Mariah Carey has revealed she never anticipated the massive success of her holiday hit All I Want for Christmas Is You.
The festive classic, co-written and produced with Walter Afanasieff, debuted on Mariah’s 1994 holiday album Merry Christmas. Over the years, the song has become a seasonal staple, but Mariah admitted in a recent interview with Billboard that its enduring popularity still surprises her.
“I think it’s an amazing thing that just happened, something I never could have predicted,” she shared in a video. “All I Want For Christmas Is You just grew and grew. But it was gradual—it wasn’t an overnight success.”
The song first cracked Billboard’s Hot 100 top 10 in December 2017, eventually reaching number one in 2019. It has continued to top the chart every year since, including this holiday season.
Dubbed the “Queen of Christmas,” Mariah recently wrapped a festive U.S. tour featuring a mix of holiday classics and fan favorites. While some shows were canceled due to illness, Mariah described the tour as a joy to perform. “It’s really a fun thing to do, the Christmas tour, it really is,” she said with a smile.
In addition to her music, Mariah has her own Christmas traditions. Beginning her holiday preparations in November, she always makes her late father Alfred Carey’s linguine with white clam sauce for Christmas dinner.
“It has to be me making it—it’s just not the same otherwise. No offense to anyone else, but I have to do it my way,” she told Vanity Fair. “It’s a simple recipe, but it’s all about properly cleaning the clams. And no, I do not use canned clams.”
