It’s officially the holiday season, and the Queen of Christmas has defrosted.
Mariah Carey took the stage at the 2023 Billboard Music Awards on Sunday (Nov. 19) to deliver a festive performance of her holiday classic “All I Want for Christmas Is You.” Dressed in a white figure skater dress, complete with matching go-go boots and sunglasses, the legendary vocalist performed the track in the middle of an “ice-skating rink,” as her dancers on wheels glided around on the white floor surrounding her in a Debbie Allen-choreographed sequence.
The fans in the audience were chosen in a first-of-its-kind collaboration between the BBMAs and Spotify Fans First, who teamed up to identify fans who have consumed the most hours of music over the past year and helped drive their favorite artists to the top spots on the Billboard charts.
Carey was also honored with the Billboard Chart Achievement Award for the holiday classic, and the award was presented to her by her 12-year-old twins, Monroe and Moroccan.
“Billboard has been an integral part of my life for a very long time now,” Carey said in her acceptance speech. “Even though I don’t acknowledge time, I kind of have to admit that some of my most memorable times in my career are connected to Billboard and the BBMAs. One thing I really have to say that I’m really grateful for is the fact that my fans have been here with me through the hits, through the misses, the No. 1s and the Bubbling Unders.”
“All I Want for Christmas Is You,” which has climbed to No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 every year since 2019, has thus far spent 12 weeks at No. 1 on Billboard’s flagship chart, becoming one of three Carey hits to log 10 or more weeks in the top spot. It joins “One Sweet Day,” a collab with Boyz II Men that spent a then-record 16 weeks at No. 1 in 1995-96, and “We Belong Together,” which spent 14 weeks on top in 2005.