Mariah Carey Wishes You a Merry Christmas … Again

Douglas Boultinghouse
Editor-in-Chief

Courtesy of Mariah Carey

Merry Christmas II You

   “I don’t want a lot for Christmas, there’s just one thing I need …”

   Everyone knows the opening lines to one of the generations most played Christmas songs: “All I Want for Christmas is You.”

   Believe it or not, pop icon Mariah Carey wrote the holiday classic with songwriter Walter Afanasieff for her infamous album “Merry Christmas” in 1994, the album that happens to be one of Billboard’s biggest-selling holiday albums of all time.

   With the album receiving praise and massive sells each year for the past 16 years, Carey decided to provide a follow-up to the legendary collection. She released “Merry Christmas II You” Nov. 2.

Christmas Carey Style

   Just like the first holiday album, part two features Christmas classics as well as original compositions by Carey, such as the album’s lead single, “Oh Santa!”

   “Santa, If you get this letter / Won't you help me out? / I know you're kinda busy with your elves right now / And I don't know how you do the things you do while I sleep on Christmas eve / But it's amazing / And I bet that you could bring me back my baby,” she sings.

   While the lyrics of the song are fun and catchy, the cheerleading-esque chant throughout the song, “Santa’s gonna come and make you mine this Christmas! Oh Santa! Ho Ho Ho,” make the song one of the most infectious songs of the year. If you thought “All I Want for Christmas is You” got stuck in your head every year, this one sticks like glue.

   The album also features a jazzy tune Carey titled “When Christmas Comes.” The song, with powerful vocals and perfect melodies similar to those heard on her hit album “The Emancipation of Mimi,” stands out among the rest.

   “So many souls hurt / So many don't have enough / When Christmas comes … But baby if you spread love / Someday it might be enough / To heal each other / One by one,” she sings.

   Carey co-wrote two other tracks on the album: “One Child” and “Christmas Time is in the Air Again.”

   “One Child” mesmerizes listeners and tells the story of the birth of Jesus.  A children’s choir joins Carey for the chorus, “One child can change the world / Christmas Morn’ / The King of all kings was born / He reigns forevermore / Let us worship and adore / Christ the Lord.”

   “Christmas Time” is bittersweet and peaceful. Though the weaker one of the original tracks, the song builds and towards the end, Carey’s voice shines in its purest form, showing off her impressive range.

Mariah-ized

   Carey’s voice, by far one of the (if not the) greatest of our generation, soars on Christmas classics such as “The First Noel”, “O Little Town of Bethlehem” and the always-fun “Charlie Brown Christmas.”

   But as this is Mariah Carey singing them, she adds her sparkle to the songs. She blends the drums and harmonies of “Little Drummer Boy” with “O Little Town” and creates an entirely new masterpiece. She does the same to “Noel” by adding a rhythmic version of “Born is the King” to the end.

   Another pairing is “O Come All Ye Faithful” with the “Hallelujah Chorus.” But the pairing of songs is not the magic on this track; it’s the pairing of singers.  Carey sings “Faithful” which leads into “Hallelujah,” sung by her mother Patricia Carey, an opera singer. The mother and daughter harmonize together at the song’s finish. Marking the first time the pair has ever recorded together, there’s no questioning where Mariah Carey’s voice came from.

   She also completely revamped “Here Comes Santa Claus” into a hip-hop “Housetop Celebration.” Swiftly, she manages to keep the song recognizable and pleasantly refreshing.

   As New Years is often mixed with Christmas celebrations, Carey included “Auld Lang Syne (The New Years Anthem)” on the album. She begins singing over a piano the traditional lines of the song. A minute into the song, a countdown begins. As the countdown reaches No. 1, the lines turn into an energetic dance track, perfect for wrapping up the holiday festivities.

Merry Christmas

   To bring a little bit of the magic from the first album to its continuation, she included a live version of “O Holy Night,” as the studio recording appeared on the original “Merry Christmas.” The live track features a choir and orchestra backing up Carey’s stellar pipes.

   Also included on the album is an “Extra Festive” version of … you guessed it, “All I Want for Christmas is You!”

   While some question what’s “extra festive” about it, one thing is the new orchestrated intro leading into the song. The tempo of the song has been shifted upwards as more bells have been added to provide a little more jingle. The most noticeable festiveness appears at the end of the song. Where on the original version, the song faded out as Carey sang the lines “All I want / All I really want / All I want / All I really want is / Want is / Want is / Want is / Is you,” the new version puts this portion in focus.

   When Carey announced she would release “Merry Christmas II You,” I (and probably many others I assume) wondered if she could live up to the standard she set with the first album. The simple answer, after listening to the new collection, is no.

   The albums show two different sides to the versatile singer. The one constant, her unmistakable voice, makes each album stand alone as timeless pieces of Christmas collections. She didn’t top herself; she just set a new standard.

   Carey will perform selections from both albums at 8 p.m. Monday, Dec. 13 on the ABC Network special “Mariah Carey: Merry Christmas to You.”

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