At the 25th anniversary celebration of the BET Awards, Mariah Carey was given the Ultimate Icon Award (marking her first-ever BET win), which is meant to recognize artists for their decades of innovative contributions to music, entertainment, advocacy, and community impact.
An Emotional Tribute and Acceptance
Rapper and longtime friend Busta Rhymes presented Carey’s award after giving a passionate speech where he praised Mariah’s timeless qualities and many accomplishments. Mariah described her life and career as “quite the adventure” in her acceptance speech, reflecting on her incredible journey in the industry. “It took me a while, but I realized life is far too short to live for anyone else’s approval,” she said, declaring: “Be a diva, be a boss, be anything you wanna be.”
Watch Mariah’s Acceptance Speech Here
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New Music on the Horizon
In addition to serving as a reflection on her past accomplishments, the award ceremony signaled the beginning of a new chapter for Mariah Carey, who hinted at the release of new music and performed her newly released single “Type Dangerous,” during the ceremony showing audiences that while she has accomplished a lot, Mariah isn’t done yet!
A Night of Glamour and Controversy
However, fans’ reactions to Mariah’s appearance on stage were mixed, with them expressing their frustration about Mariah allegedly lip-syncing during the performance and her lack of movement. Though, despite the criticism, many have still praised Mariah for her timeless beauty and stage presence.
Final Thoughts
All in all, the 2025 BET Awards gave Mariah Carey her due flowers, and despite the controversy, Mariah is still one of the greatest divas of our time who has helped to shape the pop music genre into what it is today.