How Mariah Carey's ‘All I Want for Christmas is You’ became the face of Christmas
The temperatures are dipping and the luminous lights are being hung up, yet, nothing confirms the arrival of the festive season quite like the reemergence of Mariah Carey’s holiday classic: “All I want for Christmas is You”. A little over 30 years since its debut, the song has been unrivaled among its peers, becoming the face of Christmas in the process.
The festive track, co-written with her longtime collaborator, Walter Afanasieff, has consistently dominated the holiday music charts since it made its debut in 1994. Beyond chart success, the song has cemented itself as the quintessential modern Christmas theme, reinforcing Carey’s status as a music icon.
Vocals and Harmonies
There are multiple factors that contribute to the song’s popularity, with the most obvious being the powerhouse vocals behind the festive harmonies. However, the song did not adhere to conventional holiday music and sounds of the time.
“My first reaction was, ‘That sounds like someone doing voice scales,’” Afanasieff said. “Are you sure that’s what you want?” (Lang, 2019)
Yet despite this, Carey kept the song true to her vision, inadvertently creating a timeless piece.
The harmonies also contributed to the song’s success, with Slate reporting that the song’s ability to put you in a festive mood is due to its dulcet harmony, containing chords which they dubbed “the most Christmassy chord of all”, which are also found in songs like Irving Berlin’s classic “White Christmas” (Ragusea, 2015)
Songwriting Genius
The third reason attests to Carey’s ability as a songwriter: turning a holiday song into one with love and romance.
“It’s not a religious song,” says Andrew Mall, assistant professor of music at Northeastern University. “She talks about Christmas, but no religious beliefs. It’s actually a love song.”
By combining the festive images of Santa and presents with the universal subjects of love and romance, Carey is able to reach a much wider demographic – with themes that everyone could identify with.
As the festive season approaches and Mariah Carey jokingly announces the “defrosting” of her holiday classic, “All I want for Christmas is You” continues to reign as the definitive anthem of modern Christmas – and one to hold the throne for years to come.
