Mariah Carey has taken legal action against the promoters of her cancelled shows.

The 'Hero' hitmaker was set to perform in Chile and Argentina last year but has claimed she was forced to axe the gigs in South America due to late payments from FEG Entretenimientos and now she wants the firm to cough up for her the fees in total because they've allegedly breached the contract they agreed on.

However, the bitter legal battle is set to get sticky as FEG have fired back at the singer and accused her of harming their reputation by not performing.

According to the Toronto Sun, her legal representative wrote: ''In the music industry everyone knows the familiar story of the deceitful promoter that promises to pay and fails to deliver.

''This lawsuit filed in part not only to confirm the multiple breaches of the contracts by FEG ... but to warn the artistic community not to trust any promises from FEG.''

According to the court papers, FEG had agreed to pay a fee to the pop superstar in installments but Mariah's management pulled the shows because no payments had been made near to the time of the shows in October.

The 46-year-old beauty has also claimed that she lost other business opportunities because she had committed herself to the performances in South America.