Mariah Carey sings a Christmas song that she "eats" all her life, how much money does she make?

As scheduled, the last two months of the year are the time when Mariah Carey "dominates" the global music market with the classic Christmas song All I Want for Christmas Is You.

Over the decades, All I Want for Christmas Is You has become one of the most beloved Christmas songs of all time. Every year, this song "storms" the global music charts.

In addition, the song has also become a pop culture phenomenon for decades, typically in public places such as shopping malls, cafes or restaurants... everywhere Mariah Carey's voice can be heard. Not only that, the Christmas tours also help this female singer "pocket" a huge amount of profit. Therefore, it is not an exaggeration to say that Mariah Carey is a rare case in the music industry when she only needs to sing one song but still has enough money to... eat for the rest of her life.

However, up to now, it is still impossible to determine exactly how much revenue the song All I Want for Christmas Is You has earned because the revenue of a song can be calculated in many different ways, including: CD sales, Number of music downloads, Revenue from streaming, Revenue from performing activities,... However, according to estimates from experts, the amount that the "Queen of Christmas music" earns every year is not small.

The Economist reported that All I Want for Christmas Is You earned $60 million in royalties between its release in 1994 and 2017, or about $2.6 million a year. While figures for recent years are not available, the song has consistently topped the charts every holiday season, meaning Mariah Carey could still be making a pretty penny from it every Christmas.

Co-written by Mariah Carey and Walter Afanasieff, "All I Want for Christmas Is You" was also the first holiday single to reach Diamond status, selling 10 million sales and streams. The music video has also had around 750 million views on YouTube.

Speaking to Billboard Magazine in November 2017, Mariah Carey said: "The crazy thing about it is, every year it tends to increase in popularity. I'm so grateful that people seem to still be attached to it. It makes me happy when people tell me it's a part of their lives."

Mariah Carey was born on March 27, 1969, into a middle-class family in New York, USA, but of Irish descent. As a child, she witnessed her parents arguing and eventually getting divorced. Therefore, Carey began to secretly listen to the radio under the covers at night, trying to find peace in music.

Carey then took up writing poems and adding melodies to them, becoming a singer-songwriter herself while still attending Harborfields High School. She mastered and controlled the flute range through vocal lessons with her mother. Although she introduced Carey to classical opera, Patricia never pressured her daughter to pursue a formal singing career.

In 1990, Mariah Carey released her self-titled debut album and immediately became a global sensation. The album was certified platinum. The four singles Vision of Love, Someday, I Don't Wanna Cry and Love Takes Time all reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100.

Carey continued to enjoy success with the albums Emotions (1991), Music Box (1993), Merry Christmas (1994). And the album Daydream (1995) made history when One Sweet Day became the longest-running number-one single in the history of the US music charts (16 weeks).

During the recording of this album, Carey began to transition from her R&B and soft ballad style to hip-hop melodies, most clearly demonstrated on the album Butterfly (1997).

Thanks to the lymph nodes in her neck, the American star has a high-pitched voice, easily singing a clear flute-like sound like a bird singing. She is also a rare singer who can fully express her vocal range of 5 octaves (each octave is counted as 8 notes, starting from C in the lower range to C in the upper range).

During her three decades on the mic, Mariah Carey has achieved a huge amount of success, being hailed as a contemporary diva, "blowing away" the concept of a mere diva premise in the pop genre. She has sold more than 230 million records worldwide, becoming one of the best-selling recording artists of all time and winning many prestigious Grammy awards.

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