Mariah Carey NBC tree lighting - Mariah Carey left fans waiting in the cold and rain after showing up about three hours late for a Tuesday pre-recording performance at the 82nd annual NBC tree-lighting ceremony held at the Rockefeller Center.

According to TMZ, when the 44 years old songstress showed up, the obviously enraged NBC's executives and producers sent her packing. However, some hours later, they changed their mind. The singer was allowed to perform at the annual lighting ceremony on Wednesday evening.

The Mariah Carey NBC tree lighting incident has since gone viral on the Internet. The singer took to social media to apologize to her fans and the network.

"Last night's situation was beyond my control. I apologize to all that showed up, you know that I would never want to disappoint you," Carey wrote on Twitter.

The Hero singer later wrote on Wednesday morning, "Lol well, plans changed! I love this business, cracks me up! Cannot WAIT to perform tonight!"

The Mariah Carey NBC tree lighting incident is reported to have been caused by her pending divorce with estranged husband Nick Cannon. Reports indicate that Carey missed the show because she was taking to a divorce lawyer on the phone for hours.

Despite the Mariah Carey NBC tree lighting hiccup, her performance at the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree lighting ceremony was great. Thousands were in attendance and Carey's vocals thrilled. However, there were some hitches. According to the Daily Mail UK, Carey missed some high notes especially during her standard rendition of All I Want For Christmas Is You.

While the Mariah Carey NBC tree lighting show was ongoing, hundreds of people were protesting a grand jury's decision not to indict an NYPD officer, whose choke-hold on Eric Garner, an unarmed black man, lead to the death of the latter. The protesters, who were just blocks away, tried to crash the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree lighting show. However, officers present at the premises were able to stop them. Other acts who also performed at the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree lighting ceremony in Manhattan includes, Lady Gaga, Tony Bennett, Cyndi Lauper, Sara Bareilles, Seth MacFarlane and Idina Menzel.