All I Want for Christmas Is You

Infobox Single
Name = All I Want for Christmas Is You


Artist = Mariah Carey
from Album = Merry Christmas
Released = 1994
Format = Airplay only (U.S.), CD single (non-U.S.)
[ Recorded = ]
Genre = Pop, Christmas, holiday
Length = 4:01
Label = Sony
Writer = Mariah Carey, Walter Afanasieff
Producer = Mariah Carey, Walter Afanasieff
Certification =
Last single = "Endless Love"
(1994)
This single = "All I Want for Christmas Is You"
(1994)
Next single = "Joy to the World"
(1994)Extra tracklisting
Album = Merry Christmas
Type = studio
prev_track = "Silent Night"
prev_no = 1
this_track = "All I Want for Christmas Is You"
track_no = 2
next_track = "O Holy Night"
next_no = 3Extra tracklisting
Album = Greatest Hits (CD #2)
Type = compilation
prev_track = "Against All Odds (Take a Look at Me Now)"
prev_no = 14
this_track = "All I Want for Christmas Is You (So So Def Remix)"
track_no = 15
next_track =
next_no =

"All I Want for Christmas Is You" is a song by American singer Mariah Carey and Walter Afanasieff, and recorded for Carey's fifth album "Merry Christmas" (1994). Its protagonist declares that she does not care about Christmas presents or lights; all she wants for Christmas is to be with her lover. It is unrelated to the 1989 Christmas hit single by novelty act Vince Vance and the Valiants. It was released as the album's first single in December 1994 (see 1994 in music) and reached the top ten in several countries.

As of December 2006, the single had sold a total of 4,000,000+ copies worldwide making it Carey's biggest selling single.According to "The New Yorker", it is "one of the few worthy modern additions to the holiday canon". [Frere-Jones, Sasha. [http://www.newyorker.com/critics/music/articles/060403crmu_music?060403crmu_music "On Top: Mariah Carey's record-breaking career"] . "The New Yorker". April 3 2006. Retrieved November 14 2006.] Despite the common misconception that Carey covered this song, the fact is that this track is an original song written by Carey and Walter Afanasieff. [ [http://www.musicnotes.com/sheetmusic/mtd.asp?ppn=MN0054559 http://www.musicnotes.com/sheetmusic/mtd.asp?ppn=MN0054559] "Musicnotes.com" ] It has been covered by singers such as Shania Twain and Samantha Mumba, bands such as My Chemical Romance, and girl group The Cheetah Girls. It was performed by Olivia Olson in the film "Love Actually" (2003). By late 2006, it had become the best-selling holiday ring tone of all time in the U.S. [http://sev.prnewswire.com/music/20061213/NYW04413122006-1.html "Mariah Carey's 'All I Want For Christmas Is You' Is Best-Selling Holiday Ringtone Ever"] . PR Newswire. December 13 2006. Retrieved December 14 2006.]

Chart performance

Because of "Billboard" magazine rules at the time, the song did not chart on the U.S. Hot 100 during its original release because a commercial single was not issued. It was popular on U.S. radio and peaked at #12 on the Hot 100 Airplay chart, and was also a big hit elsewhere. It reached number two in the United Kingdom for three weeks and has been certified for selling over 400,000 copies there, losing out to East 17's "Stay Another Day" for that year's Christmas number-one single. The single also peaked at number two in Australia and Japan, where it was used as the theme song to the drama "29-sai no Christmas" (29才のクリスマス), and was titled "Koibito-tachi no Christmas" (恋人たちのクリスマス; "Lovers' Christmas"). It sold 1.1 million units in Japan, [ [http://www.musictvprogram.com/corner-ranking-single.html Million Plus Sellers In Japan - number 188] ] and remains her best-selling single there.

In 2000 the song re-entered the "Billboard" Hot 100, charting at #83 for its one-week tenure in the chart that year. (After 1999, singles were allowed to chart on the Hot 100 without a commercial release; the song received enough radio airplay that year to appear on the chart.) "Billboard" magazine has since added restrictions to Christmas songs, but with the growth of all-holiday-music formats in the U.S., the song is played on the radio at the end of every year.

