# What is with the hate for Mariah Carey? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** music\ **Created:** [December 13, 2022, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-with-the-hate-for-mariah-carey/976437 "2022-12-13T02:10:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2022, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-with-the-hate-for-mariah-carey/976437/1 "2022-12-13T02:10:04Z")
Every day I see some sort of meme on Facebook about “All I want for Christmas is You” being a horrible hated song. Even the WSJ did a little article about it. Okay, I know that it is Pop music- which people do not like. Some people hate all Christmas music. And it can be overplayed. But that is true about just about every Christmas tune in the last few decades- Pop, Christmas, overplayed, and even saccharine So why _that_ song? It makes no sense. There are LOTS of really bad, turn the dial, Xmas songs- _Christmas Shoes, Dominick the Donkey, Grandma Got Run over_… etc And there are many pop Christmas songs which are just as overplayed. I suspect something else behind it, maybe a rival singer. 😱 🤪 . ---
**Author:** ![Seanette](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/seanette/32/9139_2.png) [@Seanette](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Seanette)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2022, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-with-the-hate-for-mariah-carey/976437/2 "2022-12-13T02:13:09Z")
I just really dislike her singing style. Showoffy vocal gimmicks, especially the constant multiple notes per syllable that make the lyrics hard to understand, and shrill high sopranos hurt my ears anyway. With a different singer, I would probably find the song much less annoying. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2022, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-with-the-hate-for-mariah-carey/976437/3 "2022-12-13T02:20:24Z")
I have an irrational hatred of that song. I honestly don’t know why, but it makes me want to throw things. My two little kids know this, so what do you think their favorite request of our smart speaker is? Assholes. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![DocCathode](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doccathode/32/18773_2.png) [@DocCathode](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DocCathode)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2022, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-with-the-hate-for-mariah-carey/976437/4 "2022-12-13T02:20:24Z")
I like Grandma Got Run Over By A Reindeer. It’s catchy. It’s jolly. It’s about Santa Claus killing an innocent. I HATE the animated special in which Grandma is only jostled. I’ve never actually heard Christmas Shoes- I am greatful for that. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2022, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-with-the-hate-for-mariah-carey/976437/5 "2022-12-13T02:28:10Z")
> [@Seanette](#): > > With a different singer, I would probably find the song much less annoying. I prefer Michael Buble’s cover myself. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/pw3PhhSfcQg/maxresdefault.jpg "Michael Bublé - All I Want For Christmas Is You [Official HD]") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pw3PhhSfcQg) > [@DocCathode](#): > > I’ve never actually heard Christmas Shoes- I am greatful for that. Patton Oswalt’s routine about the song is a classic and doesn’t require listening to the song. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/iq10bz3PxyY/hqdefault.jpg "Patton Oswalt - Christmas Shoes") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iq10bz3PxyY) ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2022, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-with-the-hate-for-mariah-carey/976437/6 "2022-12-13T03:00:26Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > My two little kids know this, so what do you think their favorite request of our smart speaker is? Assholes. > 😉 Of course after a couple nights sleeping in the backyard I bet they’ll change their tune. It is Good to be King. ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2022, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-with-the-hate-for-mariah-carey/976437/7 "2022-12-13T03:03:17Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > I have an irrational hatred of that song. I honestly don’t know why, but it makes me want to throw things. I disagree; your hatred is completely rational. That song is awful and Mariah Carey trying to sex up the holiday like a porn elf is just second to that horrible _Love, Actually_ film people keep trying to convince me is a “sweet Christmas movie” full of people cheating, stalking, and obsessively infatuating over one another, and also Bill Nighy, who always seems like he should be an overly performative Bond villain in any movie he’s in. Whenever I am [forced to watch that film](https://www.texasobserver.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/clockwork-orange.jpg) I have to go home and [watch Val Kilmer and Robert Downey Jr. discuss grammar](https://youtu.be/jUcgoTQs4eA). As for Christmas music, all I need is [a little tune about Santa](https://youtu.be/VmAvNZbsqW4). I take off my shoes and my socks and make fists with my toes while cleaning my MP-5 and check out the ducting in the attic to make sure that nobody is placing explosives to blow up my roof. When Hans Gruber falls from Nakatomi Plaza I know that the season has arrived. Stranger ---
**Author:** ![Seanette](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/seanette/32/9139_2.png) [@Seanette](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Seanette)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2022, 3:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-with-the-hate-for-mariah-carey/976437/8 "2022-12-13T03:14:29Z")
When I worked in retail, I found Bob Rivers, Weird Al, and Tales from the Crypt necessary during the Christmas season just for musical balance. How many arrangements of Frosty the Snowman, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, etc., even need to EXIST, let alone be inflicted on store employees all day? ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2022, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-with-the-hate-for-mariah-carey/976437/9 "2022-12-13T03:25:27Z")
I don’t get it either. I love Mariah. I guess she’s got some Kathy Lee Gifford vibes that I’m not seeing. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2022, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-with-the-hate-for-mariah-carey/976437/10 "2022-12-13T03:27:09Z")
