Musician Andy Stone filed a $20 million lawsuit against Mariah Carey in a California court on Monday, alleging that her popular holiday song “All I Want for Christmas is You” violated his copyright. Stone, the lead vocalist of Vince Vance and the Valiants, co-authored his own song, also titled “All I Want for Christmas is You,” back in 1989. Stone’s complaint, as obtained by Fox News Digital, claimed that Carey and her team had copied the “compositional structure” of his song.
According to court documents, Stone asserted that Carey had “directly” lifted lyrics from his 1989 hit, resulting in approximately 50% of the song being a case of copyright infringement. Stone argued that Carey and her team undoubtedly had access to his version of “All I Want for Christmas is You” due to its significant commercial and cultural success.
Andy Stone and Mariah Carey (Credits: Vogue)
His song had charted on the Billboard for several years, and his band even performed it at the White House in 1994, coincidentally the same year Carey’s song was released. This White House performance reignited Vince Vance and the Valiants’ song on the Billboard Hot Country Chart in 1994, according to court records.
Stone’s complaint further alleged that Carey had capitalized on the success of her infringing work, as “All I Want for Christmas is You” had become an integral part of popular culture, with Carey’s name becoming synonymous with the holiday season. As of the time of this report, a representative for Carey had not responded to Fox News Digital’s request for a comment.
Notably, Stone had previously filed a lawsuit against Carey in June 2022 in a Louisiana court but later dropped the claim, as reported by People magazine.
Carey’s Christmas hit, “All I Want for Christmas is You,” has been a holiday classic since its release in 1994, topping the Billboard Hot 100 and selling over 10 million copies. Carey has continued to embrace the song’s success, teasing the Christmas season on social media with a video announcement garnering over 70 million views and 2 million likes on Instagram.
In an interview with W Magazine, Carey shared how the song came to be, explaining that the idea of doing a Christmas album was initially suggested by her record company early in her career. Despite her initial reservations, Carey, who has always loved Christmas, decided to go ahead with it. She aimed to make the song timeless and classic by avoiding specific era-related sounds. Carey expressed her astonishment at how the song had become a significant part of her life.
