abstract
| - %22All I Want for Christmas Is You%22 is a hit song written and produced by American singer and songwriter Mariah Carey and composer Walter Afanasieff. It was released by Columbia Records on November 1, 1994 as the lead single from her first holiday album and fourth studio album, Merry Christmas. %22Christmas%22 is an uptempo love song that includes bell chimes and heavy back-up vocals, as well as use of synthesizers. The song's lyrics declare that the narrator does not care about Christmas presents or lights; all she wants for Christmas is to be with her lover.Two music videos were commissioned for the song, which were both filmed in December 1993. The song's primary music video features grainy home-movie-style footage of Carey, her dogs and family during the holiday season, as well as Carey dressed in a Santa suit frolicking on a snowy mountainside. Carey's then-husband Tommy Mottola makes a cameo appearance as Santa Claus, bringing Carey a gift and leaving on a red sleigh. The second video was filmed in black and white format, and features Carey dressed in 1960s style in homage to The Ronettes, alongside back up singers and female dancers. Carey has performed %22All I Want for Christmas Is You%22 in a slew of live television appearances and tours throughout her career.So So Def Recordings released a remix version in 2000, and a dance mix in 2009. In 2010, Carey re-recorded the song for her second holiday album, Merry Christmas II You, titled %22All I Want for Christmas Is You (Extra Festive)%22. Carey also re-recorded the song as duet with Justin Bieber for his 2011 album Under the Mistletoe, titled %22All I Want for Christmas for You (SuperFestive!)%22. The song has also been covered by many artists over the years, including Shania Twain, Ariana Grande, My Chemical Romance, Lady Antebellum, Michael Bublé, Miley Cyrus, Cee Lo Green, John Mayer, Idina Menzel, Atomic Tom, Miranda Cosgrove with Big Time Rush, Demi Lovato and Fifth Harmony.In the years since its original release, %22All I Want for Christmas Is You%22 has become established as a Christmas standard; it was once called %22one of the few worthy modern additions to the holiday canon%22 in The New Yorker, and continues to surge in popularity each holiday season. The song was commercially successful, reaching the number-two position on the singles charts of Australia, Japan, the Netherlands, Norway, and the United Kingdom, and the top 10 in several other countries. The Daily Telegraph hailed %22All I Want for Christmas Is You%22 as the most popular and most played Christmas song of the decade in the United Kingdom. Rolling Stone ranked it fourth on its Greatest Rock and Roll Christmas Songs list, calling it a %22holiday standard.%22 With global sales of over 14 million copies, the song remains Carey's biggest international hit and one of the best-selling singles of all time.As of 2013 the song was reported to have earned $50 million in royalties.
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