Mariah Carey skips The Star premiere due to illness

Mariah Carey had to cancel a planned appearance at the Los Angeles premiere of animated movie The Star on Sunday (12Nov17) after she was struck down with stomach flu.

The superstar, who recorded the title song for the festive film's soundtrack, had reportedly been expected to play a big role at the red carpet bash at the Regency Village Theater in Westwood, but her representatives alerted studio executives at Sony that she would no longer be attending on Friday (10Nov17).

Her spokesperson tells TheBlast.com Mariah had fallen ill and was still recovering from an upset stomach over the weekend.

She had previously expressed her excitement about her involvement in the nativity-themed movie, which follows the adventures of a donkey named Bo as he becomes an unlikely hero during the first Christmas, and even recruited her six-year-old twins Monroe and Moroccan to show off their vocal talents on her new holiday tune.

Mariah shared a clip of her song The Star on Instagram last month (Oct17), when her kids could be heard harmonizing along with a children's choir to the words, "Follow your heart, it's Christmas," before their mother sings, "Follow that star above you/Should the world try to break you down/There is one who waits for you/Though you can't see him now/Thunder and rain surrounds you/But His love's just a breath away."

She also teased the children's involvement when she posted a picture on social media of the three of them in their pajamas, captioning it: "Hanging with my two best friends, listening to their guest appearance on #TheStar".

The movie features the voices of actors including Steven Yeun, Kristin Chenoweth, Zachary Levi, Gina Rodriguez, Tyler Perry, Keegan-Michael Key, and Ving Rhames, while musicians Zara Larsson, Pentatonix, and Fifth Harmony also contribute to the soundtrack.