Mariah Carey’s Magical Christmas Special is right around the corner, and the Queen of Christmas is gearing for what this season holds. As always, she will be bringing on the magic that comes with her evergreen song, “All I Want For Christmas Is You.”
It is safe to say that the one other face that comes to mind when Christmas is mentioned is the Queen of Christmas herself, Mariah Carey. She takes second place to Santa, who is an all-time favorite.
It all started with a Christmas album that is over two decades old. However, “All I Want For Christmas Is You” stands out magnificently year in year out. Here’s all to know about the magical song that has endured through time.
How “All I Want For Christmas Is You” Came To Be
Last year, Mariah Carey shared the awe-inspiring story behind how her 1994 Christmas album came to be. She told Times that in the early years of her career, her label owner thought it would be perfect to do a holiday music project.
Carey described her decision to make the album as “kind of an accident” because she was unsure about doing it. She thought it was too early to do a holiday album, noting it was like she was “jumping the gun.”
“All I Want For Christmas Is You” is the first Christmas song the “Always Be My Baby” crooner wrote; she co-wrote it with Walter Afanasieff. It is little wonder that the song turned out to be this great.
This is because Afanasieff was Carey’s ally and helped with some of her great songs like “Hero” and “My All.” However, the star added that the style with which they wrote her Christmas hit track was different from her other bops.
The mom-of-two recalled: “I started by sitting at the piano and plucking out notes. That’s not typical — usually, I’ll sing a melody to a piano player, and they’ll play the chords that I’m hearing. But in this case, I was just sitting there, coming up with this melody, in a dark house with a Christmas tree….”
Carey shared that she was not exceptionally good with the piano, but she had been lucky a few times, and making “All I Want for Christmas Is You” was one of those times. The A-lister shared that she could not fathom how she got the rhythm, before adding that it was “a gift.”
A Festive Anthem
When Mariah Carey made her chart-topping song, she wanted it to be a lasting piece. She noted that she didn’t want it to be a 90s song but rather have “a different feel,” which transcends through time.
When the “Merry Christmas” album dropped in 1994, it was a huge success, as many envisioned. It peaked at No.3 on the Billboard 200 chart. However, “All I Want For Christmas Is You” was the one track from the album that endured.
Year in year out, it came back every December topping radio playlists and the world’s festive playlist as a whole. In 2019, 25 years after its release, the song bagged an impressive No.1 spot on Hot 100.
This year, the iconic track became the first song to be a hit in three decades. It has also earned Carey three Guinness World Records.
It is the highest-charting holiday song on the Billboard Hot 100 by a solo artist, and the most streamed song on Spotify in 24 hours.
The huge success of the song spawned an animated series that Mariah starred in. There was also a children’s book adaptation in 2015. “All I Want For Christmas Is You” is so accepted that it has three music videos.
The Financial Success That Follows The Song
In 2018, “All I Want for Christmas Is You” grossed a whopping $60 million since its release. There is no definite figure for Carey’s profit from the song, but her UK earnings are approximate 380,000 pounds per year.
This quells much doubt that Mariah gets paid yearly for her perennial song. She is the recipient of thousands of dollars from different streaming apps like Spotify for every time listeners play the song on the platform.
Mariah Carey’s 2021 Christmas
The 21-time Billboard Awards winner currently has plans underway for her fans and Christmas lovers worldwide. Just like past times, Mariah Carey’s magical Christmas special will hit the airwaves.
There’s been a recent announcement of her “Mariah’s Christmas: The Magic Continues” set to VR released in December on Apple TV+. The special is an off-shoot of her Christmas special from 2020.
Mariah Carey’s 2021 special will also include a new festive song, “Fall in love at Christmas,” which featured fellow singers, Khalid and Kirk Franklin.