Mariah Carey may have a legal battle on her hands this holiday season, as a songwriter claims that she stole one of her most popular Christmas songs. Vince Vance, who wrote and recorded "All I Want for Christmas Is You" with his band the Valiants in 1989, has filed a lawsuit against Carey, accusing her of infringing his copyright.
Vance alleges that Carey's version of the song, which was released in 1994 and has become a perennial hit, is substantially similar to his original work. He claims that his song received "extensive airplay" in the 1993 holiday season, suggesting that Carey and her co-writer Walter Afanasieff were likely aware of it and copied it. He also disputes Carey's claim that she wrote the song in 15 minutes, calling it an "incredulous origin story".
"Carey has without licensing, palmed off these works with her incredulous origin story, as if those works were her own… Her hubris knowing no bounds, even her co-credited songwriter doesn't believe the story she has spun. This is simply a case of actionable infringement," Vance's lawyers state in the complaint, according to Billboard.
This is not the first time that Vance has sued Carey over the song. He filed a similar lawsuit in 2020, but withdrew it a month later. He did not explain why he decided to revive the case this year, but he is seeking unspecified damages and an injunction to stop Carey from performing or profiting from the song.
Carey has not commented on the lawsuit yet, but she has previously defended her songwriting process and denied any plagiarism allegations. In a 2019 interview with Billboard, she said that she was inspired by Phil Spector's classic Christmas albums and wanted to create a modern holiday anthem. She also said that she was proud of the song and its enduring popularity.
"I just wanted to write a song that would make me happy and make other people happy," she said. "It's really been an incredible gift for me, and I'm very thankful."
[Source: Classic Hits Today]