Mariah Carey reveals her favorite Christmas songs and movies: 'You gotta love 'Elf''
We donât want a lot for Christmas. There is just one thing we need.
And thatâs a wish granted because the Queen of Christmas is in overdrive this holiday season.
Mariah songs, Mariah merchandise, Mariah TV special, Mariah at McDonald's.
Whatâs that you say? If only you had a Mariah-themed, fur-trimmed pet jacket so your pup could emulate her beloved Jack Russell terrier Cha Cha?
Need a break? Play the USA TODAY Daily Crossword Puzzle.
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Or, as much as anyone with a pulse relishes Careyâs 27-year-old classic, âAll I Want For Christmas Is You,â maybe itâs time for the Queen to drop a new holiday tune?
Sheâs got you covered with âFall in Love at Christmas,â her new choir-filled ballad with Khalid and Kirk Franklin.
A sequel to last yearâs delightful âMariah Careyâs Magical Christmas Specialâ on Apple TV+?
Yep, coming Dec. 3, âMariah's Christmas: The Magic Continues,â featuring Khalid and Franklin, will land on the streaming service.
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So is it just us, or does this year feel particularly chock-full of Carey?
âI go all out every year, darling,â she tells USA TODAY. âI love the holidays. Itâs just my thing. I just have a special connection with Christmas.â
While Carey has shrewdly turned the everlasting success of âAll I Want For Christmas Is You" â a romp deserving of unmitigated praise â into a seasonal stream of revenue, she isnât exaggerating her affection for the holiday.
The downstairs of her Los Angeles home was decorated by early November, although she admits, âI walk past the room and Iâm like, I canât look at it yet.â By mid-December, she and her 10-year-old twins,Moroccan and Monroe, will make their annual pilgrimage to Aspen, Colorado, where the singer says three Christmas trees will be decorated and real reindeer will hang around in the snow.
The rest of us can experience a dash of Carey with the Mariah Carey Holiday Collection sold online as well as at Target and Walmart (blankets, socks, ornaments, a plush Carey and Cha Cha) or with a sip of her Black Irish liqueur (Carey suggests âtreating it as dessert, after dinnerâ) while listening to Carey Christmas songs.
Carey, of course, has her own holiday favorites, which she (and pal Franklin) shared:
Question: Aside from your own songs, what is your favorite Christmas music?
Mariah Carey: I listen to a playlist of thousands of Christmas songs from so many different albums that not everyone may know. I love the âJackson 5 Christmas Album,â always Nat King Cole and one of my favorites, Donny Hathaway. Even âThe Chipmunk Songâ is on the playlist! People who come stay with me, family and friends, it gets to be, like, Dec. 28 and theyâre going, can we put (any other music) back on?
Q: Favorite Christmas movie?
Kirk Franklin: I love those (classic) animated ones like âRudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer,â even though the animation is dated.
Carey: Yes! Rudolph and âFrosty (The Snowman)â and âSanta Claus is Cominâ to Town.â Thereâs something nostalgic about it. I watch those every year with the kids. And you gotta love âElf.â
Q: Are the twins still preparing for Santa?
Carey: Of course. Santa sees us every year.
Q: Do they leave him cookies?
Carey: Iâm not trying to plug anything, but I do have Mariahâs cookies as well. And yes, (Santa) hangs out with us.
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Q: Why did you decide to take the ballad route with âFall in Love at Christmasâ?
Carey: We were working in the Butterfly Lounge in Atlanta on a lot of different things, like a seven-minute version of âWe Belong Togetherâ⊠and it wasnât about what type of song, it was about a musical place and a safe haven and we ended up with this. Itâs not just a ballad. Once the choir comes in, it takes (the song) to a new place, a spiritually enhanced place. I canât compete with âAll I Want For Christmas,â but I love it.
Q: How did you come to collaborate with Kirk and Khalid?
Carey: We were in Atlanta after the holidays last year and my apartment was still being renovated. My music director Daniel Moore is based out of Atlanta, and lo and behold, Tyler Perry texted me the exact day (I arrived) and I said, âI donât know where to go,â and he found this house and we turned it into the Butterfly Lounge. Daniel and I started writing the song and Kirk came and we played around with some lyrics and ideas and he took it back to Houston and added the most incredible choir. I got the song back and it blew my mind.
Franklin: I was super honored for her to consider me. Itâs no secret that some of the trailblazers have come from the church and the church community has always been a fan of Mariah and her style. Sheâs always been respected in the community of real singers.
Q: Your Apple TV+ special last year was so fun with Ariana Grande and Jennifer Hudson. What can we expect from the new one?
Carey: I donât want to give anything away, but the gentleman on the phone with us (Franklin) will be on there, as well as Khalid. And Iâm doing another song that is a fan favorite that I didnât perform in the first Christmas special. I really love what it looks like.