Mariah Carey wasted no time in announcing the start of the holiday season, describing the transition from Halloween to Christmas in a video posted to her social media accounts at midnight on November 1, performing her annual hit “All I Want for Christmas Is “You”.
Key data
The minute-long video shows Carey as Morticia Addams from “The Addams Family” dancing with a man dressed as Gomez Addams in a gloomy haunted house, but Carey quickly throws a dagger in his face before opening a closet, which Contains a red Santa Claus suit.
The video shows the calendar transition from late October to early November, after which Carey sings “It’s time” in whistling tones while sitting on a sleigh as “All I Want for Christmas Is You” begins to play.
Carey had already hinted at her statement about the Christmas season, including in a video she posted on Monday in which she prepares to sing “All I Want for Christmas Is You,” but is interrupted by Kerry Washington, with whom she urges viewers to make a plan to vote.
The singer also previously released an updated cover for her holiday album, “Merry Christmas,” which celebrates its 30th anniversary this year, for which Carey is selling physical albums and reissued singles.
Carey’s announcement has already propelled “All I Want for Christmas Is You” up the US iTunes chart: It currently sits at No. 44, an early indicator of its annual rise up the charts.
Key background
Carey’s Christmas music enjoys a resurgence in popularity each year, annually topping the charts with her signature holiday hit, “All I Want for Christmas Is You.” Carey has broken several chart records with her Christmas music: “All I Want for Christmas Is You” is the only song to reach number one on the Hot 100 in five consecutive calendar years (between 2019 and 2023), and it is the first Christmas song to have surpassed one billion streams on Spotify. The song is also an annual marketing opportunity and source of income for Carey, who promotes her Christmas music on social media every year and has embarked on holiday concert tours. The Associated Press, citing an anonymous expert, reported last year that the song could soon surpass $100 million in total royalty earnings. Billboard estimated last year that the song generated $8.5 million in global revenue and publishing royalties, of which it estimated Carey pocketed $1.86 million in royalties and another unknown sum based on her share as a songwriter.
What to take into account
How many weeks can “All I Want for Christmas Is You” stay atop the Billboard Hot 100 this holiday season, and will it further cement itself as one of the Hot 100’s longest-running No. 1 hits of all time? The song has led the chart for 14 weeks in total after hitting number one for the first time in 2019, and has topped the chart every holiday season since. Carey needs two more weeks at number one to tie her own hit, “One Sweet Day,” as well as Morgan Wallen’s “Last Night” and Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee’s “Despacito” for the second-longest-running number one hit, with 16 weeks in total at number one. The longest reign at number one is 19 weeks, a record held by Lil Nas Christmas Tree,” which topped the Hot 100 for the first time last year for two weeks.
Surprising fact
Carey attempted to trademark the title “Queen of Christmas” in 2022 to market a range of products, but the Trial Trademark and Appeal Board rejected her application. Carey faced a legal challenge from Elizabeth Chan, a singer who exclusively releases Christmas music, who filed a motion opposing Carey’s trademark application.
This article was originally published on Forbes US.
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