Mariah Carey (born March 27, 1969 or 1970) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and record producer. Referred to as the "Songbird Supreme" by Guinness World Records, she is noted for her five-octave vocal range, melismatic singing style, and signature use of the whistle register.
She rose to fame in 1990 after signing to Columbia Records and releasing her eponymous debut album, which topped the U.S. Billboard 200 for eleven consecutive weeks. Soon after, Carey became the only artist ever to have their first five singles reach number one on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart, from "Vision of Love" to "Emotions".
Mariah Carey hit with $20M lawsuit over ‘All I Want For Christmas Is You’
nypost.comQueen of Christmas, Mariah Carey, isn’t having a very merry start to the summer. In documents acquired by The Post, Andy Stone, who co-wrote Vince Vance & The Valiants’ country song “All I Want For Christmas Is You,” is suing Carey for copyright infringement — claiming the diva never sought or obtained use of his title for her perennial monster holiday hit.
Stone is also coming after Carey’s co-writer on the song, Walter Afanasieff, in the civil suit, which was filed in the United States District Court of the Eastern District of Louisiana.Stone released his 1989 twangy version — which musically and lyrically sounds nothing like Carey’s pop performance — eight years before Carey changed the holiday season forever in 1994.
In the suit, he claims his song got extensive airplay during the 1993 holiday season, a year before Carey released hers. The Scrooge is suing the “Obsessed” singer for $20 million in damages.“Plaintiff [Stone] personally requested that Defendants [Carey] cease and desist from further distribution of Plaintiff’s work,” the suit reads in part. “Despite Plaintiff’s request, Defendants continue to exploit Plaintiff’s work ‘All I Want for Christmas is You’, reaping tremendous financial awards and other pecuniary benefits to the detriment of Plaintiff.”According to the documents, Carey and Afanasieff “knowingly, willfully, and intentionally engaged in a campaign to infringe Plaintiff’s [Stone’] copyright in the work … to the commercial gain, personal profit and unjust enrichment of the defendants and the irreparable injury and financial loss” of Stone.Carey’s representative declined to comment when contacted by The Post.
Read more on nypost.com