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GRAMMYs

Mariah Carey

Photo by Kevin Mazur/Getty Images

News
Mariah Carey's Enduring Holiday Smash Hits No. 1 mariah-careys-all-i-want-christmas-you-hits-no-1-25-years-after-its-initial-release

Mariah Carey's "All I Want For Christmas Is You" Hits No. 1 25 Years After Its Initial Release

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Take a trip back to 1994 as we dive deeper into the origins of a modern holiday classic
Will Hodge
GRAMMYs
Dec 17, 2019 - 12:19 pm

While the holiday marketing phrase "the gift that keeps on giving" has been around since at least the 1920s, the musical embodiment of this seasonal sentiment can be traced directly back to Oct. 28, 1994, when Mariah Carey released her iconic multi-platinum Merry Christmas album containing her inescapable holiday hit, "All I Want For Christmas Is You." However, instead of being a static nostalgic touchstone that harkens listeners back to a flannel-clad, Clinton-era Christmas of the ‘90s, Carey's ubiquitous yuletide love song has managed to continually build upon its own escalating legacy of pop culture domination season after season, resulting in this year's recently announced crowning achievement – for the first time in its 25-year existence, "All I Want For Christmas Is You" has hit No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100.

This newest (and perhaps most impressive) accolade awarded to "All I Want For Christmas Is You" is actually Carey's nineteenth No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, a feat that finds her leaving a second-spot tie with Elvis Presley to stand alone as being only one chart-topping single away from tying the Beatles at 20 No. 1 singles. To be clear, this is not the Billboard Holiday 100 chart (though "All I Want For Christmas Is You" has also sat atop that separate chart for 37 weeks since it was first created in 2011), but rather the actual Billboard Hot 100, where the 25-year-old Christmas classic beat out current non-holiday songs from The Weeknd, Post Malone, Lewis Capaldi, Lizzo and more.    

As monumental as that milestone may be on its own, it turns out it's not even the only honor Carey's smash hit achieved this year. Just last month, Guinness World Records certified "All I Want For Christmas Is You" with three new world records that will appear in the 2020 Guinness Book of World Records: Highest-Charting Holiday (Christmas/New Year) Song On The Hot 100 By A Solo Artist, Most Streamed Track On Spotify In 24 Hours (by a female-identifying artist), and Most Weeks In The UK Singles Top 10 Chart For A Christmas Song.

Joining this year's assortment of accolades is another sonic souvenir to Carey's fans – a double-disc Deluxe Anniversary Edition of Merry Christmas that features the original 1994 album (including the international edition bonus track "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen") and a bonus disc of 18 Christmas-themed songs, remixes, and live tracks culled from various holiday seasons across her career. Additionally, Carey is offering a few different versions of the "All I Want For Christmas Is You" single across multiple mediums – including CD, cassingle, and vinyl (in both 7" and 12" versions).

This new reissue of Merry Christmas is a nice reminder of Carey's superstar talents, relentless creative work ethic, and hard-earned staying power. While she famously didn't want to record a Christmas album at first – thinking it was too early in her career to attempt such a legacy artist move – she completely dove headfirst into the deep end once she decided to commit. She meticulously combed through the Christmas canon to find just the right mix of sacred and secular classics to put her own spin on, outfitted the recording studio with Christmas decorations, co-produced the album, and even co-wrote a trio of new songs – "All I Want For Christmas Is You," "Miss You Most (At Christmas Time)," and "Jesus Born on This Day" – with Walter Afanasieff, her longtime creative partner at the time who ended up co-writing over 20 songs with Carey, including some of her other massive number one hits like "Hero" and "One Sweet Day" with Boyz II Men.

While Carey's Merry Christmas has undoubtedly provided an omnipresent holiday soundtrack for the last two-and-a-half decades, the star of this year's reissue are the six live tracks from her Dec. 8, 1994 benefit concert at New York City's Cathedral of St. John the Divine. Notable at the time for being the first time Carey performed these songs from her recently released Merry Christmas album in front of an audience, now listening to these previously unreleased tracks provides a charming snapshot into Carey's early pre-pop diva career when her R&B and gospel roots oftentimes outshined her meticulously-crafted pop sheen.

While she unquestionably showcased her radio-ready talents right out of the gate, these St. John the Divine live versions of songs like "Silent Night," "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing," and "Joy to The World" find Carey, her background singers, and a spirited choir (on the latter two) literally and figuratively taking the audience to church with their flawless melodic interplay, nuanced improvisations, and stirring vocal runs.        

Even the live version of "All I Want For Christmas Is You" that opens the St. John the Divine performance finds Carey absolutely nailing the polished sections of the (then) new radio single, while still having some fun with the improvised vocal ad-libs that drive the outro vamp. Hearing this version 25 years after it was first performed not only reminds listeners of the proficient-yet-playful vocal theatrics of Carey's early work, but it also proves to be a really nice companion version to the original that offers a fresh take on the beloved classic. No matter if you've heard "All I Want For Christmas Is You" a thousand times or more, there's something energetically crisp about this early live version that makes it feel like you're hearing it for the first time.

