Mariah Carey Sued Over Hit Holiday Song ‘All I Want For Christmas Is You’
A lawsuit filed Friday (June 3) accuses Mariah Carey of copyright infringement over her hit holiday song “All I Want for Christmas is You,” which she released in 1994 as part of her Merry Christmas album.
NBC News reports that songwriter Andy Stone, who filed the lawsuit, claims that he co-wrote a song with the same title five years before Carey’s version hit record stores. Both songs have the same title but different lyrics and melodies.
But Stone, who performs as Vince Vance with the country-pop band Vince Vance & the Valiants, says Carey and her co-defendants failed to seek or obtain permission to use, reproduce or distribute the song.
In addition to copyright infringement, the suit alleges misappropriation and other claims against Carey, her co-writer Walter Afanasieff and Sony Corporation of America. The complaint, filed in New Orleans federal court, seeks at least $20 million in damages.
According to the complaint, Stone co-wrote his version in 1989, and it appeared on the Billboard Music Charts after getting a lot of airplay in 1993.
Carey’s version has become a Christmas classic, topping the Billboard Hot 100 chart every year since 2019. It was her 19th No. 1 song.
