With Halloween behind us, the festive season inches closer, at least that is the case for music lovers. November 1st means it’s time to get in the mood for the Yuletide season and one song does the magic each year is “All I Want For Christmas Is You” by Mariah Carey,
On Sunday night, Carey posted a 26-second video to her Instagram page donning a sparkling red dress, and holding a candy cane shaped batten which she used to destroy a carved pumpkin with “not” written on it. That pumpkin was sandwiched between two others which read, “it’s” and “time.”
By the end of the video, her mega-hit “All I Want For Christmas Is You” can be heard along with her saying, “It’s time” and hinting at a special announcement on November 5.
“All I Want For Christmas Is You” is one of the most popular Christmas songs around the world each year, and it has already re-entered the top 200 on the US iTunes Chart. People love every part of that song and Christmas is undoubtedly Mariah season each year because of this song.
The song which was originally released in 1994 and is co-written and produced by Carey with Walter Afanasieff as part of her fourth studio album and first holiday album “Merry Christmas”.
Mariah Told Billboard that she was the one who wrote the song four years ago when the song reached top ten on the hot 100 chart for the first time.
She said, “As a songwriter, I feel so honored to have this song reach Billboard’s [Hot 100] top 10 for the first time. I honestly never thought we’d be talking about this happening, but I’m so thankful to everyone who embraces this song as part of their holiday tradition.”
“I am proud of this song that I wrote basically as a kid on my little Casio keyboard,” She continued.
In her December 2019 Amazon Documentary, Mariah Carey is Christmas: The Story of ‘All I Want for Christmas is You’ she held on to the same narrative as solo writer.
She said it was the record company’s idea to release a Christmas album and as she reluctantly quieted her songwriters grinch she began getting in the Christmas mood.
In the documentary she admits to not being a great piano player, and the melody was more serendipity: “That part is something I’ll always remember, just the quietness of being there in that room and playing and writing and changing a Christmas song into a love song […] and kind of making it all one thing.”
Even though the song was not recorded during the Christmas season, Mariah said she decorated the studio to match the festive mood and started exploring how she could make the song last for a long time.
“When I got into the studio with Walter A, we came up with a-lot of different ideas to make it feel like a classic. I wanted “All I Wanted For Christmas Is You” to feel like something I could have grow up listening to”.
In her Best Selling book “The Meaning of Mariah Carey” she writes:
“It was from my little girl’s spirit and those early fantasies of family, and friendship, that I wrote ‘All I Want for Christmas Is You”.
Think of how it begins: ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding … the delicate chimes are reminiscent of those little wooden toy pianos, like the one Schroeder had on Peanuts.”
However, her co-writer Walter Afanasieff, who holds credit and 50% royalty thinks Carey doesn’t gives him credit publicly for “All I Want For Christmas Is You”.
“All I Want For Christmas Is You” co-writer Walter Afanasieff says @MariahCarey has tried to erase him from the song's history:
“We wrote the song together, my name is 50%, her name is 50%… She came up with some crazy, crazy story… that she wrote [it] when she was a kid.” pic.twitter.com/fOCJlgj6Ti
— Pop Crave (@PopCrave) December 20, 2018
The legendary songwriter who has also written songs for Whitney Houston, Celine Dione and Barbara Streisand also said Mariah turns down every request to license the song even after he has said yes. Per Radio TImes
Last year during an interview on Quest Love Supreme podcast with legendary drummer Quest Love, Mariah said among other things, that, “Walter was a great writing partner”.
“All I Want For Christmas Is You” took a record 25 years between its release and reaching No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and is the first holiday record to top that storied chart since “The Chipmunk Song (Christmas Don’t Be Late).”
It has since topped various musical charts in 26 countries including France, Australia, Germany and Canada. It topped the Billboard Hot 100 in 2019 and 2020. As of 2017, it reportedly amassed $60 million in royalties.
Watch: All I Want For Christmas Is You on YouTube
