Mariah Carey Sparkles With Starburst Details in Oscar de la Renta Gown for Songwriters Hall of Fame Induction

Mariah Carey has been inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame, a further testament to her talent. To celebrate the occasion, the 53-year-old icon chose a glamorous look that  magnified her star power.

For the June 16 induction in New York City, Carey wore a black strapless Oscar de la Renta gown that featured a black tulle mermaid train. The dress was decorated with silver glitter starbursts, which collected at the top and cascaded down the skirt. Carey, who was styled by DiAndre Tristan, paired the gown with Tom Ford zebra disco platform heels that featured a 5.5-inch crystal-embellished zebra spool heel and platform, along with a wide black velvet toe strap and ankle-climbing tie.

Carey accessorized with sheer black opera-length gloves by Garo Sparo. She wore a collection of diamond jewelry pieces, including leaf chandelier earrings, a chunky bracelet and a long Y knot necklace by Bulgari.

The pop star cheekily put on black Gucci sunglasses while on stage to shield her eyes from the lights.

Accepting the honor on stage, Carey detailed how it’s been a hard-fought struggle to get people to take her seriously as a songwriter in the music industry.

“I constantly have to remind people I’m a songwriter,” she said in her speech. “They’re all into the ‘diva’ thing. It’s like ‘Oh my gosh, she’s a diva, wow, a diva.’”

She added, “You’re maybe somewhat familiar with the meme of me going over and over, ‘As a songwriter, as a songwriter, as a songwriter, as a songwriter.’ Hopefully tonight we can create another meme as a songwriter.”

To close out her speech, the star said, “Out of the 439 total inductees into the Songwriters Hall of Fame, only 32 have been women up until this moment. Now it’s 33.”

The ceremony also inducted Annie Lennox, The Isley Brothers, Steve Miller, Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo (The Neptunes), Rick Nowels and William “Mickey” Stevenson into the Hall of Fame. There were several musical performances throughout the night in tribute to the honorees, with St. Vincent, Smokey Robinson, Leslie Odom Jr., Ingrid Michaelson, Usher and more hitting the stage throughout the event.

Notably, Carey and all other 2022 inductees were first notified of their awards in December 2019. The induction was postponed twice because of COVID-19, leaving the honorees to wait over two years for the big night.