Mariah Carey’s reaction as Muni Long pays her tribute at iHeartRadio Music Awards sparks flurry of memes

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Mariah Carey went viral across social media for her reaction to a tribute song at the iHeartRadio Music Awards 2025 that took place at the Dolby Theater in Los Angeles on Monday, March 17.

The 'All I Want For Christmas Is You' hitmaker received the Icon Award at the event, with Tori Kelly and Muni Long performing some of her hit songs on stage.

During Long's performance of Carey's 2005 song 'We Belong Together', the pop icon was caught on camera slowly turning her head with an unreadable expression. The moment has since been turned into a GIF and extensively shared on social media.

Mariah Carey's acceptance speech for iHeartRadio Icon Award

According to Deadline, fans were awarded another iconic Mariah Carey moment when the 55-year-old went on stage to accept the prestigious Icon Award and joked about a light check at the venue.

“Is the lighting OK cause I don’t like bad lighting,” Carey joked, before asking the audience if they liked her dress and twirling amid loud cheers.

"As a kid, I used to listen to my favorite artists on the radio and dream of being on the airwaves myself,” she said. "Now, for those of you who may not know what airwaves are, think of it as the non-WiFi of streaming. Even now I still get excited when I hear one of my songs playing on the radio. It never stops being magical," Carey continued.

In her speech, Carey thanked her first manager, iHeartRadio president John Sykes, while also namelessly referring to her ex-husband, Tommy Mottola.

“He was my first manager,” she said of Sykes. “Some people think it was this other guy, but it wasn’t him. It was John.”

The iHeartRadio Icon Award celebrates and honors Carey's illustrious career as a singer, songwriter and producer.

Mariah Carey's head-turn sparks memefest

Fans loved the sideways look that Mariah Carey gave during Muni Long's tribute to her at the iHeartRadio Music Awards. The following memes demonstrate their takes.

"We LOVE a meme moment!" wrote a user sharing the gif.

"This gif of Mariah Carey will go down in history," stated another.

A used memed the reaction comparing it to another gif.

"Okay who’s got the tea on what’s up with Mariah Carey cuz…?" quipped another.

"Mariah watching ppl butchering her songs lol," jibed one user.

"I love this new Mariah. So legendary. Nobody could do like her," noted a fan.

"Same energy," tweeted another with a gif.

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