Mariah Carey Is Facing Legal Trouble Over One Of Her Most Famous Songs
If Mariah Carey is only known for two things, they are: her high note, and the perennial holiday classic, "All I Want for Christmas Is You." Unfortunately, Our Lady of the Nondenominational Winter Holiday Known in America as Christmas is facing some legal trouble over this famous song.
The song, which was covered in the 2003 holiday movie "Love, Actually," and which has cemented Carey as the undisputed Queen of Christmas, was first released in 1994, and is the first holiday single ever to achieve Diamond Status, according to Forbes. It doesn't matter if you actually celebrate Christmas or not. By the time the holiday season rolls around, everyone and their grandmother has this iconic Christmas jam on repeat. So, why is the track suddenly causing headaches for Carey (or, more likely, her legal team)? Apparently there's a $20 million controversy over this cultural monument, and it involves another Christmas classic you may have heard before.
Mariah Carey is being sued over the song's title
Mariah Carey's "All I Want for Christmas Is You" is not the only popular Christmas song with that title — and now she's being sued for it by Andy Stone for a cool $20 million. According to People, Stone's "All I Want for Christmas Is You" was released in 1989 in Nashville under the name Vince Vance and the Valiants, and his lawsuit alleges "copyright infringement and unjust enrichment" over the song title. The songs have basically nothing in common besides the title, but People reports that Stone's lawsuit claims he never gave Carey the right to use the title and that she has "exploited" his work.
There's no clear explanation as to why Stone waited until now to bring up this lawsuit, and so far, it doesn't look as though Carey herself has commented on it. We do know that if "All I Want for Christmas Is You" is one of Carey's most famous tracks, "All I Want for Christmas Is You" is definitely Stone's biggest hit, per AllMusic.