All I Want for Christmas Is You

This article is about the Mariah Carey song. For other uses, see All I Want for Christmas Is You (disambiguation).

"All I Want for Christmas Is You"
Carey wearing a Santa suit, while posing in an upright position. She has long brown curly hair, and is smiling. The background imagery is a pastel version of yellow, almost a beige color, with red letters that spell out the song's title.
Single by Mariah Carey
from the album Merry Christmas
B-side
Written1994
ReleasedOctober 29, 1994 (1994-10-29)
RecordedAugust 1994
StudioThe Hit Factory (New York City)
Genre
Length4:01
LabelColumbia
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
  • Walter Afanasieff
  • Mariah Carey
Mariah Carey singles chronology
"Endless Love"
(1994) 		"All I Want for Christmas Is You"
(1994) 		"Miss You Most (At Christmas Time)"
(1994)
Music video
"All I Want for Christmas Is You" on YouTube

"All I Want for Christmas Is You" is a song by American singer-songwriter Mariah Carey from her fourth studio album and first holiday album, Merry Christmas (1994). Written and produced by Carey and Walter Afanasieff, the song was released as the lead single from the album on October 29, 1994, by Columbia Records. The track is an uptempo love song that includes bell chimes, backing vocals, and synthesizers. It has received critical acclaim, with The New Yorker describing it as "one of the few worthy modern additions to the holiday canon".[3] The song has become a Christmas standard, with a significant rise in popularity every December.[4]

The song was a success when first released, reaching number six on the Billboard Hot Adult Contemporary chart in the United States and number two in the United Kingdom and Japan. The advent of music streaming has led to renewed success for the single, which now annually re-enters charts worldwide in the weeks before Christmas and has reached number one in over 30 countries, partially due to it being added to popular seasonal playlists.[5] The single has broken the record for the longest gap between release and reaching number one in both the United States and the United Kingdom, 25 and 26 years respectively.[6][7] The song has sold 16 million copies worldwide, making it one of the best-selling digital singles of all time.[8] As of 2023, the Associated Press estimated the song's royalty earnings at $100 million.[9] That same year, the song was selected by the Library of Congress for inclusion in the National Recording Registry.[10][11]

  1. ^ Gottlieb, Jed (December 9, 2023). "All Fans Want for Christmas Is Mariah Carey". Boston Herald. Archived from the original on December 13, 2023. Retrieved December 13, 2023.
  2. ^ Johnston, Maura (November 10, 2023). "10 Pop Concerts That Are Beginning to Look a lot like Christmas". The Boston Globe. Archived from the original on December 19, 2023. Retrieved December 18, 2023.
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference sasha was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ "The Greatest Rock and Roll Christmas Songs", Rolling Stone, archived from the original on December 22, 2010
  5. ^ Hann, Michael (December 10, 2021). "Rockin' around the Christmas streams: why festive music is bigger than ever". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved October 31, 2023.
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference trust2019 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference UKnumberone was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  8. ^ "Mariah Carey Hit With $20 Million Lawsuit for 'All I Want for Christmas Is You' – Is Nothing Sacred?". Forbes. June 7, 2022. Archived from the original on May 28, 2023. Retrieved May 28, 2023.
  9. ^ Cite error: The named reference AP News 100 Million was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  10. ^ "'All I Want for Christmas is You' among 25 additions to National Recording Registry". PBS NewsHour. April 12, 2023. Archived from the original on December 16, 2023. Retrieved December 25, 2023.
  11. ^ "Mariah Carey pays a visit to the Library of Congress". wusa9.com. December 15, 2023. Retrieved December 25, 2023.