Merry Christmas is the fourth studio album and first Christmas album by American singer-songwriter Mariah Carey. It was released by Columbia Records on October 28, 1994, at the peak of the initial stretch of Carey's career, between Music Box (1993) and Daydream (1995). The album features cover versions of popular Christmas songs in addition to original material. Carey worked with Walter Afanasieff, with whom she wrote all of the original tracks, as well as producing Carey's interpretations of the covered material. Three singles were released from the album, of which "All I Want for Christmas Is You" went on to become one of the best-selling singles of all time and the best-selling Christmas ringtone in the United States.
Critical response to the album's Christmas theme was mixed. Some music critics complimented the gospel and soul-infused vocals and even called it Carey's best album to date. Re-released on multiple occasions in various formats since its debut, the album has sold 5.7 million copies in the United States as of December 2019 and has been certified Diamond by the Recording Industry Association of America. Internationally, it reached number one in Japan, Latvia, and Lithuania. It achieved the top-ten in 20 additional countries including Australia, Canada, Germany, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United States. Merry Christmas has sold 18 million copies worldwide, and is confirmed as the best-selling holiday album by a female artist.
Background Carey has expressed her belief in God and the connection between music and spirituality, and felt the album was finally a way to portray her spirituality through music. After the success of Carey's previous effort, Music Box, there was speculation of a new project in the works; however it was not until October 1994, only one month before the album's release, that Billboard announced Carey would be releasing an album for the Christmas season. Initially, critics were shocked; they did not know how Carey would fare as an entertainer across genres, as she had previously only been viewed as a pop star. Nevertheless, Carey, unaffected by the speculation, continued working on and promoting the album in high spirits, confident in her work. The idea proved to be wise, earning Carey recognition in various markets including Christian radio and contemporary R&B stations, as well as extended her fame in Japan, where the album experienced much of its success.
Conception and composition
Throughout the album's development, Carey worked with Walter Afanasieff, with whom she collaborated on Emotions (1991) and Music Box (1993). Together, they wrote all three of the album's original songs, as well as producing most of the traditional tracks at The Hit Factory, in New York.
Merry Christmas boasted a variety of musical arrangements, sounds, and genres. Carey's goal was to provide an album that would have a "Christmas feel", providing a mixture of soulful tracks, as well as fun and joyous holiday treats. Genre-wise, the album is a combination of soul, gospel, and R&B.The song "Jesus Oh What a Wonderful Child", produced by Carey, Afanasieff, and Loris Holland, was described as an arrangement of a traditional gospel standard that "really took flight". The song was recorded in a church, with many live backup singers and children playing tambourines and other melodious instruments. The goal was to produce a "real church flavored song", in which Holland played the keyboards and allowed Carey's voice to "cut loose". According to Chris Nickson, Carey's love of gospel music came through on the track, writing, "[she] led the band without pushing herself forward, letting the song develop and work out, trading lines with the chorus until, after the crescendo, the musicians moved into a fast double-time to the end."
"All I Want for Christmas Is You", the album's lead single was described as an "up-tempo love song, one that could have easily been written for Tommy Mottola". "Miss You Most (At Christmas Time)", another one of the album's original tracks, was very different from its predecessor. The song was described as a "sad ballad", in line with many of Carey's previous hit singles. The song featured a synthesized orchestra, including keyboard notes courtesy of Afanasieff, during which Carey would sing to her "long-gone lover, crystallizing the way that Christmas brought memories of the past into focus." According to Nickson "Jesus Born on This Day" was the most impressive original track on the album. It was described as a "full-blown production number", which again featured synthesized orchestra, as well as a live children's choir. The song's tune was described as "solemn and hymn-like, but the arrangement, oddly, made it less religious and rather more glitzy, behind the lyrics that overtly praised Jesus."
In addition, Carey recorded a cover of "Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)" by Darlene Love, as well as classics such as "Silent Night", "O Holy Night" and "Joy to the World". The latter song, which was used as a promotional single, was remixed several times and sent to various clubs; adding to the album's range of listeners. Record producer and composer Holland also co-produced some of the albums gospel flavored tracks, including "Silent Night", where he arranged the backing vocals and synthesizers. Carey's rendition of "Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town", was deemed as "one of the more playful tracks on the album", alongside "Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)".
Promotion
In the United States, Carey started promotion for Merry Christmas with a live concert at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine on December 8, 1994, performing for the first time several tracks from the album, including "All I Want for Christmas Is You", which was later performed on several of her concert tours, including the Japanese shows of Carey's Daydream World Tour (1996), Butterfly World Tour (1998), Rainbow World Tour (2000), Charmbracelet World Tour (2003) and The Adventures of Mimi Tour (2006), due to the massive success of the song in Japan, which became her best-selling single in the country. On December 25, 2001, she appeared on the Christmas special BET Christmas Remembrances Special, where she performed "Joy to the World" and her hit "One Sweet Day" with Boyz II Men. Three years later, she appeared in 2004 Walt Disney World Christmas Day Parade, where she performed "Joy to the World" and "All I Want for Christmas is You".
