Mariah Carey was left squirming with embarrassment in front of thousands of fans and a live TV audience of millions on Friday morning, when a backing track failed during a performance.

The R+b star was giving a performance on U.s. show Good Morning America, but the music started too soon, before Carey was ready to begin her rendition of Touch My Body in New York City's Times Square.

Carey turned away and regained her composure before joining the song and beginning her descent down a staircase onto the stage.

Her problems mounted as the track continued to skip and repeated the first few lines of the song over and over again.

But, in true superstar fashion, Carey finished the song with style and afterwards grinned, telling the crowd and TV audience, "A little creative. I try to bring something new to the moment every time."

The TV appearance began a day of celebrations for the star, whose new album E=mc2 landed the top spot in the Billboard chart.

Later on Friday, Carey flicked a switch on the Empire State Building's famous lights to illuminate them with her favourite colours lavender, pink and white.