighters (whose ace new drummer, Ilan Rubin, is a San Diego native) and former San Diego singers Adam Lambert and Chanté Moore, who duetted with rapper Busta Rhymes.
Carey was suitably glamorous in a sheer black lace floral gown that she topped with a diamond necklace, diamond bracelets and diamond earrings. The train to her gown was so long it required a helper to hold it up behind Carey as she walked to the stage to give her acceptance speech, shortly before the conclusion of the untelevised two-hour concert.
But if she looked every bit a legendary diva, Carey sounded genuinely moved by having her praises sung, along with more than a dozen of her songs. MusiCares, a branch of the Recording Academy — under whose auspices the Grammy Awards are presented — honors an artist each year for their music and philanthropic achievements. The nonprofit charity has raised more than $135 million for musicians and music-industry workers in need since 1989 and last year provided more than $15 million to several thousand victims of the horrific 2025 wildfires that ravaged Los Angeles County.
The amount raised at Friday’s MusiCares event has not yet been disclosed. But the nonprofit will seek to raise more funds with an online auction — including Carey’s pink Cadillac — on Sunday.
The famed singer is only the third female solo artist to be honored as the MusiCares Person of the Year since 2015, following in the footsteps of Dolly Parton in 2019 and Joni Mitchell in 2022.
“Oh my God! It’s overwhelming in the best possible way,” Carey, 56, told the audience. “Tonight has been sublime. To hear my songs reimagined by some of the world’s greatest artists, it’s surreal! When I was a little girl scribbling lyrics in my notebook late at night, I could only dream of someone hearing those words and relating to them.
“Never in my wildest dreams did I think I’d be here with all these magnificent artists singing my songs back to me, infusing them with their own artistry and giving them all new life. This has given me life.”
“But tonight is not only about me,” Carey stressed. “It’s about this incredible organization, MusiCares, whether it’s providing health care, financial support or simply offering a shoulder to lean on, MusiCares reminds us that behind all the glitz and glamor, there are real people who need care and community… We have to remember this organization thrives because of generosity, yours, mine, ours.”
Many of Friday’s performers seemed to relish the opportunity to take on some of Carey’s biggest hits — her run of 19 U.S. chart-topping singles is second only to The Beatles — although Laufey’s bossa nova-tinged version of “It’s Like That” was more pleasantly innocuous than inspired.
Jennifer Hudson took to the stage after a brief DJ opening set by Jermaine Dupree. She brought gospel fervor to her medley of Carey’s “I Don’t Wanna Cry,” “My All,” “Vision of Love” and “Make It Happen.” Hudson was also one of the only performers of the night with the gumption and vocal range to hit the higher-than-high “whistle notes” that are a Carey trademark.
Kesha and Maggie Rogers both impressed with their versions of, respectively, Carey’s “Obsessed” and “Honey.” Both looked delighted to pay tribute to the glittery star of the night. “You’re the coolest!” Rogers told Carey at the conclusion of her expertly calibrated rendtion of “Honey.”
Carey is the primary songwriter of most of her songs, including her 19 chart-topping hits. They are not easy to sing, especially given the shifting key signatures and unusual modulations she has often deployed to showcase her multi-octave voice. That made it doubly pleasing to hear some of the male singers who saluted her Friday at MusiCares.
Lambert dug deep into “Can’t Let Go,” which he delivered with soulful elan and Broadway-honed finesse. Puth delivered a slow-burning rendition of “I Still Believe” that was as tasteful as it was impassioned. Both performed at the center of a smaller revolving stage at the center of the venue, a setting that enabled each of them to achieve a welcome sense of musical intimacy.
Billy Porter gave a characteristically over-the-top performance as he punctuated Carey’s “Always Be My Baby” with spirited whoops and hollers. John Legend was note-perfect, if a tad too suave, on “Hero,” while Teddy Swims sounded reverent as he performed Harry Nilsson’s soaring ballad, “Without You”( a rare Carey hit that she did not write or co-write herself).
“That was terrifying!” Swims told Carey and the cheering crowd after completing “Without You.”
The biggest surprise, and one of the most striking moments of the night, came when Foo Fighters and The Pretty Reckless singer Taylor Momsen teamed up. Together, they performed two numbers from “Someone’s Ugly Daughter,” the “secret grunge” album Carey recorded in 1995. The album was credited to Chick and featured Carey as a vocal accompanist, not the lead singer.
Although she did not write any of the songs on the lone album by Chick, Carey happily sang along from the audience as Momsen and Foo Fighters ripped through “Hermit” and “Love Is A Scam” with full-throttle velocity. The brash energy they produced was propelled by the high-octane playing of Rubin, the San Diego drummer and Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductee who joined Foo Fighters last year.
While many previous MusiCares concerts stretched to nearly three hours, Friday’s edition honoring Carey was just a few minutes over two hours. To the likely disappointment of many attendees, she did not perform any songs on her own. Carey sang for barely a minute during the Jon Batiste-led grand finale of “All I Want For Christmas,” a classic whose festive seasonal ebullience was somewhat tempered by the fact the temperature in Los Angeles on Friday had climbed into the mid-’80s.
Yet, while Carey’s music was often in the limelight, one of the most memorable appearances Friday was entirely spoken, rather than sung, during Stevie Wonder’s surprise appearance.
The only artist of the night to address the tumultuous state of our polarized nation and world, Wonder followed his praise for Carey with a heartfelt plea.
“When you speak, it’s for free,” Wonder told the audience. “When you talk, it’s for free. When you sing, it’s for free. It’s been given to you, the gift of life, which is free.
“I say to all of you, not just here but throughout the world, never let anyone think they can take your freedom away.”
The tuxedo is gone. The gloves are off.
