Mariah Carey Sang "Volare" at the Winter Olympics — Here's What the Word Means in Italian

At the opening ceremony of the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan, the crowd was treated to Mariah Carey's rendition of Domenico Modugno’s iconic 1958 song "Nel blu, dipinto di blu," also known as "Volare."

The one-of-a-kind singer hit extremely high notes, but received criticism from some folks online after her performance. Her cover of the popular Italian song caused many Americans to wonder what the word "Volare" means in Italian. Here's what we know.

Volare is a complex verb that means "to fly." It can also mean "to go by quickly," or to fly as in "to fly a kite," according to the Collins Dictionary.

"Volar via" means to blow away, fly away, or fly off, and "volare gi" means to fall.

Think Italian notes that Volare often metaphorically refers to dreams and ambitions, in phrases like "volare alto," meaning to aim high.

The phrase brings to mind Domenico Modugno's song "Nel blu, dipinto di blu," which Mariah sang in Milan.

Although Mariah garnered praise for her ability to hit high notes, many viewers questioned whether she was really singing live, saying that her lip movements don't always match up with the audio.

The camera also pans out often to show the scale of Mariah compared to the large stage and the audience.

Reporters reached out to the Olympic Committee to get answers about the performance, per NBC 4 New York. The director of the show, Maria Laura Iascone, said that there had been a pre-recording before the show, but she didn't confirm whether or not Mariah sang live, according to The Guardian.

She said, "During all the ceremonies, in order to be on the safe side, we always record ... But this is something that is practised internationally in events with high-level broadcasting."

She later said that Mariah's performance was "extraordinary" and that she was "satisfied by the results we had."

Mariah was not paid for her performance, which is most often the case for celebrities who perform in the opening ceremonies.

On Rolling Stone's Instagram post about Mariah's performance, fans shared their opinions. Many praised Mariah's star power and icon status, while others questioned the authenticity of her singing.

The comment, "Uhm, are we going to PRETEND that this was live?" received over 1,500 likes and almost 100 comments.

Some fans love Mariah so much that they don't really care whether she was singing live or not.

One fan, @_acirsramos, wrote, "She is just lip syncing, it is not Christmas. We love you anyways Queen."

@tommaso.ciancotti wrote, "Lmao she’s iconic, but she’s been lip syncing for almost a decade now," with a laughing emoji.

@callumaevans defended the Queen of Christmas by saying, "Mariah has proven herself for 30+ years. I don’t care if it’s not live. Legend."

@noomane__mrf stood up for the singer as well. They wrote: "People obsessed with screaming playback usually have painfully empty lives. When you have nothing going on, nitpicking a legend is the closest thing you’ll ever get to feeling relevant. Anyway, she’s incredible."