Judge awards Mariah Carey R1,5m over Christmas song lawsuit

Updated | By Entertainment Reporter

The 'Queen of Christmas' has been awarded over a million rand after a lawsuit related to her 'All I Want for Christmas Is You' song was dismissed earlier this year.

Mariah Carey holding a gold torch with a fake flame — Mariah Carey / Instagram (@mariahcarey)

Mariah Carey has scored another victory in a lawsuit filed against her popular song, 'All I Want for Christmas Is You'.

A U.S. judge has awarded the 56-year-old a $92,000 (R1,533,366) payout after copyright claims against the 1994 classic were dismissed earlier this year.

Country singer Andy Stone filed a copyright infringement lawsuit in 2023, noting that his band, Vince Vance and the Valiants, released a song with the same name in the '80s.

His lawyers claimed that Carey copied the compositional structure of the song, stating that "50 per cent of the words are the same" in both songs and "almost the same order".

They also noted that both songs focus on a similar theme of wishing to be with a loved one instead of receiving expensive presents.

"I don't want a lot for Christmas/ There is just one thing I need/ I don't care about the presents underneath the Christmas tree/ I just want you for my own/ More than you could ever know/ Make my wish come true/ All I want for Christmas is you," Carey sings.

Vince Vance and the Valiants sing in their version, per Lyrics Playground, "I don't need expensive things/ They don't matter to me/ All that I want, it can't be found/ Underneath the Christmas tree/ You are the angel atop my tree/ You are my dream come true/ Santa can't bring me what I need/ 'Cause all I want for Christmas is you."

However, an expert found that both songs had “commonplace Christmas song cliches” that had been used in many other festive tunes.

A Los Angeles judge agreed and dismissed the lawsuit in March, noting that Stone and the other plaintiff in the case, songwriter Troy Powers, had not proven that the songs were "substantially similar under the extrinsic test”.

They were seeking $20 million (R333 million) in damages. Now, the plaintiffs will have to pay nearly $100,000 in legal fees after a judge ruled that their lawsuit lacked merit.

According to Rolling Stone, the judge awarded the sanctions after finding that Carey had incurred "needless expenses responding to frivolous legal arguments".

Meanwhile, Carey's 'All I Want for Christmas Is You' single remains one of the biggest holiday songs in history and returned to No.1 during the 2025 festive period

https://www.ecr.co.za/news/entertainment/mariah-carey-all-want-christmas-song-number-1/

, cementing her title as the 'Queen of Christmas'.

READ: Tyra Banks spreads festive cheer with new holiday song