Mariah Carey has been giving us meme-worthy moments for decades, and her latest viral reactions at the iHeartRadio Music Awards prove she’s still the queen of unbothered diva energy. While the night was meant to celebrate her legendary career with the iHeartRadio Icon Award, social media is fixated on her shady expressions, lighting-checking diva moment, and her odd date night companion Anderson .Paak.

A Musical Legacy That’s Untouchable

Let’s not get it twisted—Mariah Carey is not just an icon, she’s THE icon. With 19 No. 1 hits on the Billboard Hot 100—more than any solo artist in history—she’s spent her career collecting plaques like infinity stones. Her vocals? Still untouchable. Her pen game? Legendary. This is the woman who wrote and co-produced fantasy, Always Be My Baby, Honey, and We Belong Together—all certified anthems that still get spins like they dropped yesterday.

Mariah’s impact goes way beyond just Christmas hits—although let’s be real, she OWNS the holiday season. She’s set records, shaped R&B, and proved that pop princesses come and go, but a true diva never fades. That’s why her receiving the iHeartRadio Icon Award was long overdue.

Mariah vs. Bad Lighting: “Is the Lighting Good?”

Before even gracing the mic, Mariah gave us a hall-of-fame diva moment. As soon as she took the stage, she hit the audience with; “Is the lighting good? Because I don’t do bad lighting.” And just like that, a meme was born.

Mariah Carey has never been one to settle for mediocrity, and if the lights weren’t hitting just right, she was about to let it be known. Fans immediately threw it back to when Aretha Franklin shaded Taylor Swift’s wardrobe choices or when Chaka Khan came for Mary J. Blidges version of Sweet Thing. They just don’t make them like this anymore!

Muni Long Tribute: Was That Side-Eye?

Muni Long took the stage to pay homage with a performance of We Belong Together, one of Mariah’s biggest hits. While Muni got a little pitchy with the vocals, all eyes were on Mariah’s face as she watched from the crowd.

The not so subtle expression left social media reading Mariah’s body language —was it approval? Was it “cute, but not quite”? Or was it just pure unbothered Mariah energy?

One fan summed it up perfectly:
“Muni Long struggles to stay on key while singing her own songs, I don’t know why they’d set that poor baby up to sing ‘We Belong Together’ in front of Mariah Carey. 

Others brought up Mariah’s iconic history of shady moments, from her legendary “I don’t know her” line about J.Lo to that time she bumped heads with Nicki Minaj on American Idol.

Anderson .Paak: The Unexpected Date We Didn’t Know We Needed

While Mariah was giving subtle shade and big diva energy, Anderson .Paak was having the time of his life. Sitting next to her all night, hyping her up, and looking like the ultimate fanboy, and the memes were priceless.

One user wrote: “Mariah Carey & Anderson Paak really being a couple was not on my bingo card for 2025.

Mariah Stays Unbothered

At the end of the day, Mariah soaked up her flowers, gave a heartfelt speech to the Lambily, and reminded us all why she’s been that girl for over 30 years. She’s got more Billboard No. 1 hits than Elvis, a five-octave range that can still shatter glass, and an aura that screams old-school, untouchable diva.

Whitney, Aretha, Chaka, Diana—Mariah comes from that era. The era of true icons, not microwave celebrities with TikTok hits. And she let the world know that she’s still here, still legendary, and still controlling the lighting.

we’ll never get another true solidified Diva like Mariah Carey again and that really makes me sad https://t.co/E7J2O5UsXX