Following the success of her 1994 hit, “All I Want for Christmas Is You,” Mariah Carey took upon herself the title of — “Queen of Christmas.”
How exactly did she acquire the supreme title?
How Mariah Carey became the ‘Queen of Christmas’
E News reported that since her album, “Merry Christmas” was released 25 years ago, Carey’s track “All I Want for Christmas is You,” has reentered the Billboard Hot 100 chart every year.
“20 years ago, Christmas music and Christmas albums by artists weren’t the big deal that they are today,” co-writer on “Merry Christmas,” Walter Adanasieff said.
Adanasieff attributes her success and her title as the Christmas queen to her pioneering efforts in making a pop Christmas album.
The New York Post reported that Carey didn’t even want to record the album originally due to the fact that no young music artists were producing Christmas albums at the time.
“Back then, you didn’t have a lot of artists with Christmas albums; It wasn’t a known science at all back then, and there was nobody who did new, big Christmas songs,” Adanasieff said.
As the album gained popularity, Carey’s hit song “All I Want for Christmas is You,” topped the Billboard Holiday 100 chart every year. The popularity of the Christmas song led Carey to be dubbed with the title of “Queen of Christmas,” according to Vibe. Carey went on to file a trademark for the nickname in March 2021 without the public knowing until July 12, 2022.
How much royalty does Mariah Carey make every Christmas?
Celebrity Net Worth reported that Carey earns anywhere between $600,000 to $1 million each December from royalties her Christmas songs bring in.
Between 1994 and 2016, Carey made a total of $60 million for just the single hit, “All I Want for Christmas is You” according to Digital Music News. This would average Carey about $2.6 million a year in revenue for her hit song.
Though Carey has been viewed as a Christmas icon by many, there are other artists who believe that she does not deserve the title as the “Queen of Christmas.”
People against Mariah Carey’s title
Vibe reported that while Carey gave herself the reigning title, other Christmas song artists began to speak out against this motion.
Elizabeth Chan, singer of the popular track “Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)” on her album “Queen of Christmas,” explained her distain for the title Carey holds.
“Christmas has come way before any of us on earth, and hopefully will be around way after any of us on earth. And I feel very strongly that no one person should hold onto anything around Christmas or monopolize it in the way that Mariah seeks to in perpetuity,” Chan said.
Variety reported that along with Chan, Darlene Love questioned Carey’s actions as she pointed out that David Letterman pronounced the title upon Love 29 years ago before Carey had released her hit Christmas song.
Despite Love’s association to Christmas, Chan said that Christmas is not something that a person can claim ownership or a title over.
“That’s just not the right thing to do. Christmas is for everyone. It’s meant to be shared; it’s not meant to be owned,” Chan said.