Charlotte Foster
Legal

Mariah Carey slapped with multi-million dollar lawsuit over hit festive song

Mariah Carey is facing a multi-million dollar lawsuit over her hit festive song, as another musician has come forward claiming she plagiarised an original work.

Carey’s song All I Want For Christmas Is You has long been a staple of December, and has sold over 10 million copies since its 1994 release. 

However, Andy Stone, lead vocalist of Vince Vance and the Valiants, claims Carey infringed on his copyright. 

Stone co-wrote a song, which has the same title as Carey’s smash hit, in 1989 to which he claims Carey and her team of copying his song’s “compositional structure,” according to the complaint obtained by Fox News Digital.

The court documents state that Carey “directly” copied lyrics from Stone’s 1989 hit and “approximately 50 per cent” of the song is copyright infringement.

Stone went on to claim that Carey and her team “undoubtedly” had access to his version of All I Want For Christmas is You due to its “wide commercial and cultural success.”

Stone’s track charted on Billboard for years, with the band even performing the track at the White House in 1994 - the same year Carey’s festive song was released. 

“Carey has capitalised on the success of her infringing work,” Stone’s complaint alleged. 

All I Want For Christmas is You has become a ubiquitous part of popular culture, and Carey’s name has become synonymous with the season.”

Stone first sued Carey over the copyright issue in June 2022 in a Louisiana court before dropping the claim five months later. 

Image credits: Getty Images

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legal, Mariah Carey, copyright, song, Christmas