It's hard to remember that with only three albums and a stellar live EP under her belt in 1994, many people (including Carey herself) were shocked to hear that she would be releasing a Christmas album. Even with the early successes of her multi-platinum self-titled debut album, her first four singles hitting No. 1, "Hero" becoming her signature song, and her mesmerizing performance on MTV Unplugged silencing her "studio creation" critics, Carey was still very much in the "proving ground" portion of her career at the time that Merry Christmas was released. However, as the last 25 years of merriment and milestones for "All I Want For Christmas Is You" has proven, Carey was right about the fact that recording a Christmas album was something that a more accomplished legacy artist would do – she just wasn't aware that she had already started to establish herself as one of the greats so early in her game-changing (and still ongoing!) career.    

What Was YouTube's Most-Streamed Music Video Of The Decade?

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GRAMMY.com Genre Pages

The Recording Academy/GRAMMY.com

News
GRAMMY.com Launches New Genre Pages grammy-genre-pages-music-discovery

GRAMMY.com Launches New Genre Pages To Expand Music Discovery

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Updated daily, the genre pages will help GRAMMY.com fans explore the latest news, read artist interviews, watch original video series and exclusive performances, and discover your next favorite artist
GRAMMYs
Jan 20, 2021 - 8:00 am

The nature of music genres has changed. Today, we live in a genre-bending world where sounds and styles transcend boundaries. While the music you listen to and love can no longer only be defined by labels and categories, genres continue to provide music-lovers unique ways to discover new music and next-gen artists.

That's why we're launching our brand-new genre pages on GRAMMY.com, a dynamic feature aimed at fostering music discovery and expanding your musical knowledge. Updated daily, the genre pages will help GRAMMY.com fans discover their next favorite artist, stay up to date on the latest music news, read insightful artist interviews and explore our vast library of original video series, exclusive performances and archival footage. 

Launching with sections for Rap, R&B, Pop, Country and Rock, the genre pages will give GRAMMY.com readers all the newest updates in music to know now, all packed in one, easy-to-use destination.

GRAMMY.com will launch more genre pages soon where you can explore all the artists, sounds and styles we celebrate every year at the annual GRAMMY Awards. 

Much like genres themselves, the GRAMMY Awards have evolved with the ever-changing music industry throughout the decades. Originally launched in 1959, the annual GRAMMYs, music's only peer-recognized award and highest achievement, honor artists and music in a wide field of categories across more than a dozen genres. The number of awards and categories recognized at the GRAMMY Awards has changed throughout the years with the emergence of growing sounds and styles, like rap and Latin, while certain awards have been discontinued or combined into larger umbrella genres. 

This year, at the 63rd GRAMMY Awards, airing Sunday, March 14, on CBS, the Recording Academy will recognize 83 categories across a vast array of genres. 

As music continues to progress and fans expand the ways they consume music and culture, GRAMMY.com remains your go-to destination for new music discovery, Recording Academy and industry updates and engaging, music-first content.

2021 GRAMMYs: Complete Nominees List

Cardi B & Rihanna

Cardi B & Rihanna in 2019

Photo: Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images

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Vote: What 2021 Album Can You Not Wait For? cardi-b-rihanna-rosal%C3%ADa-more-which-artists-2021-album-are-you-looking-forward-most

Cardi B, Rihanna, Rosalía & More: Which Artist's 2021 Album Are You Looking Forward To The Most?

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With a new year comes new music. Vote on the album you can't wait for in our latest poll
Ana Monroy Yglesias
GRAMMYs
Jan 19, 2021 - 3:26 pm

We're only three weeks into 2021, which means we have plenty of time left for new music releases. There are already some big albums confirmed and many more TBD ( based on artists' hints in interviews and social posts).

While Rihanna's long-awaited, "dangerously anticipated" ninth LP may be gifted to fans this year, it seems very likely music lovers will also be granted new albums from Adele, Billie Eilish, Cardi B, Brazilian pop queen Anitta, Gwen Stefani, Lil Nas X, Kacey Musgraves, Sade, Rosalía, Lorde, and many more.

Let us know whose new album you are most excited to hear this year in our poll below:

Polls

What 2021 Album Are You Most Looking Forward To?

Poll: What's Your 2021 Musical New Year's Resolution?

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Demi Lovato Capitol Hill

Demi Lovato at March For Our Lives on March 24, 2018 in Washington, DC.

