Mariah Carey's Billboard Awards Performance Was a Masterclass In Being Yourself

From Oprah Magazine

• At the 2019 Billboard Music Awards, Mariah Carey accepted the Icon Award.

• In a performance with a little black dress and sky high heels, Mariah was unapologetically herself-and that's something we can all learn from.

When Mariah Carey accepted the Icon Award at the Billboard Music Awards last night, she did it in full Mariah Carey fashion. Donning a skin tight little black dress, she stood perfectly in place wearing her signature platform heels as she delivered the high notes on her hits like "We Belong Together" and "Hero." After she stepped off the stage to accept her trophy, she carefully patted her face with blotting paper. And during her speech, she was equal parts inspiring and self-reverential, while rocking a bedazzled butterfly ring-of course.

The entire moment felt perfectly...well, Mariah. The drama that constantly surrounds the five-time Grammy award winner is often over the top-so much so that her actual life feels like a performance in itself. Take, for instance, the fact that she chooses not to celebrate birthdays, opting instead to call each new year her "anniversary." Or that she likes to call other people "darling" with a British-like affectation. Or the fact that she delivered her now 8-year-old twins, Moroccan and Monroe, while playing a live performance version of her song "Fantasy."

Mariah Carey has long been, first and foremost, her own biggest fan. She is a self-professed, unapologetic diva, and that is perhaps one of the reasons-beyond her unbelievably successful, lengthy career as a singer and songwriter-that longtime fans (like me!) love and appreciate her most.

But in her Billboards speech, Carey confirmed that she hasn't always been this way. "I guess I've always felt like an outsider-someone who doesn't belong anywhere," she said. "I still feel like that interracial child who had a lot of nerve to believe I could succeed at anything in this world...but I did believe because I had to."

She added that she wanted to thank everyone who's stuck with her along her journey through the highs and the low. "To anyone who doesn't allow themselves to be broken: I celebrate you tonight."

It was an important moment for fans and critics of Carey alike to peel back the curtain and see the woman behind the unwavering confidence.

In a culture where women are often sent the message to dim their light, it's refreshing to see that throughout a more than 30-year career, Carey has never been afraid to shine brightly. And that's something she deserves to be celebrated for just as much as her storied career. So congratulations to Mariah Carey-a true icon.

For more stories like this, sign up for our newsletter.