Singer-songwriter Mariah Carey, 53, faces a lawsuit by another songwriter over her holiday earworm, “All I Want for Christmas is You.” Andy Stone alleges copyright infringement against the R&B chanteuse of his track with the name title, released in 1989, according to the Washington Post.
On Friday, Andy Stone, known under the stage name Vince Vance, half of the country band Vince Vance & the Valiants, filed his lawsuit in a New Orleans federal court against the five-time Grammy winner.
Stones wants to recoup $20 million in damages for alleged copyright infringement, exploiting his “popularity” and “style,” unjust enrichment, and other grievances, the Washington Post reports.
Although the songs share the same title, the two musical pieces are strikingly dissimilar, but Stone claims Carey’s use of the tag caused confusion with his tune, and the songstress did not request permission, according to BBC.
Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas is You” is one of the top Christmas hits of all time, and it was a smash in several countries. By 2017, Carey reportedly banked $60 million in royalties from the song that has also hit one billion streams on Spotify. Carey even acknowledged in her recent memoir that she composed the majority of the music on “a cheap little Casio keyboard,” the BBC reports.
This year the Songwriters Hall of Fame inducted Carey into the organization, recognizing her nonpareils songwriting expertise. Its website labeled her as part of “an elite group of songwriters” and illuminated that she had “written or co-written 18 of her 19 number one songs on the Billboard Hot 100.”
The lawsuit lists Carey, her co-writer Walter Afanasieff, and record label Sony Music Entertainment in the complaint.
The whole situation is a bit curious, considering Sony released Carey’s song 28 years ago. Stone’s lawyers argue that they contacted Carey and her co-defendants in 2021 but were “unable to come to any agreement.”
According to the United States Copyright Office, there are 177 records registered under the title “All I Want for Christmas is You,” the BBC reports.
Carey has not publicly responded to the lawsuit.