On December 3, 2008, she performed "Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)" at the 2008 Grammy Nomination Concert. A year later, Carey sang the So So Def remix version of "All I Want for Christmas is You" at the opening night of her Angels Advocate Tour on New Year's Eve. Other live performances of "All I Want for Christmas is You" includes the 2010 Walt Disney World Christmas Day Parade, Christmas In Rockefeller Center (in 2012, 2013 and 2014) and Late Night with Jimmy Fallon in 2012, where she performed the song alongside Jimmy Fallon and The Roots. Carey also performed "All I Want for Christmas is You" with Michael Bublé for his third Annual Christmas Special in December 2013. She also performed the song at the 91st Annual National Christmas Tree Lighting on December 16, 2013.
During The Late Late Show with James Corden on December 15, 2016, Carey sang "All I Want for Christmas is You" on the feature Carpool Karaoke. Fellow singers Adele, Lady Gaga, Demi Lovato, Nick Jonas, Elton John, Selena Gomez, Gwen Stefani, Coldplay's Chris Martin and the band Red Hot Chili Peppers were featured in the video. Carey also performed the song at The Wonderful World of Disney: Magical Holiday Celebration, VH1 Divas Holiday: Unsilent Night and Disney Parks Magical Christmas Celebration in 2016. In December 2019, Carey returned to The Late Late Show to perform the song for its 25th anniversary.
To celebrate the 20th anniversary of Merry Christmas, Carey embarked on her first Christmas concert residency, All I Want For Christmas Is You, A Night of Joy & Festivity, which began on December 15, 2014, at the Beacon Theatre in New York City, and ended on December 15, 2019, after completing eight legs and fifty-six shows in North America and Europe. On December 1, 2020, Carey performed a medley of "Heroes", "Hero", and "Joy to the World" at Good Morning America, two days prior to her Christmas special Mariah Carey's Magical Christmas Special, where she re-recorded and performed several songs from the album. The following year, she performed "Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)" and a new song, "Fall in Love at Christmas", during her 2021 Christmas Special Mariah's Christmas: The Magic Continues. She also performed "All I Want for Christmas is You" at the 2022 Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.
Singles Merry Christmas was supported by three commercial singles and two promotional singles, with different releases depending on the country. The album's lead single, "All I Want for Christmas Is You", was released on October 29, 1994, in Japan, and in other countries the next month. While it was not initially commercially released in the United States, Billboard described Columbia's level of promotion as unprecedented for a Christmas album. On November 14, 1994, the label released three songs to US radio stations as promotional singles: "All I Want for Christmas Is You" (top 40 and adult contemporary radio stations), "Jesus Born on This Day" (Christian and gospel stations), and "Miss You Most (At Christmas Time)" (R&B stations). The latter was also commercially released that year, including in the Philippines where it served as the lead single in that country. Originally released in 1994 as a 12-inch promotional single of dance remixes, "Joy to the World" was released in Australia as the album's third single on November 27, 1995, becoming a top-forty hit there. "O Holy Night" was released as a promotional single in 1996 and 1998, and later peaked at number 70 on the US Holiday 100 chart, and entered the charts in France, Italy and Iceland; later being certified Platinum in the United States and Canada; and Gold in Italy and New Zealand.
"All I Want for Christmas Is You" remains Carey's biggest international hit of her career, breaking several records worldwide and topping the charts in over 30 countries, including Australia, Canada, France, Germany, the UK Singles chart and the US Billboard Hot 100, becoming the best-selling Christmas song by a female artist and one of the best-selling singles of all time, selling over 16 million copies worldwide. In the United States, "All I Want for Christmas Is You" broke multiple Hot 100 records, as it became the longest-running number-one song on the chart –spending 21 weeks atop–; the longest-running charting song ever by a woman –and seventh overall– with a total of 78 weeks on the chart. Additionally, the song was certified 18× Platinum in the US, becoming the first holiday song to achieve this and the highest-certified song by a female artist in the country. In Germany, the song also broke the record for the longest-running chart-topper in the country, with 22 weeks at number one, being certified 3× Platinum. It is also Carey's best-selling single in the United Kingdom, where it was certified ten times Platinum, selling over six million units in the country, becoming the highest-certified song of all time by a female artist in the UK. It is also her best-selling single in Canada and Australia, where it was certified Diamond and 13× Platinum, respectively.
Other songs from the album also achieved success worldwide: Her version of Darlene Love's "Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)" reached the top-twenty on the US Holiday 100 chart, and the top-forty in Croatia, Latvia, Lithuania, Slovakia and the Netherlands; and was certified 2× Platinum in Canada; Platinum in the United States; and Gold in Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom.