Mariah Carey, the undisputed Queen of Christmas, has pulled off a masterful gambit to jump-start the holiday season two days into October by casually claiming it's definitely way too early to start the holiday season.
The singer posted a short video on social media this morning that showed her lounging in a private jet and preparing for takeoff when the unmistakable opening notes of "All I Want for Christmas Is You" started playing. The pilot then hops on the PA to say, "This is your captain speaking - welcome aboard, Mariah. We are headed to the North Pole."
After the requisite record scratch, Carey calls back, "Not yet! Sorry." Then, as a sly aside: "They always rush me."
In recent years, Carey has tended to wait at least one month longer to make her seasonal Christmas decree, usually posting some cheeky visual promptly on November 1, the day after Halloween. In last year's clip, for instance, a bunch of costumed ghouls and ghosts helped thaw her out of an ice block, which she eventually shattered completely with one of her whistle notes. And in 2019, she marked November 1 by dropping a new video for "All I Want for Christmas Is You" featuring unreleased footage from the original video.
(Though, one could argue that Carey technically kicked off the yuletide season this year in August when she announced the dates for her 2024 holiday tour.)
One of Carey's merriest November 1's occurred in 2022: Accompanying her "'tis the season" proclamation was the news that two songwriters - Andy Stone and Troy Powers - had dropped a lawsuit claiming "All I Want for Christmas" infringed upon their own 1989 tune of the same name, released under the name Vince Vance and the Valiants. Exactly one year later, though, on November 1, 2023, Stone brought the lawsuit again, claiming that attempts to settle the case with Carey, her co-writer Walter Afanasieff, and Sony Music ended without a resolution.
It's likely the ongoing dispute will get another timely development this year. In an August filing, Carey moved for a summary judgment in the case based on an expert evaluation that claims her 1994 song shares "no substantial similarity" with any projectable elements of the 1989 tune. A hearing on the matter is scheduled for October 31.
(Rolling Stone)
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