American singer, Mariah Carey has been sued by two writers who claim her 1994 classic is a ripoff of their 1989 song of the same name.
In a legal filing, cited by TMZ, plaintiffs Troy Powers and Andy Stone alleged that Carey’s song is similar to their own both musically and lyrically.
Stone sued Carey by himself last year for $20 million on the grounds her song was ‘derivative’ of his but then he filed to dismiss the suit that November.
Now, however, he has teamed up with Powers and came roaring back, with the pair of them jointly suing Carey for $20 million.
They allege that there are meaningful commonalities between the melody and lyrical hook of the two songs, as well as the general sentiment conveyed by both of them.
In their court documents, they accuse Carey of having ‘palmed off these works with her incredulous origin story, as if those works were her own.’
Carey wrote in her memoir that she ‘actually did bang out most of the song on a cheap little Casio keyboard. But it’s the feeling I wanted the song to capture. There’s a sweetness, a clarity, and a purity to it.’
Stone co-wrote his version of the number for his novelty group Vince Vance And The Valiants, in which he plays the character of Vince Vance.
Their country-tinged ballad bowed in 1989 and then was re-released in late 1993, reaching the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart in early 1994.
A few months later, in October 1994, Carey released her own song All I Want For Christmas Is You – and became a global juggernaut.
The single gets replayed so much every holiday season that The Economist once reported Carey earns $2.5 million annually from that one track.
When Stone filed his original solo lawsuit against Careyx, last June, he pointed out that his song had hit the charts in the winter before Carey released hers.
He accused her, her co-writer Walter Afanasieff, and Sony Music Entertainment of using his ‘popularity’ and ‘style’ to snatch ‘undeserved profits’ for themselves.
However, she was able to breathe a sigh of relief in November 2022 when Stone filed to dismiss his suit, according to court documents seen by Rolling Stone.
Last year, Carey referred to songwriters as ‘unsung heroes’ while she herself was being inducted into the Songwriters Hall Of Fame.
‘But I just wanted to say that, like, I constantly have to remind people I’m a songwriter,’ said the world-famous singer.
‘It’s become a joke to the point where – because they’re all into the diva thing. It’s like: “Oh my God, she’s a diva, wow, a diva!” Whatever.’
