All I Want for Christmas Is You

"All I Want for Christmas Is You" is a song by American singer Mariah Carey and Walter Afanasieff, recorded for Carey's album Merry Christmas (1994). Its protagonist declares that she does not care about Christmas presents or lights; all she wants for Christmas is to be with her lover. It is unrelated to the 1989 Christmas hit single by novelty act Vince Vance & The Valiants. It was released as the album's first single in December 1994 and reached the top ten in several countries. According to The New Yorker, it is "one of the few worthy modern additions to the holiday canon."[1] Despite the common misconception that Carey merely covered this song, the track is in fact an original song written by Carey and Walter Afanasieff.[2] It has been covered by singers such as John Mayer, Shania Twain, Samantha Mumba, bands such as My Chemical Romance and Zebrahead, girl group The Cheetah Girls, and Miley Cyrus (Hannah Montana). It was performed by Olivia Olson in the film Love Actually (2003). By late 2006, it had become the best-selling holiday ringtone of all time in the U.S.[3] "All I Want for Christmas Is You" is the best-selling contemporary holiday ringtone in the U.S. for third consecutive year with cumulative sales topping 1.8 million,[4] and is the first holiday song to sell one million digital downloads in the U.S.[5] In December 2009 "All I want For Christmas is You" became the world's first holiday ringtone to be certified 2x platinum by the RIAA and is the "top-selling holiday ringtone of all time".[6] It also remains the all-time best-selling single in Japan by an non-Asian female artist in history and was the best-selling single in 1994. It remains one of the best-selling singles of all time with sales of 12 million worldwide.