Amazon Music today released its brand-new mini-documentary, titled “Mariah Carey Is Christmas: The Story of ‘All I Want for Christmas Is You,’” diving deep into the origin of the blockbuster holiday song. The mini-documentary, created in celebration of the 25th anniversary of her album, “Merry Christmas,” features interviews with Carey, producer Randy Jackson, and other insiders sharing their take on the phenomenon that tops the charts nearly every years. The doc is now available to stream globally here.
Carey said, “As we continue to celebrate the 25th anniversary of ‘All I Want for Christmas Is You,’ it was important for me to share part of the story behind this song that still brings me joy every year. I hope you enjoy Amazon Music’s special glimpse into the magic of this song. Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!”
“The success of ‘All I Want for Christmas is You’ is unlike anything we’ve ever seen from a holiday hit on Amazon Music – it’s consistently the most popular song on our service globally during the holidays,” said Ryan Redington, Director of Amazon Music. “We were thrilled to be able to work with Mariah and those closest to her to document the making of this enduring hit, and share their stories with our customers.”
Popular on Variety
The doc presents rare footage from Mariah’s days of making the album and commentary from Jackson, Variety’s own executive music editor Shirley Halperin, Billboard senior charts director Gary Trust, and Carey’s longtime backup singer and friend of over 25 years, Trey Lorenz.
The song has spent 36 cumulative weeks at No. 1 on Billboard’s holiday chart since 2011 – the highest any holiday song in history has charted. This year Mariah was also presented with a Guinness World Record for the highest-charting holiday (Christmas/New Year) song on the Billboard Hot 100 by a solo artist.
Additionally, “All I Want for Christmas is You” remains number one on Amazon Music since Thanksgiving Day, and is the most-streamed holiday song in all 50 states this season.
The mini-doc, which focuses on pivotal moments in artists’ careers rather than laborious and predictable entire-life documentaries, has proved to be a successful format for Amazon Music. Over the past year the company has released “Still Ill: 25 Years of the Beastie Boys’ ‘Ill Communication’”, “The Birth of Biggie: 25 Years of ‘Ready to Die’” and “Departure,” a detailed look at Sharon Van Etten’s last days of living in New York City before her move to Los Angeles.
