Sometimes in pop-culture, stories come up. With opinions on every side, it is hard to know who is right. Welcome, to the Music Times Think Through: a segment where I present you with the facts on the two different sides of a pop-culture discourse in order to leave you to your own deductions.
The topic of today's Think Through: Mariah Carey.
What Happened?
Mariah Carey is known to all as the Queen of Christmas. Just because it is well known, however, does not mean that it would necessarily hold up in a court of law.
The iconic star submitted an application to trademark the title Queen of Christmas. As of yesterday, this request of the trademark has been officially turned down. Mariah remains the Christmas Queen without coronation.
While it can be said with some confidence that Carey is the most popularly known Queen of Christmas, the controversy comes in when discussing what the legal implications of the trademark would be. Had the singing sensation gotten the trademark, she would have been able to stop others from using it.
The Central Question
As she is most popularly known as the Queen of Christmas, is it alright for her to trademark the title, or is the trademarking a classless commodification of Christmas?
Against: It's Giving Grinch
While Carey may be the first one that comes to mind when the phrase Queen of Christmas is uttered, she is far from the first to be given the title. Multiple stars including Chan and Darlene Love have previously held the title. Neither, however, attempted to trademark it. Chan spoke outwardly against Carey trademarking the title.
In an interview with Variety, Chan spoke adamantly against Mariah Carey's desire to trademark the title. She argued:
"I feel very strongly that no one person should hold onto anything around Christmas or monopolise it in the way that Mariah seeks to in perpetuity...That's just not the right thing to do. Christmas is for everyone. It's meant to be shared; it's not meant to be owned...If you knit a 'Queen of Christmas' sweater, you should be able to sell it on Etsy to somebody else so they can buy it for their grandma...It's crazy - it would have that breadth of registration."
Not only would the trademark make Mariah Carey the Queen of Christmas in the music world. It would impede independent sellers from making gifts with the moniker. While Carey is the first one our collective minds go to when we hear the title Queen of Christmas, there is something indisputably Grinchian about monetizing it in this way.
Pro: She IS the Queen of Christmas!
Anyone who doesn't know that Mariah Carey is the Queen of Christmas must live under a rock wherein they spend their days entirely oblivious to the existence of the holiday monarchy. Each year, the internet explodes with jokes regarding Mariah Carey's defrosting. Her song All I Want for Christmas is You, is a modern classic that has been stuck in our holiday heads since its release in 1994.
Superstar Dolly Parton has personally supported Carey's claim to the title. She was in an interview with BHG when the interviewer suggested that Parton, "might be the new Queen of Christmas." Parton quickly replied:
"Now, don't you say that! I'm not going to compete with Mariah...I love her. You think of Christmas, you think of Mariah. I'm happy to be second in line to her."
On November 10th, Carey responded to the interview tweeting:
"Dolly, let's settle this one...You are the Queen of Everything! The Queen of the World, The Queen of Christmas, The Queen of Mine!! Love you!!!!"
Dolly, let’s settle this one…
— Mariah Carey (@MariahCarey) November 10, 2022
You are the Queen of Everything! The Queen of the World, The Queen of Christmas, The Queen of Mine!! Love you!!!! ❤️❤️❤️ @DollyParton https://t.co/3CFSCDMk0j
Parton is in Carey's corner when it comes to the Queen of Christmas debate, and that counts for A LOT.
In Summary.
Do we love the idea that no one would be able to sell a homemade craft that reads Queen of Christmas without potentially subjecting themselves to the wrath of big-time lawyers? No. BUT, is Mariah Carey already the undisputed Queen of Christmas in such a significant and well known way that anyone who even thinks to put that tile on something is already paying some mind to the sensation? Yes.
What do you think?
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