“I don’t want a lot for Christmas.”
I’ll put money down that most people, with at least an ounce of holiday cheer — regardless of what you celebrate — read that in their head to the tune of the classic holiday track, “All I Want for Christmas Is You” by Mariah Carey.
First released in 1994 as a part of her holiday album aptly titled “Merry Christmas,” “All I Want for Christmas Is You” has defined the Christmas season for the past three decades.
Her whistle tone signals the holiday season just as much as jingle bells. Her riffs just as much as Santa Claus’ iconic “ho ho ho.” Her belting just as much as any holiday church choir.
Nowadays, the classic tune kickstarts the most wonderful time of year.
“She’s defrosting” posts flood all social media platforms, from TikTok to Reddit, signaling that Carey (in her most recognizable form) will soon emerge from her three-season hibernation to commence holiday festivities for all.
These posts often feature her iconic track looming in the background, with something like Mariah in Christmas garb emerging from an ice cube or an innocent bystander as soon as the weather gets cold. Leading up to Nov. 1, the unofficial start of the holiday season, extra festive users will create posts around this trend, saying farewell to Halloween and welcoming Christmas before Thanksgiving has even happened.
Boasting over 1.8 billion streams on Spotify, “All I Want for Christmas Is You” is the five-time Grammy Award winner’s most played song by far. This feat should come as no surprise to most young adults, who may have trouble naming another Mariah Carey song.
(If you thought of “Obsessed,” you likely spent far too much time on TikTok in 2019)
Perhaps this claim grossly discredits Carey’s decades-long career as one of the best-selling female solo artists of all time. However, she hasn’t dropped a new non-Christmas album since 2018 and the mainstream music industry has shifted away from the R&B genre which she once dominated, once record executives deemed it less profitable than hip hop and rap.
Given this transition, it’s no surprise that a song as iconic as “All I Want for Christmas Is You” has defined Carey’s later career. According to The Economist, she has earned an average of $2.6 million per year in royalties. For one song. And that’s before her holiday concert tour and related brand deals.
So, what’s the point of going through the trouble of writing, recording, producing and marketing all new music if you have one song that is so wildly and dearly adored? I get it, Mariah.
“All I Want for Christmas Is You” is, of course, sonically special, but it’s equally exceptional due to its versatility. Carey’s song charted for the first time in 1995 at No. 6 and has regularly appeared at the top of the Billboard Hot 100 since 2000. Over the past 30 years, the song has spent 67 weeks on the chart, with over 14 weeks in the No. 1 spot.
For this reason, “All I Want for Christmas Is You” has earned the title of “Christmas classic,” often finding itself next to Brenda Lee, Nat King Cole and Bing Crosby on Spotify’s holiday playlists.
The other side of the song’s versatility lies in its adjacency to the pop genre. The upbeat tempo, cheerful instruments and festive vocals paved the way for the rise of Christmas pop in the 2010s and 2020s. In this era, pop stars like Ariana Grande and Sabrina Carpenter have taken after Mariah Carey in crafting their own Christmas albums.
Even Michael Buble, a comparably big name in the Christmas sub-genre, covered “All I Want for Christmas Is You” in 2012. Buble’s balladic take brings a slower, emotionally charged rendition of Carey’s original. More melancholy than jolly, if you ask me, and I much prefer the latter vibe for the holiday season.
Still in that vein, many Christmas songs are borderline homophonous. But that doesn’t draw listeners away. In fact, that may be one of their biggest appeals. Similar to how Christmas movies provide comfort in the plot’s predictability, virtually all Christmas music embodies a wholesome, cheerful spirit.
Most Christmas movies don’t come near groundbreaking cinema, and most Christmas songs won’t receive Grammy recognition. But the nostalgia in their scenes and sounds bring us back to joyous holiday memories of our youth that we can only attempt to recreate in our older years.
And “All I Want for Christmas Is You” epitomizes that sentiment — and has for the past 30 years. Mariah Carey’s genius continues to transcend generations, reminding us of its brilliance each holiday season the moment those opening chimes play.
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Anna Rebello is a Trinity junior and a recess editor of The Chronicle's 119th volume.