SUPERSTAR SINGE A VERY
All diva iva wants for Christmas stmas is to help everyone finish h year on a high.. .. and see her famed amed track hit No1 o1 at last
MARIAH Carey claims she doesn’t want a l ot f or Christmas – but admits if she didn’t get anything she’d be “a little bit sad”.
The 50- year- old’s festive mega hit All I Want For Christmas Is You is on course to finally get to No1 in the UK on Friday, 26 years after it was released in 1994.
Since streaming was included in the charts, the tune has become a Christmas classic – as much part of the season as turkey and the tree.
And while the mum of two sings about not wanting a lot – the diva admitted she i s hoping for more than just Christmas spirit.
She said: “In the song, All I Want For Christmas Is You, I literally say, ‘ I don’t care about the presents underneath the Christmas tree...’ because it’s not about the present that we get.
“Sure, we al l want diamonds b u t f o r m e i t ’s a b o u t t h e Christmas spirit.
“That doesn’t mean if someone doesn’t get me something or make something for me that I won’t feel a little bit sad.”
She starts laughing. Mariah is the diva of all divas. Her new Magical Christmas Special for Apple TV+ reportedly cost € 4million as she spent € 135,000 on styling including hair and make- up and signed up her A- list pals including Ariana Grande and Snoop Dogg.
But for Mariah, who refuses to celebrate birthdays – calling them “anniversaries” – Christmas is her time of the year.
As well as her song taking over from Bing Crosby’s White Christmas or Slade’s e’s Merry Xmas Everybody ody as the song we al l want to hear d u r i n g t h e f e s t i v e season, Mariah loves
C h r i s t m a s m o r e than any y other time of year.
Her fondness ondness o f t h e f e s t i v e s e a s o n w a s sparked b y a d i f f i c u l t childhood od in
Long I sl and ,
N e w Yo r k , w h e n h e r family – especially her er dad a n d b r o t h e r
Mo r g a n – w o u l d a r g u e constantly, ntly, oft en ending up physical fights.
When n she first found fame and success she wowed to have the kind of Christmas tmas she always dreamed of.
Now, with the Covid pandemic having ruined so much of 2020, Mari ah want e d t o make sure Christmas mas – whether it be her song or her festive stive special – offered some respite to o the world.
She said: aid: “It’s been such a rough year for everybody so the goal was
i n
t o do t he b e st , most b eautiful Christmas special that we could. “Covid couldn’t spoil Christmas.” Prior to Covid cancelling gigs, Mariah had b e en e putti ng on a Christmas show at the Beacon Theatre in Manhattan sinc since 2014, and her TV show was the best s she could do to give something festive t to her fans.
S h e a d d e d : “I j u s t woul d n’ t feel happy if I couldn’t coul celebrate with my fans.
“What has happ happened this year has been so traumat traumatising but I think things are changing changin for the better. I’m being festive in spite sp of everything. We’re home and it i is what it is. It’s about your heart heart.”
As well as celebs, ce the show also f e ature atures s h e r ni n e - year - ol d twins Moroccan Moro and Monroe. And while w the youngsters – who she calls Roc and Roe – have h a d t o w i s h f o r n o t h i n g g i v e n Mari Mariah’s huge success as a sing singer, she is worried her love of Christmas would turn them off from it.
She said: “W We do everything from watch C Christmas movies t o g e t h e r a n d l i s t e n i n g t o Christmas music mu to the point where I ’m like like, ‘ I hope I ’m not overdoing this!’
“I don’t want them to grow up and be l li i ke, ‘ Yeah, Ye she made us celebrate all a the time.’
“Th The truth is they can’t w wait for Christmas and I think t h i s year, of a l l years, there’s going to be a excit ement f or us al l j ust celebrating.”
Like millions around the world – her children are making a list of what they hope Santa will bring them.
She added: “I always hope they have the best Christmas ever and I really tr y to do that. They actually gav e me t h e i r Chri s t mas l i s t s yesterday, which were very large. We are getting into that.”
Of course, Maria has a favourite Christmas memory with her children.
“The first time I brought them to Aspen to go sledding,” she said.
“They were babies in their little red and green ensembles on their sleds.
“I j u s t a l w a y s remember that moment. They didn’t know what was going on but we have that picture forever.” ariah has been at the top of her g a me f o r 3 0 years. She still holds the record for being the only act to have their first five singles go to No1 in America, from 1990’ s debut Vision of Love to 1991’ s Emotions.
She has had 19 US No1s – more than any solo artist in history.
But she’s only had two UK No1 singles – Without You in 1994 and her collaboration with Westlife in 2000, Against All Odds.
She’s hoping to score her third No1 on Friday. If All I Want for Christmas Is You goes to No1 it will follow America, which crowned it No1 in 2019 – 25 years after it was released – and put it back at No1 again this week.
Tweeting about the race to the UK No1, she said: “Now we can only hope
Mlot of to be
to make it happen.” The success of her Magical Christmas Special on Apple TV+ will help.
After the show was released last week, it went to No1 in 100 countries around the globe who loved watching Mariah helping Father Christmas.
And while Mariah has had her beef with rapper Eminem, she was a pussycat when it came to singing with Snoop Dogg.
She said: “We really took the opportunity to have fun with it and play. Snoop surprised me at the last minute. He came to the shoot and he was like, ‘ I really want to do something for the kids for Christmas.’
“You just have to watch the special to see how he came through and why I’m o b s e s s e d w i t h t h i s Christmas moment with Snoop.”
And it seems Mariah, who is dating her former backin g dancer Br yan Tanaka, has more dreams to make reality.
I n S e p t e m b e r s h e released her memoir, The Meaning of Mariah Carey, which details her chaotic upbringing and her rags- to- riches story. She is hoping in 2021 she can turn the book into a movie.
She said: “This has been a very tough year so right now I ’m excited about my memoir and what is going to be the filmed version.”
And she hopes that everyone will get the perfect Christmas present – an end to Covid.
Mariah added: “I’m staying hopeful that we can push past this year emotionally because it has been tough.”
Mariah Carey’s Magical Christmas Special, Apple TV+.
I wouldn’t feel happy if I couldn’t celebrate with fans MARIAH CAREY ON REASONS FOR TV SHOW