Unwrap the magic behind Mariah Carey's holiday hit! We're diving into the most surprising facts about "All I Want for Christmas Is You." From its humble beginnings to record-breaking success, this festive favorite has a story as captivating as its melody. Get ready for some yuletide trivia that'll make you see this Christmas classic in a whole new light!
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00:00Welcome to Ms. Mojo and today we're counting down our picks for the wildest bits of trivia
00:11about Mariah Carey's iconic holiday hit.
00:13As a songwriter that's all you can hope is to be a part of people's lives and for people
00:18to sing along with the music that you make.
00:22Number 10.
00:23Mariah Carey co-wrote the song in 15 minutes.
00:26When the idea of a Christmas album was first brought up, Mariah Carey was actually against
00:31it.
00:32Yes, the Queen of Christmas thought it might be a bad idea.
00:43By this time, Carey and co-writer and producer Walter Afanasyev had been working together
00:48for years.
00:49Their working relationship was such that All I Want for Christmas is You was largely composed
00:53in only 15 minutes.
01:10That's not much of a time investment for years of chart success, although the making of the
01:14song would later become controversial, as Afanasyev felt Carey was erasing his contributions
01:19to the track.
01:20The two are, however, listed as co-writers on all three of the album's original tracks.
01:40Number 9.
01:41The lyrics are inspired by Carey's childhood.
01:52Even before her 2020 memoir, The Meaning of Mariah Carey, the singer-songwriter alluded
01:57to a childhood that was less than ideal.
01:59Her mother's often dire financial struggles meant the family had to get creative about
02:03how they spent their holidays and how gifts were handled.
02:06I couldn't remember a specific gift, but my mother always made things really nice for
02:11me at the holidays.
02:12Even like if we didn't have a lot of money or a lot of, you know, things like that, she
02:16would wrap up like hundreds of little gifts and write like from the cats or from the dogs,
02:19you know, she would make it really fun and festive.
02:22Carey credits these early experiences to her lasting commitment to make the Christmas season
02:26meaningful.
02:27There are sentiments that can be heard in All I Want for Christmas is You, where the
02:31lyrics reject the material possessions of the holidays, instead emphasizing the importance
02:35of love and emotional connection.
02:38I know nothing's perfect, but I mean, just to give from your soul and give to someone
02:43else where we're all just coming together and enjoying being together.
02:50Number 8.
02:51There was a lawsuit over the title.
02:58In 2022, Mariah Carey was implicated in a copyright lawsuit over her Christmas anthem.
03:03A songwriter named Andy Stone, known by the stage name Vince Vance, came forward with
03:07claims that Carey had stolen his track, also called All I Want for Christmas is You.
03:12I had a song for four years as a very big hit, and she said she didn't hear it and all
03:19this stuff, and that she just happened to come out with her song, and it really hurt
03:23my feelings.
03:24Stone's song, credited to Vince Vance and the Valiants, is a beloved country single
03:28first released in 1989.
03:31In the lawsuit, he was asking for $20 million in compensation.
03:44Given that the only thing remotely similar between them is the title, the news was met
03:47with skepticism by many.
03:49Stone withdrew the lawsuit, only to refile it later.
03:53All right, so Vince, let me just ask you this real quickly.
03:56This is a long time ago, and just every time people would try to buy my song, they would
04:02try to block that and send them to their song.
04:05Number 7.
04:06Mariah Carey decorated the studio for the recording.
04:08Okay, like this is a lot for me, and I'm gonna be honest, Mariah, I'm not feeling real festive
04:13this year.
04:14Even in all of this.
04:16All I Want for Christmas is You may just be the song to put you in the Christmas mood,
04:20but it was recorded during a not-so-festive time of the year.
04:24The track was actually laid down in August 1994 at New York's famed Hit Factory.
04:29Every time, you know, Christmas rolls around, I get ideas for different Christmas songs,
04:33and I've been kind of pushing them aside and pushing them aside, and last year I just decided
04:37to do it.
04:38Mariah Carey stomped into the recording studio and said, it's time.
04:42We think that's how it went anyway.
04:44But we're not gonna do the whistle note.
04:46To counteract the summer heat and put everyone in the spirit of the season, Carey decorated
04:50the studio with trees, ornaments, and candles.
04:53It wasn't Christmastime, but I was like, we're gonna get into that vibe.
04:56The studio looked like Christmas.
04:58The temperature was cold, there were like ornaments, Christmas trees.
05:02Well, the warmth and joy of the season definitely shines through in the track, so we guess it
05:07worked.
05:08Number six, there are no live instruments on the song.
05:17With its unforgettable percussion and energetic keyboards, All I Want for Christmas is You
05:21is one of those songs that's easy to identify before the lyrics even start.
