Mariah Carey Gets Sued Over Hit Song 'All I Want for Christmas Is You'
One of the biggest Christmas hits has become the focus of a massive legal battle.
Mariah Carey is facing a $20 million lawsuit over her 1994 song “All I Want for Christmas Is You” from artists Andy Stone and Troy Powers, who claim Carey stole their 1989 song of the same name.
According to TMZ, the latest legal action is a refiling of a lawsuit from last year. The original suit filed by Stone targeted Carey, co-writer Walter Afanasieff and Sony Music Entertainment.
Stone, performing as Vince Vance with the band Vince Vance & the Valiants, helped write the 1989 version of “All I Want for Christmas Is You.” He says the song received “extensive airplay” and reached the Billboard charts in 1993.
Carey released her version the next year, and it went on to become a Christmas staple.
“Plaintiff [Stone] personally requested that Defendants cease and desist from further distribution of Plaintiff’s work,” last year’s lawsuit said.
“Despite Plaintiff’s request, Defendants continue to exploit Plaintiff’s work ‘All I Want for Christmas is You,’ reaping tremendous financial awards and other pecuniary benefits to the detriment of Plaintiff,” it continued.
It also accused Carey of “knowingly, willfully, and intentionally [engaging] in a campaign to infringe Plaintiff’s copyright … to the commercial gain, personal profit and unjust enrichment of the defendants and the irreparable injury and financial loss of Plaintiff.”
TMZ reported that the new lawsuit claims there are “substantial similarities in the lyrical hook, melody, and overall feel” of the songs in question, accusing Carey of having “palmed off these works” as her own.
Listeners can judge for themselves whether there are any similarities between the songs beyond their titles:
According to Forbes, Carey rakes in up to $3 million a year in royalties from her version of “All I Want for Christmas Is You.” The song has been streamed nearly 1.5 billion times on Spotify, while the music video has 760 million views on YouTube.
Despite its immense popularity, “All I Want for Christmas Is You” is not the best-selling holiday tune of all time.
That honor goes to “White Christmas” by Bing Cosby, which as of 2019 had sold 50 million copies, making it not just the best-selling Christmas song but the best-selling single ever recorded, according to Newsweek.
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