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Sheā€™s the Christmas queen, even performing holiday concerts across the United States. Mariah Carey first premiered ā€œAll I Want for Christmas Is Youā€ in 1994 and since then, itā€™s become synonymous with December and this festive holiday. Does this artist still make money from her Christmas classic? Hereā€™s our look into the song of the holiday season, Mariah Careyā€™s ā€œAll I Want for Christmas Is You.ā€

Santa Claus and Mariah Carey perform during a pre-tape performance for NBC's Christmas tree lighting at Rockefeller Center
Santa Claus and Mariah Carey perform during a pre-taped performance for NBCā€™s Christmas tree lighting at Rockefeller Center | Photo by James Devaney/WireImage

ā€˜All I Want for Christmas Is Youā€™ is one of Mariah Careyā€™s Christmas songs

Itā€™s not officially Christmas until Mariah Carey says so. This year, the artist shared a video to social media the day after Halloween, featuring a phone call from Santa Claus and her best-selling song,Ā  ā€œAll I Want for Christmas Is You.ā€ Mariah Carey first premiered this song in 1994, along with her album Merry Christmas. Since then, it became a holiday staple, playing daily on some holiday radio stations.

ā€œI just sat down, decorated a little tree and put on Itā€™s A Wonderful Life and tried to get into that mood,ā€ Mariah Carey said of her hit song, according to Cosmopolitan. ā€œThen I sat in this small room with a keyboard and started doing little melodies and stuff. I was going over all the things I think about at Christmas time that make me happy and how to turn it around and make it into a love song.ā€

Mariah Carey performs at the 81st Annual Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree Lighting
Mariah Carey performs at the 81st Annual Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree Lighting Photo by James Devaney/WireImage

How much money does Mariah Carey make from ā€˜All I Want for Christmas Is Youā€™?

Because of the popularity of this song during the holiday season, Mariah Carey continues to earn money from ā€œAll I Want for Christmas Is You,ā€ even over 20 years later. Reportedly, Mariah Carey earned over almost $520 million to date from this song alone.

According to Business Insider, this song still earns this artist millions on an annual basis. Their article reads, ā€œSince its release in 1994, the Christmas hit has earned the US singer over $60 million according to The Economist ā€” and thatā€™s not all. In the UK alone, the song earns her over $500,000 in royalties every year, according to The Independent. If you include the royalties she receives from other countries in the world, sheā€™s earning millions every year.ā€

Is ā€˜All I Want for Christmas Is Youā€™ Mariah Careyā€™s most popular song?

This pop diva has a few award-winning songs under her belt. Carey won the Grammy Award for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance for ā€œWe Belong Together.ā€ Additionally, she won the Grammy Award for Best Pop Vocal Performance, Female for ā€œVision Of Love.ā€ Her album, Merry Christmas, however, did not earn the artist any major awards.

Thatā€™s not to say other songs off of Merry Christmas arenā€™t popular. ā€œChristmas (Baby Please Come Homeā€ earned over 70 million plays on Spotify. Her version of ā€œO Holy Nightā€ has over 40 million plays on the streaming platform. Of course, ā€œAll I Want for Christmas Is Youā€ is the most popular song on this album, based on the number of plays on Spotify.

Music by Mariah Carey, including ā€œAll I Want for Christmas Is You,ā€ is available on Spotify, Apple Music, and most major streaming platforms.Ā