How do we solve a problem like Mariah?
[This was my weekly column for GlobalNews.ca. – AC]
Mariah Carey is everywhere at this time of year. You can’t leave the house without being exposed to her ultra-perky 1994 Christmas hit, All I Want for Christmas is You. You can’t escape it. My God, she’s even telling people on the London Underground that all she wants for Christmas is for them to stand back from the yellow line.
And if it feels the walls are closing in, you’re not imagining things because Mariah Creep (something almost as insidious as being able to get a pumpkin spice latte before Labour Day) has been evident in the last decade. With radio stations flipping to an all-Christmas music format earlier and earlier — this year’s first-mover was a station in Ohio that started with holiday music 24/7 on Oct. 1 — the song is showing up in our ears even before Canadian Thanksgiving.
According to MRC Data, the company that tracks radio airplay across Canada and the U.S., reports that AIWfCiY has been played 5,700 times so far this year in Canada and more than 73,000 times since the company started tracking songs in 1995. In America, it’s had 30,000 spins in 2021 and 570,000 lifetime.
And that doesn’t count all the cover versions Ariana Grande, CeeLo Green, My Chemical Romance (yes, there’s an emo version), Mumford & Sons, and scores of others.
“All I Want for Christmas is You”, I love this song. It’s magical and evokes a feeling of the approaching New Year. I have a special New Year’s playlist that I play all the time in December. So many things to complete by the end of the year. The good thing is that I was able to pass all my college exams with flying colors thanks to the service Studyessay)It’s time to decorate the Christmas tree and think about the menu for the Christmas table!