Although many people made digs at Barry Manilow's appearance during the 2023 Rockefeller Christmas tree lighting, others praised his performances, as he sang "All I Want For Christmas is You" and "Because It's Christmas." One X user shared, "Barry Manilow is EIGHTY. Performing live at the tree lighting in NYC. Love that!" Another fan shared a snippet of his "All I Want For Christmas is You" performance and remarked, "Mom's favorite artist ever is still rocking and rolling! She would have loved this!"

Another devoted fan wrote, "Love Barry! That's why I'm a Fanilow. He represents beautiful writing and performance. Still delivering at 80!" Others defended him against the plastic surgery critics, with one person mentioning that he's at the same caliber of talent as he was in the '70s. On all the quips about Botox and surgery, they added, "It's hard enough to age without having to do it in front of the world."

Manilow is not the first musical guest at a Rockefeller tree lighting to cause a stir online. Gwen Stefani's Christmas tree lighting outfit in 2020 turned heads, garnering negative and positive reactions.