Mariah Carey and Vevo debut a new episode of Footnotes, taking viewers behind the scenes of “All I Want for Christmas (Make My Wish Come True Edition)” video, celebrating the 30th anniversary of one of the most iconic and commercially successful holiday songs ever. In this installment, Carey and music video director Joseph Khan revisit the making of this beloved holiday classic.
The video was designed to recreate the glamour of Busby Berkeley’s legendary films and pay tribute to Hollywood’s golden age of musicals. Kahn aimed to make the definitive Christmas music video and admits he was starstruck when Mariah walked onto set. Mariah shares that working with the dancers and figuring out how to blend in with them was the most challenging part of filming, admitting that dancing is not her forte. The Busby Berkeley inspired sequence, featuring dancers on platforms behind Mariah, took hours to film because they had to do multiple passes and many different angles.
The video features several special guests, including Mykal-Michelle Harris, who represents a young version of Mariah. Carey praised the young star for her vibrant personality, stating, “She represents little me and all the kids who love Christmas!” Mariah’s twins, Monroe and Moroccan, also make cameos, dancing throughout the video, while her beloved pup, Cha Cha, continues the tradition of pet appearances following in the paw prints of her dogs Jack and Princess from the original video. The video also includes a special appearance by Kahn’s daughter, Josie, as the angelic girl popping out of a present.
This video comes on the heels of the 30th Anniversary of Mariah Carey’s Merry Christmas, which has sold 18 million copies worldwide. The Christmas Classic, “All I Want For Christmas Is You,” is the all-time best-selling Christmas single by a female artist and one of the top-selling physical singles in music history. In 2023, the song broke #1 on the Hot 100 for the 5th straight year and has spent a total of 14 weeks at #1! The official music videos that have been released for “All I Want For Christmas Is You” have amassed over 1.5 BILLION views.
FULL FOOTNOTES BELOW:
0:10 – Mariah Carey: I thought it would be a cute idea to film a new music video for “All I Want For Christmas Is You” now that the song has gained more momentum. It was also to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the song.
0:30 – Mariah Carey: We wanted to create a video that is different from the original one, but still very fun. The concept was to be very glamorous and in the style of a Busby Berkeley film.
0:50 – Joseph Kahn, Director: The goal was to make the definitive Christmas music video that should have been made but never was until now. Busby Berkley films are so iconic you can just say “Busby Berkley” as shorthand for a special type of Hollywood musical creativity.
1:10 – Joseph Kahn, Director: I hadn’t worked with Mariah in a while and when she walked on set in her Christmas outfit it was electric. I was even a bit starstruck. She is such a beautiful, unique woman.
1:30 – Mariah Carey: Mykal-Michelle Harris is the beautiful little girl in the video. She has an amazing personality, and I was really happy to be able to work with her. She’s supposed to represent little me and all other kids who love Christmas!
1:50 – Joseph Kahn, Director: My daughter Josie is the blond girl in wings that pops out of the present box.
2:10 – Mariah Carey: The most challenging part of this shoot was working with the female dancers and figuring out how to blend with them. I think it worked out well although dancing is not my forte.
2:30 – Joseph Kahn, Director: The Busby Berkley sequence of all the dancers on platforms behind Mariah took hours to film because I had to do so many passes of them in different angles.
2:50 – Mariah Carey’s twins Monroe and Moroccan dance throughout the video.
3:10 – In the original video for “All I Want for Christmas,” Mariah plays with her dogs Jack and Princess. In the updated version, her pup Cha Cha makes a cameo.
3:30 – Joseph Kahn, Director: Very few times do you get an opportunity to make something you know in advance will be historical and iconic. It’s a very surreal experience.
