Mariah Carey, from Christmas queen to music queen

December has arrived and who says the end of the year, also says Christmas. This means that you probably already have ears that bleed from hearing All I Want for Christmas is you by Mariah Carey. Planetary tube, qualified by magazine Rolling stone as “one of the greatest party standard”the song became a very popular phenomenon since its release in 1994.

Compiled by the pop star himself for the album Merry Christmas, the song has long been in the top 10 international sales. It is also the best-selling Christmas song composed by a woman in the world. Entered into Guinness book 2019 notes, All I Want For Christmas is you it is now recognized as the best-selling Christmas song of all time. In the same year, the song reached the first place in the American weekly Billboard Hot Top 100 ranking. All these recordings allowed Mariah Carey to become the queen of Christmas, a trademark that the artist more or less knows how to exploit.

A symbolic Christmas queen

At the time of the title’s release, Mariah Carey explained the creative process behind this song, which has become a holiday anthem, apart from important classics from Frank Sinatra or Brenda Lee, saying: “I’ve been singing Christmas carols since I was a little girl. I used to sing Christmas carols. When we started the album, we had to find a balance between Christmas hymns and festive songs. It was a priority for me to write new songs, but for most people who really want to listen to the Christmas standard, they can see that the new songs are good too. »

The singer has built a real signature around this work, whose estimated profit in 2017 is over 60 million dollars. The singer did turn down the phenomenal success in stories for children What I Want For Christmas (2015), in the animated film, My best Christmas present (2017), but also in musicals Mariah Carey’s Magical Christmas Specialavailable on Apple TV+ (2020).

The artist even attempted to legally apply for the title of Queen of Christmas in 2022. More specifically, in March 2021, Mariah Carey submitted, through her company Lotion LLC, an application to the United States Patent and Trademark Office seeking exclusivity. from the name “Queen of Christmas”. A request that was rejected after apparent opposition from other singers and the monopoly risks this admission would pose.

Therefore, it is important to believe that Mariah Carey will remain the queen of Christmas only in a symbolic way. After all, artists don’t need any additional legal buffers given the sheer volume of remixes, covers, and tributesAll I Want For Christmas is you stimulated. We’re thinking about the titles covered by So So Def Remix at displays with Jermaine Dupri and Bow Wow (2002), in the cult section True love (2003) or singer Michael Bublé’s Christmas carols album, was released in 2011. Reissued in 2013, the song will also benefit from a new clip in 2019, with many celebrities, while Mariah Carey will choose to reinterpret her iconic hit with Justin Bieber.

1990s icon

The song is anchored in our pop culture and, by recreating it regularly, its performers symbolically become the queens of Christmas. But to limit Mariah Carey’s work to a hit, or a commercial empire would be simple. The pop star is now considered one of the last divas, to rise alongside the greatest acts, such as Aretha Franklin, Celine Dion and Whitney Houston, thanks to an incredible voice that can reach six octaves.

Born in 1969, in the United States, she began her career in 1990. Freshly arrived in New York, the self-taught made a living from odd jobs before providing backing vocals to Brenda K. Starr, who later introduced her to music producer Tommy Motola. Convinced that he had just found a real pearl, he signed him to his label and then offered him a contract for ten albums. The first work, with a simple title Mariah Carey (1990) was an immediate success upon its release thanks to titles such as Vision of Love and I Don’t Want To Cry. These titles often evoke love, a subject that will be found throughout the artist’s career, as well as racism, social alienation, death, world hunger and spirituality.

After his eponymous album followed, a year later, emotion, another success for the artist who won his first two Grammy Awards thanks to this new creation. In the early 1990s, Mariah Carey was a hit machine. He had a string of successes, his album sales breaking records. The artist even silenced detractors who accused him of being a simple studio singer, during cult performances, MTV Unpluggedas long as it continues I will be there of the Jacksons 5. In 1993, his third album, music Boxconfirmed her status as an international pop star thanks to hits like dreamer and Hero. This enthusiasm also encouraged him to go on his first tour.

He continued in 1994 with his Christmas album Merry Christmas. Then, in 1995, with Daydream, this time a work moving toward an R’n’B and hip-hop sound, where Mariah Carey favored a soul and pop sound in her earlier creations. But this fifth album did not disappoint. It sold 31 million copies worldwide, containing only the titles fantasy and One Sweet Dayperforming a duet with Boyz II Men.

From pop stars to R’n’B divas

This transition to R’n’B, the artist forced definitively from his sixth album, Butterfly (1997). This work represents artistic liberation for the singer, who is used to pop songs once imposed by her producer and ex-husband, as well as her label. Throughout the recording and unlike his older work, he collaborated with hip-hop and rap producers, such as Sean Puffy Combs, Missy Elliott, and Poke & Tone.

However, her most iconic duet came a year later, and put her opposite another iconic pop diva, Whitney Houston, on the song. When you believeincluded in the soundtrack of the animated film Prince of Egypt. A performance that would earn both performers the Oscar for best original song in 1999. Since then, Mariah Carey has worked on numerous film soundtracks (Grinch, tenness or Only for your hair…), before appearing in front of the camera as an actress valuable (2009) and Waiter (2013).

In 1999 released the album Rainbow who really pushed it in the hip hop world. is broken hearted, a duet with Jay-Z, charted at number 1 on Billboard, the album’s promotion was marred by competition between Sony and Mariah Carey, who was looking to split from her studio. Their complicated relationship, publicized by the artist, established the beginning of a fickle image which Mariah Carey would later find difficult to shake off, after several failed appearances, her first artistic failure with sparkling (2001), nervous breakdowns and press malignancy.

Winning artist

Nicknamed “America’s little Cinderella”, she returned to the front of the stage with her album charm bracelet in 2002, but above all his work, Mimi’s emancipation (2005) qualified as a “returning Voice” which is likely to be rehabilitated. Like that and We have each other is a real success. A success that would last until releaseE=mc2 (2008), then his twelfth albumMemoirs of Imperfect Angels (2009).

Since then, Mariah Carey has produced three additional albums and earned her star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. The artist has also distinguished herself at benefit concerts, notably during several Divas Lives, but she has also given a series of concerts during her Residence in Las Vegas. The face of several brands, she founded her own cosmetics company and has been surfing for several years, through reissues and derivative products on What I Want For Christmas is you.

If today, his fans are waiting return artist in the studio, since his last original albumGuarantee (2018), Mariah Carey is never far from the spotlight. Be it during the holiday season, or through constant reinvention as a music artist, actress, and entrepreneur, this 1990s icon has built an impressive artistic career. More than a pop star or a fickle singer, this R’n’B diva is one of the staples of our contemporary and popular repertoire. Her vocal skills allowed her to earn the title of “supreme singer”. A confession that proves that apart from being the Queen of Christmas, Mariah Carey is above all the Queen of music.