Mariah Carey has been one of the featured artists at the opening ceremony of the 2026 Winter Olympic Games, held in the Italian cities of Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo. For the occasion, the American artist performed a medley of the Italian classic ‘Nel blu dipinto di blu’, better known as ‘Volare’, and ‘Nothing Is Impossible’ from her latest album.
In an interview with Vogue after the event, Carey confessed that the opportunity to perform at Milan’s San Siro stadium “genuinely felt like a dream come true”: “It’s one of the biggest and most anticipated sporting events and to be part of a moment that unites the world is a great honor,” he told the magazine. However, not everything was roses in the artist’s performance.
The best
The musical choice did not leave anyone indifferent. The string arrangements of ‘Nel blu dipinto di blu’, one of the most iconic songs in Italian music, were absolutely beautiful. Together with Carey’s wonderful voice, which adds some great melodic turns in the chorus, they deliver a 10 performance. And also with surprise. It is impossible not to lose your head with the very sharp final note that unites the Italian anthem with ‘Nothing Is Impossible’, from the recent ‘Here For It All’.
At the same time, Mariah is serving up looks. She totally opted for Italian glamor with a custom-made Roberto Cavalli dress designed by Fausto Puglisi. In short, the performance was a spectacle for the senses.
Worst
In the same interview with Vogue, Carey explained that ‘Volare’ is one of her favorite songs and that “learning to sing it in Italian was a real challenge.” A failed challenge, to some extent. It is hard to believe that the artist learned some Italian for the performance, since it is very noticeable that she is reading the lyrics on the screen, on which it was written phonetically: “Nell blue Dee-peen-toe D Blue”, was seen in a video on our forum.
For this same reason, perhaps with the intention of concentrating fully, Mariah Carey was completely stiff. Surely this is what draws the most attention about the performance. Carey does not move from the spot at any time and, practically, his only movements were to look around and say hello at the end of the number. The worst thing is that people will talk more about this than about the artist’s great vocal performance.
