Mariah Carey accused of plagiarizing one of the highest-grossing songs in history: All I Want for Christmas Is You

Mariah Carey was sued by a country music songwriter because it would have plagiarized the title of the popular Christmas song All I Want for Christmas Is You from a composition he himself published five years earlier.

The actor, Andy Stone, asking for 20 million dollars on the other hand, despite the fact that, beyond the title, his theme and that of Carey do not share any similarity in either the melody or the text.

Stone, who performs under the stage name of Vince Vance & the Valiants, believes he owns the rights to the title used in both compositions.

How is the question

In his lawsuit, filed with a New Orleans court, Stone claims he wrote the song in 1989 and “started playing on the radio frequently during the 1993 Christmas holidays.”

A year later, Carey and his co-author, Walter Afanasieff, published All I want for Christmas is youthat has become a classic of instant parties.

Therefore, Stone defines Carey’s song as a “derivative work” of his work and claims compensation from both Carey and Afansieff and the Sony Music label.

All I want for Christmas is you has become America’s quintessential Christmas anthem to the point that the presence of Mariah Carey is a must at the ceremony that the city of New York organizes annually to kick off the celebrations.

A captivating and infallible song

The artist, who released the song in 1994, came to star in a musical with the title of the song every winter from 2014 to 2019, at the Beacon Theater in Manhattan.

The song has sold more than 10 million copies in the United States, where it is certified as a platinum single and, according to the magazine The Economistgenerated more than $ 60 million between 1994 and 2016. EFE

In 2019, 25 years after its release, the single reached number one on the US internet streaming and sales charts.

“I’m going crazy !!!! Billions !!! These numbers are incredible, but the love I have for #lambily is not quantifiable. Eternally grateful and blessed,” the singer wrote on her networks at the time after reaching one billion stream on Spotify.

“I’m surprised All I want for Christmas is you has lived through different eras of the music industry. The RIAA Diamond Award? Oh! I am so lucky to have the best fans on Earth, my Lambily, who continue to support my legacy. I love you, ”Mariah Carey said in a statement.

The origin of the Christmas song

Composed by Carey and Walter Afanasieff, the song was recorded in August 1994 at The Hit Factory studio in New York and was originally released in October of the same year as the first single from their album. Happy Christmas.

According to the artist herself, the song was born in just 15 minutes and at first it didn’t get much recognition. Over time it has accumulated listeners to become one of the most listened to songs with the most records in history.

In addition to being the 12th best-selling single of all time and the first song to be number one on the Billboard Hot 100 in four different decades, in 2019 it ranked 12th on that chart and amassed more than a billion. plays on Spotify and more. .680 million on YouTube.

Source: EFE

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