05:26Inspired by the sounds of 1960s Christmas songs, particularly the rock-centric ones
05:30by Phil Spector, the uptempo holiday tune has an instrumental track to match its singer's
05:35full sound.
05:36So keeping that tradition and then the oversimplified melody, I guess, because it was that, made
05:42it so easily palatable for the whole world to go, oh, yeah, I can't get that out of my
05:48head.
05:49Unsurprisingly, none of that was recorded live.
05:52While prepping for the recording, co-writer, arranger, and producer Walter Afanasyev programmed
05:57all the instrumental parts himself, a technique typical of his production style at the time.
06:02So when the whole thing starts, the little bell thing, that's, you know, me, and then
06:06it goes into the programmed piano, and then it goes into the, you know, it's all programmed,
06:11it's all computers.
06:12The only thing that was actually recorded in the studio was Mariah Carey's natural instrument
06:16and the backing vocals.
06:185.
06:19There are several official music videos for the original track.
06:23Released in 1994, the now-iconic music video depicts Carey styled in retro, 60s-inspired
06:29looks and grainy footage that's designed for maximum nostalgia factor.
06:33Around the same time, Carey appeared in an alternate video clearly influenced by girl
06:37groups of the 1960s.
06:39Oh, I don't want a lot for Christmas, this is all I'm asking for.
06:46She sings on a stylized set, photographed in black and white.
06:49Both of the videos were directed by the artist herself.
06:52Oh, what can I do, oh baby, all I want for Christmas is you.
07:00Two more videos were released for the song's 25th anniversary in 2019.
07:04The first is a re-cut of the original, with previously unseen footage.
07:08The second is a brand-new, star-studded, high-budget extravaganza that takes place in a winter
07:14wonderland.
07:15We have two Mimi's and one Cha-Cha.
07:19Number four, the song was banned.
07:22It's probably fair to say that a Texas bar did not expect to go viral for their disdain
07:26of the popular Christmas song.
07:28You could also probably assume they'd never expect the jingle's singer and co-writer to
07:32find out about it.
07:47But that's exactly what happened in 2021, when a sign on a bar jukebox announced that
07:52they were refusing to play All I Want for Christmas is You before December 1st.
07:57After that, it could only be played one time a night.
08:05Mariah Carey had the perfect response.
08:08While, yes, if the song comes on a hundred times at your workplace, it's probably not
08:12your favorite.
08:13But hating a Christmas classic?
08:15That's so not festive.
08:22Number three, the song inspired a children's book and an animated movie.
08:34In 2015, Carey put out a children's picture book titled after her iconic track.
08:38A young girl, based on her kid self, only wants one thing for Christmas, a puppy.
08:43Two years later, an animated movie, narrated by Carey, was released straight to video.
09:01As a movie, it doesn't necessarily reinvent the wheel, but it's really not a bad children's
09:06tale.
09:07Featuring the voices of Lacey Chabert and Henry Winkler, the screen adaptation is also
09:11a treat for diehard fans of the song, the singer, and heartwarming holiday stories.
09:24Number two, the song has earned so much money.
09:39There's no denying it, All I Want for Christmas is You is hugely successful, and everyone
09:44with a stake in it has made a pretty penny over the last 30 years.
09:48It's been sold, streamed, covered, and, of course, licensed for movies and TV.
10:02Although it's hard to pin down a real number, a 2017 report in The Economist said that it
10:07had made $60 million since its 1994 release.
10:11However, it's only grown even more in popularity since then.
10:15A 2023 report surmised that it's earned around $100 million in royalties over the years.
10:21Whatever the number is, there's one thing that's for certain, it's big, and only getting
10:26bigger.
10:49Number one, the song didn't hit number one on the Billboard Hot 100 until 2019.
10:55It's really hard for me to talk about All I Want for Christmas and say, oh, it's got
11:00this achievement and that achievement, because it's the first Christmas song that I wrote,
11:05and then it really kind of took a long time to get to the place where it is today.
11:11That's right, it took 25 years for All I Want for Christmas is You to be a bona fide number
11:15one hit on the Billboard Hot 100.
11:17With its 1994 release and its 2019 placement, it broke the record for a single's longest
11:23journey to the number one spot.
11:31Along with that milestone, it was also the first Christmas song to top the chart since
11:35the Chipmunk Song in 1958.
11:37It earned yet another accolade when it was still on the charts as of the new year in
11:422020.
11:43This made it the last number one hit of the 2010s and the first of the 2020s.
11:47In 2020, Carey was presented with three Guinness World Records for the song, which continues
11:52to dominate the holiday season and shows no signs of stopping.
12:01Do you listen to this song even when it's not Christmas time?
12:05Let us know in the comments.