It’s technically not Thanksgiving yet, but Mariah Carey has already started her inevitable march back up the Billboard Hot 100 chart with that song.

“All I Want for Christmas Is You” has re-entered the chart at number 25. That’s an improvement on last year, when it re-entered the chart at number 36. 

The song, released in 1994, was ineligible to chart at that time. It first made the top 10 on the Hot 100 in December 2017; in 2019, it hit number one. It was also number one for two weeks in 2020 and for three weeks last year.

Two other iconic holiday songs have also returned to the chart: Brenda Lee’s “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree” and Bobby Helms’ “Jingle Bell Rock” at, respectively, number 41 and number 50.

Lee is one of several singers who’ve been called The Queen of Christmas over the years, along with Darlene Love and full-time Christmas artist Elizabeth Chan. Chan recently stopped Mariah from legally trademarking “The Queen of Christmas” and associated phrases, with help from a lawyer friend who agreed to represent her for free.

“Being issued a trademark means being able to sue someone for using that trademark,” says Elizabeth. If Mariah had succeeded, she explains, “She could sue anybody who referred to anyone else [but her] as the ‘Queen of Christmas,’ or did anything with those words.”

Elizabeth’s friend agreed to take on the case pro bono because he felt Mariah’s actions were a clear case of “trademark bullying.” 

“He said, ‘I will represent you because this is wrong on so many levels,'” she notes. “Not only for your career, but for the people that have come before you, like Brenda Lee and Darlene Love.” But Elizabeth also took action, she says, to protect “the future queens of Christmases.” 
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