It’s the first of December, the day after Thanksgiving, or even the day after Halloween. You decide to start crafting your holiday playlist. You decide to put songs such as, “Rockin’ Around The Christmas Tree” by Brenda Lee, “Last Christmas” by Wham! and “It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas” by Michael Bublé.

Many playlists rotate through songs with classic tunes by smooth voices like Perry Como and Bing Crosby, but if you ask me who deserves the title of King/Queen of Christmas(K/QoC), I would say Mariah Carey, no doubt.

Mariah Carey can sing in a higher register, and when she does it sounds light and clear. She is what I associate with Christmas music. Carey is one of the most popular Christmas artists because of her song “All I Want for Christmas is You” from her 1994 album “Merry Christmas.”

The song has over 1.2 billion streams on Spotify and as of Dec. 5, 2022, the music video has 738 million views. It’s a hit that’s been topping the charts each holiday season in recent years. The album includes other great songs, most of them covers of Christmas classics.

There aren’t many pop competitors for the title. The holiday genre has a large variety of artists and songs but the genre isn’t for everyone. For example, Justin Bieber’s song “Mistletoe” or “Do They Know It’s Christmas” by Band Aid. However, not everyone can pull it off as Carey does. Many popular Christmas songs sound old and are very outdated, whereas Carey’s music, despite it being 28 years old, sounds like music of today.

Carey’s fanbase refers to her as the QoC, however, some disagree and call her overrated.

In March 2021, the United States Patent and Trademark Office wouldn’t uphold her title of the QoC when Carey and her team applied for the title. Elizabeth Chan, a full time Christmas singer-songwriter, believes no one should hold the title and try to monopolize it, but they should share it. Darlene Love, an American singer who is most known for her song “Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)”, agrees with Chan. Love is 81 years old and has been in the singing industry for a while, she was one titled Queen of Christmas by David Letterman in 1993.

When lined up on my playlist, Carey’s song “All I Want For Christmas is You” is truly a great song. It talks about how the materialism of Christmas is irrelevant and that being with your loved ones is what’s really important in the holiday season. The song also sounds like it belongs, standing the test of time. It’s upbeat and very cheerful. It’s the perfect song, sung by the right singer. Carey will always sit on the Christmas thrown in my Christmas kingdom.