Mariah Carey has never been one to hold back — and her expressions often speak louder than words.
At the 2025 iHeartRadio Music Awards in March, where she was honored with the Icon Award, fans caught a glimpse of that unfiltered honesty. During the ceremony, hitmaker and songwriter Muni Long (born Priscilla Renea Hamilton) performed Carey’s iconic ballad “We Belong Together.” As cameras cut to Carey in the audience, her stunned reaction quickly went viral, while Long’s performance sparked divided opinions online.
In a new interview with GQ published Wednesday, September 24, Carey explained what was really happening in that moment. She admitted she couldn’t hear well inside the venue and actually thought Long was singing her own track “Made for Me.”
“I just didn’t know that she had done ‘We Belong Together’ [as a cover] ‘cause her song was so similar to ‘We Belong Together,’” Carey said. “I had no idea that she did ‘We Belong Together.’”
When told that Long had performed the classic in her own register, Carey gave her honest take: “Well, I’m very honored and flattered that she did it. I love Muni Long, she’s a great person, umm, but I just don’t like people doing my songs.”
The two singers share history. Carey appeared on a remix of “Made for Me” last year, and back in 2015, Long (under her former name Priscilla Renea) co-wrote Carey’s “Infinity.” She also contributed to “A No No” from Carey’s 2018 album Caution. These days, though, Long has shifted away from penning hits for others to fully focus on her own artistry.
Meanwhile, Carey is gearing up for her next era. On Friday, Sept. 26, she’s set to release Here For It All, her 16th studio album.
