Every November, the memes about Mariah Carey slowly defrosting and preparing to take over the airwaves start popping up again. They're not wrong: You can hardly step into a mall or grocery store without hearing one of Carey's festive songs. The Queen of Christmas plays into this spirit. This year, she smashed October's Halloween pumpkins and boldly declared, “it's time.”
Now that we've entered December, it's indeed Carey's prime time to shine. On Friday, the singer is returning to Apple TV+ with her second Christmas special, titled Mariah's Christmas: The Magic Continues. It's the much-anticipated follow-up to her 2020 Christmas special, Mariah Carey's Magical Christmas Special, which featured special guests Ariana Grande, Jennifer Hudson, and Snoop Dogg. This time around, Carey enlisted her friends Khalid and Kirk Franklin to star in her special with her — and perform a new Christmas song with them. A new special also means a new wardrobe, and you can be assured that Carey's involves lots of sparkle.
Below, Vogue caught up with Carey to discuss her wish list, her plans for Christmas morning, and her favorite pieces of jewelry, which she named after Hollywood icons.
We're very excited about your new Christmas special premiering on Friday. How do you think it measures up to last year's special?
Last year was very, very difficult because it was the beginning of COVID. We all had to be extremely careful, because there were no vaccines yet, and we had to do two tests a day just to walk on set. There were so many rules — but we made it work. I was like, I will not let it be canceled!
[This year's director] Joseph Kahn is brilliant. I live for his aesthetic. He brought a freshness to it. You'll see the beautiful backdrops that he brought. I've never had that level of production value in my entire career. The band itself is magnificent. And one of the great things about not having to be on the road all the time [due to COVID], is that it's given me a chance to get my voice to a place where it hasn't been in years and years.
The special includes appearances from Khalid and Kirk Franklin. Tell us more about the inspiration for the song you did together, “Fall in Love at Christmas.”
We wrote it at The Butterfly Lounge in Atlanta. When I wrote it, it was really coming from this place of longing and wanting to fall in love at Christmas, because it's the most romantic and magical time of the year. There's this one line in the song that's actually my favorite. It goes: “In the candle's glow, I'm awake but no one knows, Just waiting patiently to hear the sleigh bells jingle, There they go.” Every year, I envision myself [like this] when everybody's asleep in the house and it's dark. When the Christmas trees are on, and there's snow outside in Aspen. I never get that time where I get to be at peace, listening to my beautiful Christmas playlist, and I love it. I don't think I've let go of Christmas since last Christmas.
Your children, Monroe and Moroccan, are also in the special. What can we expect from their cameos?
Zane [Lowe] wanted to talk to them [on the special] and I was like, “Yikes, what's it gonna be” — because you never know, they're kids! They're 10. But he asked them who loves Christmas most, me or them, and my daughter was like, “I think we both love it the same.” And my son was like, “No, I love it the most!”
I'm not surprised they love Christmas.
I literally just got my daughter's Christmas list last night. She texted it to me, and it's 66 items. But I love giving that to her, because when I was little, we really had no money. We lived in a series of very small, uninviting shacks. People always ask me, “Why are you so into Christmas?” And I'm like, “well, I had the world's most dysfunctional family who would come and ruin it every year!” I didn't have what these kids have. My mom had to wrap up fruit and give it to us. But as long as they appreciate it.
In my memoir, The Meaning of Mariah Carey, I also talk about writing “All I Want For Christmas Is You.” Yes, of course it's the glamour and the dresses and the lights — but I really do think it stems from me being a child and always wishing for more.
I love that you want to give them an amazing Christmas, and to give them all the things you never had. Have you started tackling their Christmas lists yet?
I'm extremely late with my Christmas situation. Today is the day where I'm going to see what's still available. There's a lot on my daughter's list. She's very artsy. She loves to paint [and she loves makeup.] No offense to people doing makeup tutorials, but I'm like, “you're around some of the greatest makeup artists of all time — can we please look at what they're doing?” And by the way, she doesn't need it — her freakin' skin is flawless. My son really is just focused on his PC that he wants.
Let's talk about holiday style now. Can you tell us more about the fabulous dress you wear in the Christmas special?
