Mariah Carey’s loyal “lambs” got to see her collaborate with a Lyon on “Empire” Wednesday night.
In the episode, the legendary singer, naturally, played a legendary singer named was Kitty. (No relation to Boo-Boo Kitty.) She was brought into the Lyons’ orbit when Cookie (Taraji P. Henson) recruited her for a duet with a spiraling Jamal (Jussie Smollett), who is still struggling with post-traumatic stress stemming from a shooting that left him injured and addicted to pain pills.
At first Jamal turned down the opportunity to duet with Kitty and almost flamed out once he actually got into the studio. Luckily, he was able to pull it together to produce a song best described by a series of flame emoji.
Carey appeared in only two scenes in the episode, but she still found a way to stay on brand. An example: Carey wore a leotard and tights for her on-screen studio session.
Fans had been anticipating Carey’s appearance on “Empire” for a long time now. Fox officially announced her guest spot in August, but creator Lee Daniels had been pursuing the songstress for about a year.
“Empire” airs Wednesdays on Fox.