NZ Herald Headlines | Tuesday December 2, 2025.
Video / NZ Herald
The Christmas season has officially begun, and with it comes the unavoidability of Mariah Carey.
Her holiday anthem All I Want for Christmas Is You is played in retail shops, cars and homes across the world throughout the festive period.
As the song climbs to the top ofthe music charts at the end of each year, it generates the singer a staggering amount in royalties.
Since its 1994 release, it has become the most-streamed Christmas song of all time, making Carey an estimated $4.6-6.9 million in royalties each year, according to The Sun.
By 2023, the track was reported to have generated Carey more than $172m, per the outlet.
Mariah Carey's All I Want for Christmas Is You repeatedly tops music charts in multiple countries each year. Photo / Supplied
Carey has said in the past that she is surprised by the success of the song but that her love for the holidays is genuine.
She told Billboard in 2021 that when she wrote the song, she had “no idea” about the impact it would go on to have.
“How could I? It was so early on in my career and most young artists, at that time, weren’t really making Christmas music at the onset of their careers.
All I Want for Christmas Is You made Carey the first artist to top the US Billboard Hot 100 music chart in four different decades, and the song repeatedly summits charts in multiple countries year on year.
When writing the track, Carey aimed to tap into “a bittersweet mixture of longing and festiveness”, she told Billboard.
“I had grown up wishing I could have a functional family Christmas like the ones I saw on TV or in the movies, but truth is… that never happened. So, I wrote the song for the little girl in me filled with holiday spirit."