Photo: Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for March For Our Lives

News
Biden-Harris Inauguration: Watch Demi Lovato, More biden-harris-inauguration-watch-%E2%80%98celebrating-america%E2%80%99-demi-lovato-foo-fighters-more

Biden-Harris Inauguration: Watch ‘Celebrating America’ With Demi Lovato, Foo Fighters & More Here

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Plus, check out more performances before “Celebrating America” and revisit past Inauguration week musical performances
Jennifer Velez
GRAMMYs
Jan 19, 2021 - 1:13 pm

Inauguration Day is here. On Wednesday, Jan. 20, Joe Biden will take the oath of office to begin his term as the 46th president of the United States. While celebrations will be different this year, in honor of the new administration, some of music’s biggest stars will make appearances at a 59th Inauguration program special that Americans will be able to watch from home. After the swearing-in of President-elect Biden and Vice-President-elect Kamala Harris, Tom Hanks will host the 90-minute "Celebrating America" special that will feature appearances from Demi Lovato, the Foo Fighters, Justin Timberlake, Jon Bon Jovi, John Legend, Bruce Springsteen, and more.

Stream the program at 8:30 p.m. EST above or at BidenInaugural.org/watch, YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, and Twitch. Amazon Prime Video, Microsoft Bing, NewsNOW from Fox, and AT&T U-verse (Channel 212/1212 in SD/HD) and DIRECTV (Channel 201) will also stream the program. ABC, CBS, CNN, NBC, MSNBC, and PBS will broadcast the program live as well.

But, while major performances will take place Wednesday, the celebrations have already started. Revisit some of the performances and check out one more set of performances before “Celebrating America” below:

“Official Latino Inaugural 2021: Inheritance, Resilience & Promise” With Gaby Moreno, Farruko And More. 

Actor Eva Longoria Bastón will host a program on Tuesday, Jan. 19 featuring big names in the Latino community. The event will have “performances from Gilberto Santa Rosa, Gaby Moreno featuring David Garza, and All-Star Tejanos United – Stefani Montiel, Jose Posada, Shelly Lares, DJ Kane, and Mariachi Nuevo Santander from Roma High School in Roma, Texas. The event will also include an Emilio Estefan produced performance of One World, One Prayer by the Wailers, featuring Skip Marley, Farruko, Shaggy and Cedella Marley,” according to the Biden inaugural website.

Rita Moreno, Lin-Manuel Miranda, John Leguizamo, Ivy Queen, and more will also make appearances.

The special will go live at bideninaugural.org/watch at 9:30 p.m. EST, as well as Telemundo and Univision digital platforms. Telemundo: YouTube, Facebook. Univision: Twitter and Facebook.  

Black Pumas and Resistance Revival Chorus With Deva Mahal At “America United: An Inauguration Welcome Event Celebrating America’s Changemakers”

2021 GRAMMY Award nominees Black Pumas, and Resistance Revival Chorus With Deva Mahal performed at an event celebrating the diversity of the country on Jan. 16. Catch appearances from Darren Criss, Whoopi Goldberg and more .

Bebe Winans, Aloe Blacc, Yo-Yo Ma And More At "United We Serve: A Celebration of the National MLK Day of Service"

Celebrations in remembrance of Martin Luther King Jr. on Jan. 18 included performances from many names familiar to the GRAMMYs. BeBe Winans, Aloe Blacc, Yo-Yo Ma, Andra Day were among performers paying tribute to the late Civil Rights leader. In another performance, Chesca delivered a Spanish-language performance with Diane Warren on piano. Alejandro Fernandez and Mana also teamed up for another Spanish-language performance. Replay the stream above.

Tune in to "Celebrating America" with Demi Lovato, Foo Fighters and more at 8:30 p.m. EST on Jan 20., above.

2021 GRAMMYs: Complete Nominees List

Mariah Carey at the 1991 GRAMMYs

Mariah Carey at the 1991 GRAMMYs

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Watch Mariah Carey Win Best New Artist In 1991 mariah-carey-best-new-artist-1991-grammys-grammy-rewind

GRAMMY Rewind: Watch Mariah Carey Shine As She Wins Best New Artist At The 1991 GRAMMYs

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In the latest episode of GRAMMY Rewind, watch the powerhouse songstress accept her Best New Artist gramophone
Ana Monroy Yglesias
GRAMMYs
Nov 27, 2020 - 10:43 am

In the latest edition of GRAMMY Rewind, witness a 20-year-old Mariah Carey shine brightly at the 1991 GRAMMYs as she accepts her Best New Artist GRAMMY win.

"I'd just like to thank God for the blessings that have brought me here," she says, rocking curly locks and a classy, rhinestone-encrusted little black dress.

Watch Mariah Carey Win Best New Artist In 1991

More Mariah: Mariah Carey's "All I Want For Christmas Is You" Hits No. 1 25 Years After Its Initial Release

That year, she took home her first two golden gramophones, also winning Best Female Pop Vocal Performance for her debut hit single, "Vision of Love." The powerful song was also nominated for Record Of The Year and Song Of The Year, while her self-titled debut album, which opens with the track, got a nod for Album Of The Year.

Meet This Year's Best New Artist Nominees | 2021 GRAMMYs

 

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