Mariah Carey kicked off the 2026 Winter Olympics with a performance partially in Italian at the Opening Ceremony. Carey, 56, performed "Nel Blu Dipinto di Blu," better known as "Volare," in Italian before transitioning to English for a rendition of "Nothing Is Impossible" from her 2025 album, Here For It All, during the Friday, February 6, event at Milano San Siro Olympic Stadium in Milan. The Grammy-winning singer is among a roster of A-list artists who are expected to perform at the ceremony, with Andrea Bocelli, Chris Stapleton and Karol G also scheduled for the event. The ceremony served as the official start of the Winter Olympics in Italy, which will conclude with the closing ceremony on February 22. The Olympics announced Carey's involvement in the Milano Cortina Games in December 2025. Behind-the-Scenes on Team USA's Dramatic Journey to the 2026 Winter Olympics The Olympics announced Carey's involvement in the Milano Cortina Games in December 2025. "Mariah Carey fully represents the emotional atmosphere that accompanies the run-up to the Games," the local Olympic committee said in a statement at the time. "Music is a universal language that attracts different stories and sensibilities and intertwines with the opening ceremony's theme of harmony." In January, creative director Marco Balich teased that Carey would sing in Italian at the opening ceremony in an effort to unite the audience. "The entire stadium will be singing along," he explained. Team USA's Dating Histories: Inside the Winter Olympians' Love Lives While Friday marked Carey's first official Olympics performance, she has past ties to the Winter Games. Her song "100%" was included on the Team USA soundtrack for the 2010 Olympics, with proceeds from the album donated to Team USA. "I am honored to be a part of this effort to support Team USA through this soundtrack," Carey said in a press release at the time. "The Olympic Winter Games create once-in-a-lifetime moments for the entire world to see. It is truly amazing to watch these first-rate athletes compete and give everything they have to reach new levels of achievement. Their actions provide hope and inspiration for everyone. As artists, we strive to encourage others through our music." The lyrics of "100%" - which was originally written for the soundtrack of Carey's 2009 film, Precious - were fitting for the Olympics. "To a life that's defined by limits / I don't need no permission to live it / I'mma break through the door 'til I get in / Everything that I got, I'mma give it / 100 percent / And I ain't stopping 'til I reach the finish," she sang on the track. Inside the Food at the Olympic Village: What Olympians Are Eating in Milan Prior to Friday's event, the most recent opening ceremony for the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris drew backlash for a segment that featured drag queens and dancers in a scene that resembled Leonardo da Vinci's "The Last Supper" painting of Jesus and his apostles. The Olympics clarified via X at the time that the imagery was meant to represent the Greek God Dionysus rather than the Bible story. Thomas Jolly, the ceremony's artistic director, insisted in a July 2024 press conference that he did not intend "to be subversive," "mock" or "shock." "We wanted to include everyone, as simple as that," he explained. "In France, we have freedom of creation, artistic freedom. We are lucky in France to live in a free country. I didn't have any specific messages that I wanted to deliver. In France, we are [a] republic, we have the right to love whom we want, we have the right not to be worshipers, we have a lot of rights in France, and this is what I wanted to convey." Meanwhile, Paris 2024 spokesperson Anne Descamps apologized amid the controversy. "Clearly, there was never an intention to show disrespect to any religious group. On the contrary, I think that Thomas Jolly really tried to celebrate community tolerance," Descamps said in a press conference at the time. "We believe that this ambition was achieved. If people have taken any offense, we are really sorry."