The focus during yesterday's Michael Jackson memorial shouldn't have been on Mariah Carey's performance of "I'll Be There," but for a while, it kind of was. There was tons of Twitter talk about how Mariah's lost her chops, she can't perform live anymore, she isn't the singer she once was. Yesterday was Michael's day.
But today, let's talk about Mariah Carey. I loved Mariah's performance of "I'll Be There," and the fact that an emotional Mariah could hold it together and even get through the whole song with Trey Lorenz was enough for me. Plus, "I'll Be There" is my favorite Jackson 5 song, one of my Mariah performances, and all-around favorite songs ever, so I'll take it any way I can get it: wholeheartedly, half-assed, whatever. Just give me those opening piano chords that've always sent chills up my spine and that tale of a love so earnest and unselfish that it's still gonna come back for seconds, and I'm good.
"I'll Be There" was the Jackson 5's fourth No. 1 hit, and when Mariah Carey added it as a last-minute addition to her 1992 MTV Unplugged performance, it became her sixth No. 1 hit and the only MTV Unplugged single that ever made it to a No. 1 spot. It was even nominated for a Grammy in 1993.
And 17 years later, it still sounds fresh.
Watch Mariah Carey and Trey Lorenz's 1992 MTV Unplugged performance of "I'll Be There," and get lifted.
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