Why Mariah Carey Is Still The ‘Queen Of Christmas’
Mariah Carey has long been celebrated by fans as the unofficial “Queen of Christmas,” and it’s not hard to see why. Her 1994 classic, “All I Want for Christmas Is You,” continues to dominate the holiday season year after year. According to The Independent, the track is the most-streamed holiday song of all time and the highest-charting holiday single by a solo artist on the Billboard Hot 100. Each December, it reliably reappears on the charts worldwide.
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The song reached another milestone in 2021, becoming the first and only holiday track to earn the RIAA’s Diamond Award, an honor reserved for songs that reach 10 million sales and streaming units in the U.S. Reflecting on its success, Carey said the ongoing affection for the track “never ceases to amaze me and fill my heart with a multitude of emotions.”
She added, according to The Independent, “It blows my mind that ‘All I Want For Christmas is You’ has endured different eras of the music industry.”
Mariah Carey tried to file a trademark for the “Queen of Christmas.”
With such a powerful connection to the season, Carey and her team eventually attempted to make her yuletide status official. In 2021, they filed to trademark the title “Queen of Christmas,” a nickname fans had been using for years. According to NPR, her company, Lotion LLC, planned to license the title—along with “Princess Christmas” and “QOC”—for a wide range of products, including fragrances, makeup, clothing, jewelry, and even pet accessories.
The move sparked backlash. Two artists known for their own Christmas music publicly objected to Carey’s claim: Darlene Love, who said David Letterman gave her the title nearly 30 years ago, and Elizabeth Chan, a singer who calls herself “music’s only full-time Christmas singer-songwriter.” Chan formally opposed the trademark, arguing she had long been identified as the “Queen of Christmas” herself and had already used the name “Princess of Christmas” for her daughter. When Carey’s team missed the deadline to respond, the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board issued a “judgment by default,” effectively dismissing her trademark request, NPR reported.
“All I Want For Christmas Is You” brings in a lot of dough for Carey.
Trademark or not, Carey’s holiday empire remains incredibly strong. Forbes estimates that she earns $2.5 to $3 million annually from “All I Want For Christmas Is You”, on top of the $60 million in royalties it has already generated since its 1994 debut. Featured on her fourth studio album, Merry Christmas, the single topped charts in 26 countries and became a global staple.
The beloved anthem may even return to No. 1 again this year. On Dec. 1, Talk of the Charts reported that the seasonal smash is currently projected to reclaim the top spot on the Billboard Hot 100, which would tie Lil Nas X’s “Old Town Road” and Shaboozey’s “A Bar Song (Tipsy)” as the longest-running No. 1 hit in history at 19 weeks.
Carey has famously ushered in the holiday season with her fun “It’s Time” video and annual concert.
Carey has been using social media and new ways to spread holiday cheer beyond her incredible music. Every November, Carey marks the official start of the holiday countdown with a festive video, often hitting her signature whistle note while declaring “It’s Time” for Christmas. In this year’s Nov. 1 video, she appears in an angelic costume with white wings, sparring humorously with an elf played by comedian Billy Eichner before triumphantly announcing, “Halloween slayed, but now it’s time!”
She also unveiled new Christmas merchandise last month, including a t-shirt inspired by her iconic “It’s Time” slogan.
“My 2025 Christmastime merch, including the new ‘It’s Time’ tee, is available now on amazon.com/mariahcarey!” she penned in her post shared Nov. 3.
And for fans wanting to see her live, Carey is currently headlining her annual “Christmastime in Las Vegas” residency at Dolby Live at Park MGM, running from Nov. 28 to Dec. 13, 2025. The show blends her holiday hits with other favorites for a whole festive spectacle, showing exactly why she will always be the “Queen of Christmas.”
Christmas holds a special place in the heart of the Grammy-winning singer. During an interview with W Magazine in 2022, Carey revealed that Christmas always brought comfort as she navigated her challenging upbringing.
“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,” she told W Magazine. “That’s why I want my kids to have everything they can have. I want them to be able to understand that they can be anything they want to be.”
She added, “People think I had this princess-style life or whatever, a kind of fairy-tale existence where I just emerged, like, ‘Here I am!’ And that is not what it is.”
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