Mississippi songwriter Andy Stone dropped the $20 million copyright infringement case he filed against Mariah Carey and co-writer Walter Afanasieff for their hit song ‘All I want for Christmas is You’. He claimed that he recorded and released a song of the same name under the moniker Vince Vance And The Valiants in 1989, 5 years before Mariah Carey released the now-classic Christmas song. Lawyers representing Stone requested to dismiss the lawsuit on Tuesday, without providing a reason.
There are many songs registered under US copyright with the same title, but Carey’s version of the song remains the most popular to date. The song has reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 for 3 consecutive holiday seasons. Since the song’s release in 1994, Christmas has become widely synonymous with Mariah Carey. According to a study by The Economist, Carey makes about $2.5 million per year from the song and generates an estimated $600,000 per year in royalties.
In 2017, Twitter netizens discovered that the famous song resurfaces around Christmas time every year despite being 28 years old, giving birth to an array of memes. It seems that Mariah’s lawsuit took a turn for the better just in time for her favourite festive season. She is set to start her Merry Christmas to All mini tour next month. She will perform shows in Toronto and New York.
Mariah Carey defrosting pic.twitter.com/oAVGwfToRa
— all reaction videos (@allreactionvids) October 31, 2022
28 years ago today, mariah carey invented christmas✨ pic.twitter.com/8K0TTRAiKO
— 2000s (@PopCulture2000s) October 29, 2022
Mariah herself is not a stranger to these memes and has often hopped on the trend. In an unsaid tradition, she announces the arrival of the holiday season each year.
IT’S TIME!!! 🎄☃️ #MariahSZN pic.twitter.com/CtRsxYyLo8
— Mariah Carey (@MariahCarey) November 1, 2022
The music industry is rife with plagiarism and copyright infringement battles, many of which end in out-of-court settlements. Radiohead attempted to sue Lana Del Rey on grounds that her song ‘Get Free’ bears resemblance to ‘Creep’. Taylor Swift’s era-defining 2014 hit, ‘Shake It Off’, faced similar allegations from 3LW. The girl group released a song called ‘Playas Gonna Play’ in 2000. Swift tried her level best to avoid trial, but the case will go to trial in January 2023. Another notable case of such an accusation is Spirit’s lawsuit against Led Zeppelin’s ‘Stairway to Heaven’.
