Mariah Carey’s Spotify Wrapped Thank You Video Is Going Viral Because People Are Convinced It’s Not Her

If Mariah Carey made your top artists on Spotify Wrapped this year, congratulations, you have taste! It also means you probably saw the special message she shared for her top listeners.

Kevin Winter / Getty Images for The Recording Academy

The video showed Mariah in a holiday-themed get-up, expressing her appreciation for her biggest streamers. “Thank you so much for listening to my music on Spotify. Your support through the years is the greatest gift I could ask for,” she said before promising to deliver new music “soon.”

https://twitter.com/chartmariah/status/1864312930902093941

The only thing was, it didn’t exactly look like her.

Mariah Carey smiling on red carpet, wearing a strapless gown, wavy hairstyle, and statement jewelry

Mariah Carey smiling on red carpet, wearing a strapless gown, wavy hairstyle, and statement jewelry

Mariah Carey in a Santa jumpsuit with long wavy hair in front of a holiday-themed background

Mariah Carey in a Santa jumpsuit with long wavy hair in front of a holiday-themed background

Momodu Mansaray / WireImage, Spotify

Many people thought it was AI.

https://twitter.com/glitterposay/status/1864316388648624444

“I can’t tell is this is ai or she got a gun pointed at her…” one viewer said.

https://twitter.com/JAYYYMONROE/status/1864549608740774146

Something felt seriously off.

https://twitter.com/boyfrommooon/status/1864637608342524103

From the tone and inflection of Mariah’s voice:

Reddit comment thread discussing the tone and authenticity of Mariah Carey's voice in her Spotify Wrapped video

To the “processed” look of it all:

Comment discussing the similarity between heavily filtered videos and AI videos, noting heavy processing

“no fucking way you people actually think thats not ai,” one X user declared.

https://twitter.com/blockyinkling/status/1864569776854491410

But some people actually did think otherwise, pointing to Mariah’s “usual” behavior and how she appeared to be reading a teleprompter in the clip.

Mariah Carey in a patterned dress on the red carpet, smiling and gesturing playfully, with people and a backdrop in the background

Taking to Reddit, one person wrote, “Am I the only one who feels like this wasn’t AI and just Mariah and her usual stiffness (which usually happens during interviews)?”

“Its not AI,” another https://twitter.com/pg13sensi/status/1864430478167593265. “She’s just reading something behind the camera which gives uncanny vibes (you can see it in the eye movements).”

Michael Loccisano / FilmMagic

Eventually, Mariah ended up speaking out herself to address the viral comments.

Mariah Carey in a sparkly high-slit dress on stage, holding a microphone with dynamic lighting in the background

Wagner Meier / Getty Images

Taking to X, she wrote, “Bad lighting and a red lip have you all thinking this is AI??”

Mariah Carey in a studded dress smiles at an event, with long wavy hair and hoop earrings

Tara Ziemba / FilmMagic

“There’s a reason I’m not a fan of either of those things!” she added before quickly moving on to discuss her current Christmas Time tour in the rest of the tweet.

Spotify / https://twitter.com/MariahCarey/status/1864840259961233585

As one person said, “Imagine looking so pretty and perfect ppl think you’re computer generated!!!!” What a slay.

https://twitter.com/ItsRezForMe/status/1864843472554877322

Who made your Spotify Wrapped this year? Tell me in the comments.

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