In 2005 it rapidly ascended to #1 on "Billboard"'s Hot 100 Singles Recurrents chart (for songs no longer eligible for the Hot 100), giving it a new peak. During the same period it became Carey's first number-one single on the "Billboard" Hot Digital Songs chart. It is noted by Billboard that, if eligible, "All I Want For Christmas Is You" would have entered the Billboard Hot 100 at #6 that year. In December 2006 "All I Want for Christmas Is You" became the first holiday ring tone to receive a gold and a platinum certification from the RIAA for sales of over one million. In 2007, had it been eligible to chart on "Billboard" Hot 100 Airplay it would have peaked at #11. Due to the inclusion of download into the british charts that year, the song re-entered around the christmas period, peaking at #4.

Music videos and remixes

There are three (technically four) music videos for "All I Want for Christmas Is You". The first and most commonly seen is a home video that shows Carey celebrating Christmas with snow, presents, and loved ones. Carey's then-husband, Tommy Mottola, makes a cameo appearance as Santa Claus. In the other video, inspired by Nancy Sinatra, Carey dances around in a 1960s-influenced studio surrounded by go go dancers. For a 1960s look, the video was filmed in black and white. It is not clear whether the inclusion of this obvious rough-cut version on the DualDisc was an error.

When the song was first released as a single, no remixes were commissioned. Carey re-released the song commercially in Japan in 2000, with a new remix known as the "So So Def" remix. The song features new vocals and is played over a harder, more urban beat complete with rap and spoken parts by Jermaine Dupri and Lil' Bow Wow, respectively. The remix is featured on Carey's compilation album "Greatest Hits" (2001) as a bonus track. A video was created for the remix, but it does not feature Carey or the rappers and is animated instead. The style of the animation is based on a scene in the video for Carey's "Heartbreaker" (1999). Besides cartoon cameo appearances by Carey, Jermaine Dupri, and Lil' Bow Wow, the video also features cameos from Luis Miguel (Carey's boyfriend at the time), her dog (Jack), and Santa Claus. The music video director is credited as "Kris Kringle". Currently, it is the 11th most viewed Holiday Music Video on Yahoo! Music

Track listings

;Japanese CD single (2000)
#"All I Want for Christmas Is You" (album version)
#"All I Want for Christmas Is You" (featuring Jermaine Dupri and Lil' Bow Wow — So So Def remix)
#"O Holy Night 2000" (live)
#"Joy to the World" (club mix)

Charts

Billboard charts

Other charts

Cover versions

*Shania Twain performed the song during her live performance on "The Today Show".
*Samantha Mumba recorded a cover version, which was only released as a promo track included on free discs with some newspapers in the UK Daily Star. It was also on "The Christmas Album" as part of the "Now..." series and is track number 9 on CD one.
*Olivia Olson's cover appears on the soundtrack to the 2003 film "Love Actually" and is featured in the movie.
*Play's cover appears on their 2004 Christmas album "Play Around the Christmas Tree". (see 2004 in music)
*A cover by My Chemical Romance appears on the 2004 album "Kevin & Bean's Christmastime in the 909".(see 2004 in music)
*Kate Alexa's cover appears on "The Spirit of Christmas 2005".
*The Cheetah Girls cover this song on their 2005 album "Cheetah-licious Christmas". (see 2005 in music)
*Dave Melillo recorded a version, appearing on the 2006 compilation "A Santa Cause 2: It's a Punk Rock Christmas". (see 2006 in music)
*Teddy Geiger's cover appears on his digital Christmas EP, "Snow Blankets the Night" released in 2006. (see 2006 in music)
*Agnes Carlsson and Måns Zelmerlöw made a duet of the song, and it was released in Sweden 2007.v
*Miley Cyrus performed her version of "All I Want for Christmas Is You" in "Disneyland" during the "Walt Disney World Christmas Day Parade".
*Yuna Ito performed the song on the Happy Xmas Show in Japan on December 23, 2007.

Notes

ee also

*Christmas music
*List of best-selling singles in Japan