When it was first released in 1994 it wasn’t much of a sensation, but 30 years later it’s a Christmas staple
There are now three things that are certain in life: Taxes, death and that every December the “All I Want for Christmas is You” by Mariah Carey plays… everywhere. Whether you’re at the mall, at a party, listening to the radio, or a holiday playlist, you know the festive season has begun when you hear the first notes of Carey’s classic song.
“All I Want for Christmas is You”released 30 years ago, has entered the pantheon of Christmas fun alongside ‘Blue Christmas’, ‘Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree’ and ‘It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year’.
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The song was a relatively modest hit when it was first released in 1994, reaching number 12 on the Billboard All-Genre Radio Songs chart in the United States and number two in the UK (blocked by East 17’s Stay Another Day) and in Japan. That should have been the end of the story. But the track kept coming back stronger and more popular every holiday season.
The song has now topped the charts in more than 25 countries, including the US and UK, and was officially crowned 2023 by Billboard as the best holiday song of all time based on commercial performance. The success and enduring power of ‘All I Want for Christmas is You’ is staggering. And then the following question arises: How did this particular song become as synonymous with Christmas as Santa Claus himself?
“In the most basic sense, it’s such a fun song”says o Dr Brittnay L Proctorprofessor of media studies and popular culture at the New School in New York. For Dr Proctor, ‘All I Want for Christmas is You’ “took the idea of the Christmas standard and turned it on its head”, “effortlessly bringing together elements of gospel, R&B and pop” in a “hearty, happy way that taps into that idea of Christmas spirit.” Or as the music writer says Kate Solomon on the BBCit is a “perfect pop song that also happens to be Christmas’.
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Its Christmas sound
Obviously, it’s not easy to create a modern classic Christmas carol. Artists like Taylor Swift, Justin Bieber and the Killers have tried, but all of their original songs have failed to make the cut. For him Nate Sloan, musicologist and co-host of the ‘Switched On Pop’ podcast, what makes writing successful Christmas songs difficult is that “it’s the only time there’s an exception to the rule that pop artists have to innovate and create new sounds.”
Sloan points out that even when contemporary artists like Dua Lipa or Bruno Mars reference old sounds like disco or new jack swing in their music, “they have to sound new and fresh, and when December comes there’s this completely opposite impulse from the public, which is to go back in time to the 1940s and 50s with Bing Crosby and Brenda Lee”. Too many modern attempts at original Christmas songs fail when they try to have it both ways, harkening back to old school sounds but adding a modern twist – listen to Ariana Grande’s ‘Santa Tell Me’ for example.
Carey stated that her goal with the song was to make it something timeless, so it wouldn’t feel like the 1990s. That’s why she double-recorded her voice, in a way modeled on the production of “Wall of Sound” , by the now discredited Phil Spector, specifically his work with Ronnie Spector of the Ronettes and his version of Sleigh Ride.
As the pop culture critic says, Aisha Harris, on the BBC, the song “feels both modern and nostalgic” thanks to “the orchestration, tinkling bells and harmonies that are clearly an homage to Darlene Love’s Christmas (Baby Please Come Home) [σε παραγωγή του Spector]». The song sounded like an age-old classic when it first came out, and since it’s only brought up once a year, it always sounds fresh.
Another element that makes ‘All I Want for Christmas is You’ seem like it’s from another era of music is the chord progression. “Most hit pop songs today, like Shaboozey’s “A Bar Song,” are four-chord songs.”says Sloan. “But holiday songs like “The Christmas Song” (Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire) have all these complex chromatic chords that keep changing.” He estimates that “All I Want for Christmas is You” has thirteen chords, making you feel like “you experience this different harmonic landscape.”
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The song’s rise to a Christmas standard got a major boost when it appeared in the climactic scene of the 2003 romantic comedy Love Actually, performed by young actress Olivia Olson.
Since then, Carey has continued to find new and innovative ways to keep “All I Want for Christmas is You” in people’s hearts and minds. “The music industry should be dreaming of a white Christmas,” wrote the “Economist” in 2017, referring to the singer’s success. Her song brings in about 2.5 million. dollars a year in royalties. After “Love Actually” it was reborn through covers by artists such as My Chemical Romance in 2004, Demi Lovato in 2012, and Ariana Grande in 2014, although none achieved the success of the original version.
Source :Skai
I am Frederick Tuttle, who works in 247 News Agency as an author and mostly cover entertainment news. I have worked in this industry for 10 years and have gained a lot of experience. I am a very hard worker and always strive to get the best out of my work. I am also very passionate about my work and always try to keep up with the latest news and trends.
