Mariah Carey recalls how she almost missed out on becoming ‘Queen of Christmas’

HUNTINGTON, NEW YORK: Mariah Carey, fondly known as the "Queen of Christmas", almost missed the opportunity to claim her trademark holiday title.

In the '90s, at the peak of her stardom, Carey was pitched the idea of recording a Christmas album, but she hesitated at first.

How Mariah Carey almost didn’t create her Christmas classic

“I felt it was too early in my career,” Mariah Carey shared in a recent interview with The New York Times.

Despite her initial reluctance, a deeper part of her knew this was a destined path.

"I focused on all the things my mother struggled to create; all I needed was a shower of glitter and a full church choir to back me up," she explained about creating her fourth studio album, 'Merry Christmas', which introduced timeless tracks, including her iconic hit 'All I Want for Christmas Is You'.

For Carey, the album was a reflection of the “little girl’s spirit and those early fantasies of family” that had inspired her massive holiday hit 30 years ago.

Mariah Carey turns timeless holiday hit into billion-dollar Christmas empire

Released in 1994, 'All I Want for Christmas Is You' was an instant classic.

Mariah Carey recalled her deliberate approach to crafting the track, telling W Magazine, "I didn’t want it to feel specific to any era, so we didn’t use sounds that were happening at that time. That way, it would feel classic and timeless."

The strategy worked. The song has since spent an astonishing 65 weeks on Billboard’s Hot 100 and helped her album 'Merry Christmas' sell 18 million copies worldwide.

But the impact of 'All I Want for Christmas Is You' extends beyond the charts. It has inspired merchandise, an animated film, and even a children’s book.

Dubbed the 'Queen of Christmas', Carey embraced the title fully in March 2021 by filing a trademark application to cover items ranging from fragrances to Christmas ornaments and music.

"I could never have imagined that [the song] would become such a major part of my life," she said.

However, on November 14, Jason Kelce celebrated a major holiday chart achievement after his duet 'Maybe This Christmas', which he recorded with Stevie Nicks, surpassed Carey’s iconic 'All I Want for Christmas Is You' to top the iTunes 100 Holiday chart, as per TMZ. 

Mariah Carey's journey from 'sad Christmases' to becoming 'Queen of Christmas'

Born in Huntington, New York, Mariah Carey grew up as the youngest of three siblings.

Her parents divorced when she was just three, leaving her with bittersweet memories of Christmas.

"I had some very sad Christmases as a child, but I always try to find the bright light there," she told W Magazine in 2022.

Carey opened up about her challenging upbringing in her 2020 memoir, 'The Meaning of Mariah Carey'.

Describing her childhood as “extremely dysfunctional,” she reflected, "It’s shocking that I made it out of that at all."

Allegations of abuse from her siblings and the pressures of a fractured home made her journey all the more remarkable.

Her father, Alfred, was a Black aeronautical engineer, and her mother, Patricia, a White opera singer. As a biracial child, Carey often felt out of place.

"There were no role models for people who were clearly mixed or, you know, light-skinned or whatever we were categorizing it as then," she shared. "It was difficult."

Yet, those struggles became the foundation for the joy she later embraced.

"Christmas makes me happy," she told W. "When you grow up with a messed-up life and then you’re able to have this transformation where you can make your life what you want it to be? That is joy for me."

Carey emphasized how these experiences shaped her parenting. "I want my kids to have everything they can have," she said. "I want them to be able to understand that they can be anything they want to be."

Mariah Carey on spreading Christmas cheer

With her 21-date holiday tour kicking off this month, Mariah Carey is deeply grateful for the joy her music continues to bring.

"It’s really rewarding, and I’m just grateful and thankful for it," she shared according to Fox News. Fans, it seems, feel the same way.

Carey revealed, “People come up and say, ‘I love your music,’ or, ‘I listen to your Christmas music in July’ — that started to become a thing."

Ultimately, Carey credits the resilience she developed during her tough upbringing for the joy she now embodies.

"I realized, one day when I grow up, and I do what I'm dreaming of doing, which will happen... I won't be in these sad circumstances forever but one day I'm just going to remember what this feels like," she told Oprah Winfrey on 'The Oprah Conversation' in 2020.

"So I don't turn into one of those people that has lost touch with the essence of who they are, but I really did in so many ways because of so many other outside components," she added.