Mariah Carey’s 1994 timeless holiday album, ‘Merry Christmas’ will celebrate its 25th anniversary this festive season. Widely regarded as one of the greatest Christmas albums of all time, Mariah will re-issue a 2-CD ‘expanded edition’ on November 1st to mark this milestone.
The Anniversary Edition’s bonus disc includes six live performances from a 1994 Fresh Air Fund benefit concert which took place at St. John The Divine cathedral in New York.
The ‘Joy To The World’ live performance in particular has long been regarded by fans as one of Mariah’s greatest vocal performances, so fans are rejoicing at the inclusion of even more songs from that night. One can only hope the live videos will also be added to Mariah’s YouTube channel as part of this release as well.
Three songs co-written by Mariah for her 2010 Christmas album, ‘Merry Christmas II You’ are featured, including the John Legend duet version of ‘When Christmas Comes’, which has not previously been available on an album release. ‘The Star’, from the soundtrack of the same name, and ‘Lil Snowman’ from the soundtrack of Mariah’s animated children’s film ‘All I Want For Christmas Is You’ are also part of the second disc.
As well as all these exciting rarities, the compilation disc includes five upbeat remixes to get you in the festive spirit, and a new rendition of the ‘Sugar Plum Fairy’. Japanese fans are lucky enough to exclusively get a bonus track of ‘All I Want For Christmas Is You’ live at Tokyo Dome in 1996 as well!
The physical copy of the album will come in special packaging, with rare photos, a personal note from Mariah, and Mariah-themed decorations.
Must-have merchandise bundles are also available at mariahcareyshop.com, including a beanie, hoodie, Christmas stocking and tees. All bundles are available with either a digital or physical copy of the Deluxe Anniversary Edition.
Pre-order the album here and you will receive early access to Mariah’s upcoming Christmas tour in the US, with more details to be announced soon.
Disc 1
- Silent Night
- All I Want For Christmas Is You
- O Holy Night
- Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)
- Miss You Most (At Christmas Time)
- Joy To The World
- Jesus Born On This Day
- Santa Claus Is Comin’ To Town
- Hark! The Herald Angels Sing
- Jesus Oh What A Wonderful Child
- God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen
Disc 2
- Sugar Plum Fairy Introlude
- All I Want For Christmas Is You (Live At The Cathedral Of St. John The Divine)
- Silent Night (Live At The Cathedral Of St. John The Divine)
- Joy To The World (Live At The Cathedral Of St. John The Divine)
- Hark! The Herald Angels Sing / Gloria (In Excelsis Deo) (Live At The Cathedral Of St. John The Divine)
- Jesus Born On This Day (Live At The Cathedral Of St. John The Divine)
- Santa Claus Is Comin’ To Town (Live At The Cathedral Of St. John The Divine)
- Oh Santa!
- Christmas Time Is In The Air Again
- When Christmas Comes
- The Star
- Lil Snowman
- Santa Claus Is Comin’ To Town (Anniversary Mix)
- All I Want For Christmas Is You (So So Def Remix)
- All I Want For Christmas Is You (Mariah’s New Dance Mix Extended 2009)
- Joy To The World (Celebration Mix)
- Joy To The World (Flava Mix)
- Sugar Plum Fairy Introlude (Acapella)
The album’s lead single, ‘All I Want For Christmas Is You’, which was co-written and co-produced by Mariah, has undeniably become a modern Christmas classic and is one of the best-selling singles of all time. Last year, the song peaked at #3 in the US, and this year it is anticipated to climb even higher.
To help assist the iconic hit become Mariah’s 19th #1 single, a limited edition 7″ vinyl and a limited edition green cassette are now available for pre-order on Mariah’s official website, set to be shipped out on December 20th. This means that the sales will count towards the peak chart week when the song is most likely to fly to the top of Billboard’s Hot 100.
Side A
1. All I Want For Christmas Is You
Side B
1. Sugar Plum Fairy Introlude
2. Santa Claus Is Comin’ To Town (Anniversary Mix)
You can also catch Mariah performing all her Christmas classics as part of her Las Vegas ‘All I Want For Christmas Is You’ residency in November. See here for more details.
There are sure to be even more festive surprises along the way to help celebrate this milestone anniversary, so stay tuned for more!
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