Mariah Carey Sued for $20 Million by Country Singer over “All I Want for Christmas Is You”, Again!

The country singer Andy Stone, also known as Vince Vance, has revived his $20 million lawsuit against Mariah Carey for allegedly copying his song “All I Want for Christmas Is You”. Stone claims he wrote the original version of the song with Troy Powers in 1988 and recorded it in Nashville in 1989. He says his song was popular in 1993 and even performed at the White House in 1994.

Carey released her own song with the same title in 1994, co-written with Walter Afanasieff, and it became a huge hit that is played every year during the holiday season. Stone and Powers argue that Carey’s song is too similar to theirs in terms of lyrics, melody, harmony and rhythm. They say both songs have a female narrator who rejects material gifts and only wants her lover for Christmas.

Stone’s lawyer Douglas M. Schmidt tells Rolling Stone that about 50 percent of the words are the same, in almost the same order, and that he thinks his client has a strong case. He says they tried to settle with Carey, Afanasieff and Sony, but they failed to reach an agreement. So, they decided to file the lawsuit again in Los Angeles after dropping it in New Orleans due to the wrong venue.

The lawsuit says that the phrase “all I want for Christmas is you” was distinctive in 1988 and that the combination of the chord progression and the hook was a clone of Stone’s work. It also says that Carey and Afanasieff must have heard Stone’s song before they wrote theirs.

One lawyer said last year that the lawsuit might have a hard time because there are many other songs with the same title.

Check out both songs and tell us in the comments what you think: