Mariah Carey had a big surprise for her Latine fans when she performed at LA Pride in Los Angeles, CA. On Saturday night (June 10), the pop superstar sang one of her songs live in Spanish at the LGBTQ+ event.
In 1999, Carey opened up about her Venezuelan roots in an interview. While on the Argentine program “Teleshow,” she revealed that her father and grandfather were of Afro-Venezuelan descent. When her grandfather immigrated to the States, he changed the family’s Latine last name to Carey.
“My grandfather made up the name ‘Carey’ when he came to America to be more accepted, I guess,” the singer said. “But that was funny because that’s an Irish name, and Irish people were discriminated against at that time, too…That’s why on the album [Rainbow], I just put Mariah now, because it’s not even my real last name anyway.”
Throughout her career, Carey has recorded some of her songs in Spanish. While headlining LA Pride, she brought it back to one of the Spanish versions of her hits. As the music for her 1997 classic “My All” played, she performed the first part of the song in Spanish. Before singing a bit of “Mi Todo,” she said, “Tonight’s something a little different. Let’s see how it works.” The crowd went wild as she reminded people that she’s of Latine heritage.
Video of the moment also exploded on social media. Many people in Carey’s fan base, the Lambily, expressed their excitement online. “MY ALL IN SPANISH OMG YAS @MariahCarey LATINA GODDESS,” wrote one fan. “Mariah Carey really came out and put on a once in a lifetime show for LA Pride. Rainbow Interlude, My All in Spanish, countless remixes she’s never done live, 3 versions of Fantasy, and she’s never looked better. We stan this woman,” wrote another fan.
Back in 2020, Carey released the EP Mariah En Español. In addition to “Mi Todo,” the seven-song release also included the Spanish versions of “Hero” and her cover of Journey’s “Open Arms.”
Check out Mariah Carey’s performance at LA Pride below.
