Yahoo Lifestyle Mariah Carey Marks 30 Years Of Her Classic Christmas Tune With A Festive New Venture
To mark the 30th anniversary of “All I Want for Christmas Is You,” Mariah Carey is giving fans across the U.S. a chance to raise a glass in celebration.
Last week, Carey unveiled holiday pop-up bars at Virgin Hotels in Chicago, Dallas, New Orleans, New York and Nashville, Tennessee. From now until Dec. 29, guests can enjoy a selection of signature cocktails, including the Make My Wish Come True Martini and the Queen of Christmas Cocoa, each based around the pop diva’s own liqueur, Black Irish.
Despite a stretch of unseasonably sunny weather, attendees at the New York bar’s official Nov. 15 kickoff arrived in sparkling evening gowns, argyle sweaters, fur-lined hats and other wintry looks.
Many posed with a life-sized cutout of Carey that appeared just outside the entrance, while others danced along to a high-energy mix of 1990s hits and holiday classics, including Carey’s version of “Santa Claus Is Comin’ to Town” and, of course, “All I Want for Christmas Is You.” As for the bar’s interior, it was decorated from floor to ceiling in silver tinsel, fake snow and twinkling trees.
The Mariah Carey’s Black Irish Holiday Bars, as they’re officially known, are produced by Bucket Listers, an online events company. Keely O’Neal, the group’s senior project manager of experiences, described the bars as a “perfect space to go with friends and family, really cozy up and just forget about the outside world and lean into the holiday cheer.”
As for working with Carey and her team on the project specifically, she added: “As soon as Nov. 1 hits, [Carey] does her ‘defrosting,’ and that song just becomes the anthem for the holidays. So we wanted to do nods to the Queen of Christmas herself.”
The openings of Carey’s pop-ups come as the five-time Grammy winner is in the midst of her 2024 Christmas Time Tour. The trek kicked off Nov. 6 in Highland, California, and is slated to hit Philadelphia, Boston and other cities before wrapping Dec. 17 in New York.
To many fans, Carey has become synonymous with the holiday season ― in no small thanks to “All I Want for Christmas is You” and the smash album on which it appeared, “Merry Christmas.” In the 30 years since the album’s release, the singer’s Yuletide empire has grown to include film and TV projects, children’s books, clothing and her own line of ornaments.
Carey, for her part, has said she initially was reluctant to release a Christmas album so early in her career ― though it’s safe to say her gamble paid off.
“I grew up looking forward to the holidays all year long, but because I have such a tragically dysfunctional family, certain family members or ex-family members would ruin it every year,” she told Billboard in 2019. “As an adult, what I’ve tried to do is take what I always wished Christmas would be and have the perfect holiday season.”
She went on to note: “For me, it’s not just making a Christmas album for the sake of jumping on a bandwagon. It’s literally exorcising the demons that I had to battle as a child and coming out still feeling festive.”