I wear a Dolce & Gabbana dress. This year, [my stylist DiAndre Tristan and I] made a collective decision that it would be more vintage [inspired]. It went with the backdrop of New York and the Chrysler Building. It has a bronze, gold, copper feel that's very festive, but not in your face. I live for all the traditional Christmas colors — the reds, greens, whites, and silvers — but this was different. It's all beaded, and the dress itself took 250 hours to bead. It weighed 60 pounds! I had to have six gorgeous guys lift it up so I could walk. Everybody was like, “Oh, she's exaggerating,” until they held it for two seconds. The beading is not your average beading. The stones themselves were gigantic, but they still looked beautiful and shined. It was magnificent, but it hurt like a mother to wear it.
When something's super tight in the middle area, it's hard because you have to get your breath and sing. But I'm used to that.
What do you enjoy wearing during the holidays when you're not working?
I'm usually hiding in the bedroom like I'm doing right now, and nobody can see me. I'm wearing some Balenciaga PJs that are adorbs. They're white, with the black Balenciaga logo all over them. In the beginning of COVID, I was doing a lot of [robes], but I've graduated to pajamas. And I'm slowly going back to, like, a fabulous Louis Vuitton legging and a Rag & Bone tee.
I also feel like the holidays are a great “moment” for jewelry. Do you have any favorite pieces?
I have this one tennis necklace. Do you remember the Harry Winston and Sharon Stone moment? I named it the Sharon Stone, and I wear that a lot. I also have a necklace that I named Joan Collins, because it's very elaborate. There's a picture of Monroe when she was a baby, where I put it on her head. She was actually in a “who wore it best” [magazine feature] against a very big celebrity, and my baby girl won! It was a necklace, but I made it into a tiara. I also wear my butterfly ring year-round. I sleep with it on.
What does Christmas morning look like in your household? What do you wear?
Santa Claus visits us [the night before], and he brings his reindeer. We hang out, he comes over, and then I'm my own little elf getting stuff ready. I end up going to bed at five in the morning, which for me is not a big deal, but then the kids want to wake me at six. So I get up and we have breakfast. I do PJs, and I live for a beautiful cashmere robe. I throw on some shades, put my hair up in a little bun, and put on my new favorite slippers. Also, why can't Louis Vuitton make red and green slippers, instead of the pink and beige? I want to do a whole holiday line of pajamas, robes, and slippers, and have them be fabulous. I feel like that's one of my callings.
Will you be hosting any festivities this year for friends and family? Or keeping it tight?
We're gonna be in Aspen. We were in Aspen last year, and it was cool, but we didn't go anywhere. Well, we went to this one place that's amazing — it's like a roller coaster, but in the snow. It's freezing, but my kids loved it. We're going to go to the mountain, too. I'm an apr&eagrave;s-ski girl.
Do you enjoy Après-ski style?
I've kept all my clothes since I first started going to Aspen. And I'm not going to say how many years that is, because I don't acknowledge I've been on this earth that long! I have this one Chanel outfit that I live for, that I bring every year. I keep them in really good shape. Last year, I didn't buy myself that one special thing, because I actually felt like it was superfluous. Like, where are we going right now? But this year, I'm going to have fun with it. I just went and looked at my clothes online to figure out how we can mix things up, and bring a new piece of fabulosity to it. Right now I'm wearing my Louis Vuitton Moon Boots, they're black with faux fur. I wore them tonight in L.A. because it was freezing, and they spiced up my ensemble.
A few final holiday questions. What do you want for Christmas this year?
I want a peaceful, calm Christmas, where I can enjoy the beautiful surroundings and people will be nice to each other. These are the things I didn't have as a child. I'm buying myself a hot tub for the new house that I just bought in Atlanta — that's my gift to me. But I'm not looking for anything else.
That really is the true meaning of Christmas — not the gifts, but being thankful for what we have. Why do you think that's especially important to remember this year?
We've had a rough two years, and that's an understatement. But this year is going to be more fun. It's going to be better, I believe. I love the holidays, they're my favorite time of the year, but what I really live for is the tropics right after.
Oh! Love that. Where are you going to go?
I go wherever somebody is inviting me. I love the beach, and I love the holidays. I love both. But I'm a sucker for Christmas. People think I'm making it up, but I'm really not.