Call it a case of seasonal nostalgia. Mariah Carey is trending because her 1994 hit All I Want for Christmas Is You finally topped the music charts this week.
Carey made her name as the cultural queen of Christmas 25 years ago when she released her album Merry Christmas, featuring All I Want for Christmas Is You. The song, co-written by Carey and songwriter Walter Afanasieff, is a Christmas classic in its own right. It’s bubbly, festive, and a little romantic.
It’s also a huge success compared to every other song released in the past 25 years. The years leading up to Carey’s hit made it seem like no one would release a good Christmas song again. Seriously, we best we got was Wham!’s inexplicably popular Last Christmas and Band Aid’s maudlin Do They Know It’s Christmas? I’d rather listen to The Little Drummer Boy.
Sure, in the years following Carey’s Christmas success, we’ve discovered the smooth vocals of Michael Bublé. But his biggest Christmas hits, Baby It’s Cold Outside and It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas, were released in 1949 and 1951, respectively. He’s just a knockoff Bing Crosby. Sufjan Stevens released unique Christmas albums in 2006 and 2012, but the folk artist is no pop star. The state of mainstream Christmas hits is still dire.
The last time a Christmas song topped the charts was The Chipmunk Song in the late ’50s. It’s remarkable not only that All I Want for Christmas Is You was able to launch ahead of its competition, but also that it was able to do so after 25 years. No other song has accomplished that feat.
Carey catapulted All I Want for Christmas Is You back onto the charts with a smart marketing campaign that began with a viral video. In the short clip posted to Twitter, Carey falls asleep on Halloween night, only to wake up at midnight to a phone call from Santa. “It’s time!” she croons as All I Want for Christmas Is You begins to play.
The video may have come a little early for some, but Carey established her place as this Christmas season’s premier pop star. Another viral video from this week showed fans crowded into the Subway singing All I Want for Christmas Is You. Let’s just say that’s not a phenomenon you’ll ever see happen for The Christmas Shoes.
Carey has finally topped the charts, without releasing new music, because she’s a great performer with a shrewd team. But her success also points to something else. Modern Christmas pop music is no good. No wonder most artists find success when they stick to the classics.
