Mariah Carey is the gift that keeps on giving.
The legendary singer-songwriter was honored at the 2019 Billboard Music Awards on Wednesday (May 1) with the Billboard Icon Award.
Introduced by Jennifer Hudson, Mariah hit the stage in a body-clinging black gown that showed off her incredible figure. The trailblazing hitmaker, with a five-octave range, went on to perform a medley of her greatest hits, including "Always Be My Baby," "Emotions," "We Belong Together," "Hero," and her latest single "A No No."
With her children, a.k.a "Dem Babies," cheering her on from the audience, Mariah owned the stage as she brought the entire crowd to its feet with her classic hits.
While her performance was iconic in and of itself, it was her acceptance speech and her pre-speech antics that really got the Internet talking. Before even making it to the mic to accept her award, Mariah began wiping her face with a napkin, and when she couldn't find a place to put it, she simply chucked it on the side of the stage, creating one of the funniest, and most iconic moments of the night.
When she finally began her speech, Mariah gave her twins, Moroccan and Monroe, a shoutout as they were celebrating their 8th birthday.
"Thank you so much for this award, it’s going to look fabulous in my New York apartment," Mariah then joked, adding, “Icon — I really don’t think of myself in that way. I started making music out of a necessity to survive and express myself. I just wanted to create something so I could feel worthy of existing. If I’ve learned anything in this life, it’s that truly all things are possible with God. … The truth is I’ve dedicated my life to my music, my saving grace, and my fans who are unlike any other entity I’ve ever known."
The 49-year-old singer made sure to reference both her career highs and career lows in her speech, as she jokingly referenced the "few memes" she’s inspired. And speaking of, we couldn't end this post without showing a few of the iconic moments her BBMAs performance and speech inspired — check a few of them out below:
Photo: Getty Images