Mariah Carey Has Been Sued For “All I Want For Christmas Is You” By A Country Singer

Queen of the Christmas season and bringer of misery to all mall workers out there, Mariah Carey is facing a little legal challenge over one of her songs. Nothing special, really. Just the megahit All I Want For Christmas Is You! The leader of the lambs has been slapped with a lawsuit from songwriter Andy Stone who claims that Mimi essentially stole it from him. Guess Andy is looking for an early Christmas present in the form of a big fat paycheck!

It was only a matter time before someone wanted a slice of that royalty-rich Christmas pudding. All I Want for Christmas Is You is a classic that only grows stronger with each passing year. The song has reached over a billion streams on Spotify, been covered by multiple artists, and hit number 1 numerous times since its release in 1994. We as a people are addicted to this song. And Andy is NOT having it. He believes that Mariah and her team have reaped “undeserved profits” from the song. If Andy is successful, he may automatically become king of Christmas. Sorry, Jesus! Deadline explains the lawsuit:

Mariah Carey and co-writer Walter Afansieff are named in the lawsuit by songwriter Andy Stone, who claims his “All I Want For Christmas Is You” by Vince Vance & the Valiants from 1989 is being infringed. Stone filed his papers in the U.S. District Court in the Eastern District of Louisiana.

While the songs have the same title, there is only a hint of Carey’s melody or lyrics beyond the title call-out.

Carey’s version of the song came out in 1994 and has become a holiday staple on radio, streaming, and the NBA’s annual slate of games on Christmas Day.

Stone claims his song received extensive airplay during the 1993 holiday season. He is asking for $20 million in damages. Stone claims Carey and Afansieff “intentionally engaged in a campaign to infringe” his copyright on the work.

28 years is a long time to wait to slap someone with a lawsuit. Maybe he was really trying to establish if Carey’s version was truly a Christmas classic or just some passing fad. If he’s basing the lawsuit on the title alone, he’ll have to stand in line. The US Copyright Office states there are almost 200 other songs with the same name. So, do the two songs at least sound similar? Here’s Andy’s version:

And in case you’ve been living under a particularly un-festive rock for the last 30 years, here’s Mariah’s:

I suppose both videos feature the color red, wintery trees, and 90s perms, but that’s as much as I can see when it comes to similarities. So far, Mariah or her team have yet to comment on the lawsuit. I suspect Mariah will just let her lawyers handle the issue so she can keep posting videos and pictures of her emerging from various bodies of water. If Andy hopes to make any real money off this endeavor, I think he’ll have to take this suspected publicity stunt further and come up with a new hit song. How about All I Want for Christmas Is Attention? It’s not a snappy, but it could appeal to a social media addicted audience!

Pic: Instagram