Mariah Taking a Social Media Break, Speaks Out on NYE Nightmare: 'They Foiled Me'

Mariah Carey released an audio message on Sunday to address her disastrous New Year's Eve performance on "Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve with Ryan Seacrest," flatly stating that "they foiled me."

The "they" to whom she was referring was "a production team with technical issues who chose to capitalize on circumstances beyond our control."

Mariah also addressed the outcry over her apparent reliance on lip-syncing, saying, "It's not practical for a singer to sing live and be able to hear themselves properly in the middle of Times Square with all the noise, the freezing cold, the smoke from the smoke machines, thousands of people celebrating — especially when their ear monitors were not working at all."

She referred to the technical meltdown as an "opportunity to humiliate me and all those who were excited to ring in the new year with me."

Mariah also admitted feeling some pain over the overwhelmingly negative reaction to her non-performance, stating, "I can not deny that my feelings are hurt." Still, she gave shout-outs to all those who have stood behind her, including "my fans and my true friends, who have been supportive in this time ... my industry friends ... my Lambs, you're always there for me, I can't imagine life without you, and you'll always be a part of me. I can't wait to sing for you again."

Mariah's biggest fans — those Lambs she name-checked — are going to have to settle for less Mariah in the future, as the songbird also announced she will be taking "a break from media moments, social media moments." She did assert that she will fulfill all professional obligations and will prep for her tour in March.

Listen to Mariah's message!