> [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](#): > > That song is awful and Mariah Carey trying to sex up the holiday like a porn elf If you think that’s sexing up the holiday, you should hear Ariana Grande sing about wanting to fuck Santa Claus (set to a melody that plagiarizes Amy Grant for some reason). [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/jnXxxKZ57Tw/maxresdefault.jpg "Ariana Grande - Santa Tell Me (Audio)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jnXxxKZ57Tw) ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2022, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-with-the-hate-for-mariah-carey/976437/11 "2022-12-13T03:29:05Z")
It’s a great, catchy little tune and people just suck, don’t worry about 'em. 🥊 ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2022, 3:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-with-the-hate-for-mariah-carey/976437/12 "2022-12-13T03:31:34Z")
I couldn’t make it past the excessively Auto-Tune’d chorus. But hey, Santa is lonely in his workshop and if Mrs. Claus isn’t keeping him satisfied who can blame a snow-wizard’s eye from wandering? Stranger ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2022, 3:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-with-the-hate-for-mariah-carey/976437/13 "2022-12-13T03:54:19Z")
Christmas music in general can be much of a muchness. Most people I know have some songs they don’t care for. I’m not a fan of Carey but it invokes, at most, mild disdain rather than antipathy. It is better than Chipmunks, getting two front teeth and a few others. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2022, 4:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-with-the-hate-for-mariah-carey/976437/14 "2022-12-13T04:09:34Z")
> [@Seanette](#): > > I just really dislike her singing style. Showoffy vocal gimmicks, especially the constant multiple notes per syllable that make the lyrics hard to understand, and shrill high sopranos hurt my ears anyway. I think she has an unreal, absolutely amazing voice and uses it to torture people with awful singing. It’s like getting in a Bugatti sports car and then plowing through a crowd of people in a parade. ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2022, 4:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-with-the-hate-for-mariah-carey/976437/15 "2022-12-13T04:20:02Z")
I wasn’t sure I’d ever heard the song before, so I just listened to it (twice), and it just seems very generic and inoffensive to me. Like, let’s take a Christmas song and do it in Motown style, including the required bridge. I do think I’ve heard snippets of it here and there, but that was the first time I’ve listened to the whole thing. ---
**Author:** ![OppositeKeith](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/oppositekeith/32/13047_2.png) [@OppositeKeith](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OppositeKeith)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2022, 5:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-with-the-hate-for-mariah-carey/976437/16 "2022-12-13T05:27:26Z")
i listen to the song a few times in general and its not bad, i like how every verse is different from the last while still keeping the chorus going along smoothly, it makes the song less repetitive as a result for me, i just don’t like how overplayed it is. but hey she gets payed big royalties anyways. its rather a shame though that her other work doesn’t get much attention. I have a soft spot for her debut album. Someday is a great song [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/XYWcL4kREgI/maxresdefault.jpg "Mariah Carey - Someday (New 7" Straight - Official Audio)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XYWcL4kREgI) ---
**Author:** ![salinqmind1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/958977/32.png) [@salinqmind1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/salinqmind1)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2022, 6:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-with-the-hate-for-mariah-carey/976437/17 "2022-12-13T06:04:44Z")
I will admit I have an irrational…not hate, but disdain for M.C. I’m not in her demographic and frankly can’t even name one of her songs, but she was so overhyped for so long, when she was new, years ago, it was nauseating. And now this Christmas song is the cherry on the sundae - also overhyped and non-stop relentless and in.your.face. Like she needs a couple billion more dollars from it, on top of her already vast fortune? ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2022, 6:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-with-the-hate-for-mariah-carey/976437/18 "2022-12-13T06:08:14Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Some people hate all Christmas music. The older I get the more I despise it all, a cynical novelty song or two excepted. I’ve gone from completely neutral as a child to active dislike as an aging adult. The “Christmas season creep” hasn’t helped matters. Of course I don’t stick darning needles in my ears or ever complain about it. It’s just one of those minor annoyances of modern living. But it never fails to bring a frown to my face when walk into a retail shop that has it playing, usually on an awful, awful loop. When I finally become God-Emperor (c’mon, Satan - you owe me!) it will be banned from all public areas/retail establishments unless specially permitted for specific and limited holiday events. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2022, 6:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-with-the-hate-for-mariah-carey/976437/19 "2022-12-13T06:11:37Z")
If anyone here who is defending MC, and also partake of the totally irrational disdain for A Horse With No Name, well, now you know how I feel. I don’t like sexed up Christmas Songs, including but not limited to Santa Baby It’s Cold Outside and Santa Got Stuck In My Chimney, which is more dirty than any parody song I could write. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![nightshadea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/7ba0ec/32.png) [@nightshadea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nightshadea)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2022, 9:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-with-the-hate-for-mariah-carey/976437/20 "2022-12-13T09:52:34Z")
anyone thinks the song is annoying … at one time they had her and the song and movie were the centers of hallmarks Xmas season even tho she was in the movie maybe 15 minutes as the heroine’s main rival since they were kids … there’s a school Xmas talent show that manages to have a sexed up tween dance number with an inappropriate song … and then she had a “Xmas at Mariah’s” that ran for 2 years … [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-with-the-hate-for-mariah-carey/976437.md?page=2)