Mariah Carey Debuts New Blinding Butterfly Ring at the Billboard Music Awards
She’s an icon!
From her head-turning style to her moving performance to her empowering acceptance speech, Mariah Carey was the big winner at the Billboard Music Awards. The pop superstar was honored with the icon award at the Las Vegas show Wednesday night, and she wore a really special accessory on stage to mark the occasion: A huge, glittering diamond butterfly ring.
The always fashionable star, 49, who famously replaced her 35-carat engagement ring from ex-fiancé James Packer with two sparkly butterfly rings, seemed to be wearing an upgraded sparkler on her left hand when she posed on the red carpet after her epic BBMAs performance. Her latest butterfly ring looks bigger and more blinged-out than ones we’ve seen her wear in the past.
Carey’s seminal 1997 album Butterfly not only skyrocketed her career, but the butterfly itself became a symbol synonymous with the singer, marking her free spirit, the unpredictable wingspan of her career and her own metamorphosis in the industry.
On top of dripping in diamonds, Carey wore a shimmering black sequin dress with a thigh-high slit and sparkly peep-toe Sophia Webster platform heels to the awards show.
Carey has worn a variety of gowns on the Billboard red carpet, ranging from a plunging bodycon mini in 1999 to a gold embellished strapless design in 2005 to a dramatic high-low gown in 2015.
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In addition to receiving the icon award, which Janet Jackson, Cher, Celine Dion and Jennifer Lopez (among many others) have received in the past, Carey is also taking the stage to perform a medley of hits from her nearly 30-year career.
“Thank you so much @billboard @BBMAs. See you May 1st!” the R&B legend — who released her fifteenth studio album, Caution, last November — wrote on Twitter leading up to the show.
Be sure to check out PEOPLE’s Billboard Music Awards coverage to get the latest news on music’s big night.
Carey joins a star-studded lineup of chart-toppers heading to MGM Grand Garden Arena in Sin City where, for the second year, Kelly Clarkson will host the show and perform. Lauren Daigle, Khalid, Panic! At The Disco and Sam Smith and Normani have also been announced as performers for the evening.
The 2019 Billboard Music Awards aired live from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.
