Mariah Carey is being sued for copyright infringement over her festive hit ‘All I Want For Christmas Is You’, it has been reported.
The pop star originally released the track in 1994 and has gone on to become a modern Christmas classic. In 2019, it hit the top of the Billboard Hot 100 in the US for the first time, repeating the feat on the Official UK Singles Chart the following year.
However, songwriter Andy Stone has now claimed copyright infringement over the song in a new lawsuit. According to TMZ, Stone is seeking at least $20million (£16m) in damages from Carey, arguing that he wrote and released his own song with the same title.
The songwriter released his song called ‘All I Want For Christmas Is You’ under the moniker Vince Vance & The Valiants in 1989. The song entered the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart in 1994, where it kept placing until 2000. Its last chart entry was on the Billboard Hot 100 Recurrent Airplay chart in 2002, where it peaked at Number 23.
Stone’s ‘All I Want For Christmas Is You’ only shares similarities with Carey’s hit in its title. However, he argues in the lawsuit that Carey did not ask permission to use the title. According to documents obtained by PA Media, the filing states that Carey and collaborator Walter Afanasieff “knowingly, wilfully, and intentionally engaged in a campaign” to infringe Stone’s copyright for the song.
It adds that Carey and Afanasieff committed “acts of unjust enrichment by the unauthorised appropriation of plaintiff’s work and the goodwill associated therewith”.
Carey has not responded to the lawsuit publicly at the time of writing. NME has contacted representatives for the pop star for comment.
Last Christmas saw Carey’s ‘All I Want For Christmas Is You’ reach 1billion streams on Spotify as it topped the Billboard Hot 100 for a third consecutive year. “Thank you @spotify, the #lambily, and everyone who streams this song to add a little bit of festivity to the season! I truly appreciate each and every one of these 1 billion streams!” Carey wrote on Instagram in response to hitting the milestone.
Meanwhile, the star was announced to be joining the MasterClass series in April, giving a class on “the voice as an instrument”. “You’re up next, and you’re going to rock this!” she told fans in an Instagram post promoting the class.