Mariah Carey sings “We Belong Together” for the AMA's 50th anniversary

Mariah Carey is many things – but casual isn't one of them. Of course, when she appeared at the American Music Awards 50th Anniversary Special on Sunday night (October 6), she had to make an appearance.

The center section of a giant pink “M” on the AMAs stage opened up to reveal the diva herself, resplendent in an elegant white dress and shimmering jewelry. And Mimi did not disappoint us. Singing her 14-week Billboard Hot 100 hit “We Belong Together” – one of 19 No. 1 songs on that chart – Carey was in top form, weaving through the deep, soulful runs and hitting the sustained, incredibly long tone. It was a powerful performance, the enthusiastic audience sang every word and some even touched their hearts.

Before Carey took the AMAs stage, he sat down with him billboardTetris Kelly talks about the classic and her 2005 album The emancipation of Mimi. “People had written me off,” she remembers. “And the song of the decade with 'We Belong Together' – it had to be such a big record for me to actually make a comeback.” In the late 2000s billboard declared “We Belong Together” the song of the decade due to its enormous success on the charts.

Elsewhere during the AMA's 50th anniversary broadcast, Stray Kids performed their single “Chk Chk Boom” as well as part of *NSYNC's “Bye Bye Bye” and performed some of the choreography inspired by *NSYNC's puppets as a tribute to the memorable The boy band's performance at the 2000 American Music Awards. Smokey Robinson – co-host of the first-ever American Music Awards in 1974 – was also in attendance at the 50th special event to reflect on the awards show's half-century.

The American Music Awards 50th Anniversary Special is produced by Dick Clark Productions. DCP is owned by Penske Media Eldridge, a subsidiary of Penske Media Corporation (PMC) and a joint venture between PMC and Eldrige. PMC is the parent company of Billboard.