Because I don’t mind dating myself from time to time, I will tell you I have been listening to Mariah Carey’s “All I want for Christmas Is You” holiday juggernaut since it first came out, way back when I was a young girl in middle school.
That year, possibly more than any other subsequent year, Mariah Carey’s song, and its corresponding music video, were quite literally everywhere! I still remember dancing with my middle school boyfriend to the song during our school’s Christmas dance.
Fast forward 31 years into the future, and Mariah Carey’s song was announced to be spending an unheard of 20 weeks at the coveted number one spot on Billboard’s Hot 100. The accomplishment, reached this past week, secures the song’s place at the top and distinguishes it from other inferior songs, Christmas themed or otherwise, with the now official title of longest-running No. 1 song in Billboard chart history.
Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas Is You” tied Shaboozey’s “A Bar Song (Tipsy)” and Lil Nas X’s “Old Town Road” last week, outlasting both to take the title. Previously Lil Nas X knocked Carey from her pedestal when his “Old Town Road” overtook her collaboration “One Sweet Day” with Boyz to Men, so it seems only fitting for Carey to now return the favor.
First released in 1994, the song is off Carey’s “Merry Christmas” album, from the same year, and the song itself has sold more than 50 million copies worldwide. The holiday jingle is certified 18 times platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America [RIAA].
Due to the song’s undisputed success, Carey’s “Merry Christmas” album was acclaimed by the RIAA to be Diamond status, the third album of Carey’s to be declared so by the RIAA. Diamond status means the album sold over 10 million units.
Despite its admiration, the song didn’t top the Billboard Hot 100 until December 2019, when a chart update allowed recurrent songs to enter.
While America, and the world, may be collectively getting sick of this holiday earworm, I think we all can admit it is hands down one of the best Christmas songs of all time. Every year our ears are treated to another celebrity’s holiday inspired “hit,” yet no one has caught the lightning in a bottle that Carey has.
Carey’s “Merry Christmas” album isn’t an endless stream of original content either, it is one long holiday party soundtrack with particular focus on the reason for the season, the birth of baby Jesus. Songs like “Hark the Herald Angels Sing,” “Silent Night,” and “Joy to the World,” give way to upbeat auditory treats like “Santa Claus Is Coming to Town,” “God Rest Ye Merry Gentleman,” and “Christmas (Baby, Please Come Home).”
For those hating on “All I Want for Christmas Is You,” I suggest giving the rest of Carey’s “Merry Christmas” album a listen — I think you’ll be glad you did.