Mariah Carey

Longtime collaborator Walter Afanasieff played Grinch to the pop diva's claim that she basically wrote the song as a little girl.

Mariah Carey's co-writer and co-producer on 'All I Want For Christmas Is You' has challenged the star's story of when she wrote the track.

“When she started to hint at the fact that, ‘Oh, I wrote that song when I was a little girl!’ But why weren’t you saying that for 12 or 13 or 15 years prior to that?,” he said. You know what, I don’t have birthdays, but the birthing day was the greatest gift ever, when I had my twins Roc and Roe [Moroccan and Monroe], and once again I’d like to introduce you to my daughter, Monroe.” “Eleven years ago, I got the greatest gift. “I started playing a boogie-woogie, kind of a rock. “So on and on, and it was like a game of ping-pong. She doesn’t know a diminished chord from a minor seventh chord to a major seventh chord.”

For context, Walter Afanasieff collaborated with Carey on her first six studio albums and has won two Grammys: one in 1999 for Record Of The Year (for producing ...

“I am proud of this song that I wrote basically as a kid on my little Casio keyboard,” she said. The cowriter and coproducer on Mariah Carey’s much-loved Xmas song “All I Want For Christmas Is You” is refuting Carey’s claim that she wrote the song as a kid. “So the writing of ‘All I Want For Christmas’ is, I started playing a boogie-woogie, kind of a rock. He added: “So on and on, and it was like a game of ping-pong. [Billboard](https://www.billboard.com/pro/mariah-carey-christmas-hot-100-top-10-reaction/) that she came up with the song when she was a kid. For context, Walter Afanasieff collaborated with Carey on her first six studio albums and has won two Grammys: one in 1999 for Record Of The Year (for producing Celine Dion’s “My Heart Will Go On”), and in 2000 he won Producer Of The Year, Non-Classical.

Mariah Carey recently lashed out at by co-writer Walter Afanasieff over taking all of the credit for the song All I Want For Christmas Is You.

So, it just sort of developed in her mind,” explained the 64-year-old. Walter revealed, “She doesn’t know chord changes and music theory or anything like that. During the interview, Walter pointed out, “So, to claim that she wrote a very complicated chord-structured song with her finger on a Casio keyboard when she was a little girl, it’s kind of a tall tale.”

It's an obvious choice in hindsight, but at the time it was a close race between Carey and Wilson Phillips.

See our [latest prediction champs](https://www.goldderby.com/best-prediction-scores/awards/league-data/). Can you top our [esteemed leaderboards](https://www.goldderby.com/article/2022/grammy-awards-2022-winners-best-prediction-scores/) next? Download our free and easy app for [Apple/iPhone devices](https://apps.apple.com/us/app/id1460576753) or [Android (Google Play)](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.pmc.goldDerby) to compete against legions of other fans plus our experts and editors for [best prediction accuracy scores](https://www.goldderby.com/article/2022/grammys-2023-nominations-best-prediction-scores/). Speak up and share your huffy opinions in our [famous forums](https://www.goldderby.com/forums/) where thousands of showbiz leaders lurk every day to track latest awards buzz. [Make your predictions](https://www.goldderby.com/leagues/) at Gold Derby now. [Hot 100](https://www.goldderby.com/feature/billboard-number-one-songs-2022-1204932145/) chart-toppers, earned a few more Grammys, and is now the Queen of Christmas and one of the most influential artists ever. [Wilson Phillips](https://www.goldderby.com/t/wilson-phillips/), a vocal trio formed by Carnie Wilson, Wendy Wilson, and Chynna Phillips (the respective daughters of Brian Wilson and John and Michelle Phillips, themselves very successful musicians from popular groups). To compare, Carey at the time of the Grammy nominations also had three number-one hits (eventually she’d get a fourth from that same album). Carey’s Best New Artist win is, to this day, one of the most amazing in that category. Wilson Phillips actually had the biggest hit of 1990 on their hands (“Hold On”); their album produced three number-one hits and two additional top-20 hits. While her music has never really been out-of-the-box, her vocals were, to the point where many credit “Vision of Love” for bringing back big vocals and melisma to the music scene in a big way; it has been called “ Her iconic hit has kept her name alive to younger generations, who might not know as much about the rest of her impressive career and the accolades and acclaim she’s gotten throughout.

The 'All I Want For Christmas' co-writer Walter Afanasieff claims that Mariah Carey has been telling a “tall tale” about the origins of her Christmas hit.

[playing the piano](https://www.vulture.com/2018/03/mariah-carey-doesnt-give-a-damn-about-the-grammys.html). Carey’s been co-producing her own music since before she was [signed to Columbia records](https://www.vulture.com/article/mariah-carey-rarities-profile.html), before she had the help of the music industry. Most recently, in [her memoir](https://www.vulture.com/2020/10/mariah-carey-memoir-song-stories.html), she said the song came from her “little girl’s spirit and those early fantasies of family, and friendship.” [Billboard](https://www.billboard.com/pro/mariah-carey-christmas-hot-100-top-10-reaction/) in 2017 that she wrote the song “basically as a kid on [her] little Casio keyboard.” In another interview with [Cosmopolitan](https://www.cosmopolitan.com/uk/entertainment/a29574761/mariah-carey-december-interview/) and [Amazon Music](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N_Vhz5BiypU), she claims she turned on It’s A Wonderful Life to get into the Christmas spirit before heading to her keyboard to write the song. Lastly, Afanasieff forgets the most important piece of the puzzle: Mariah Carey is and [has always been twelve years old](https://www.vulture.com/article/mariah-carey-rarities-profile.html); therefore, she was a little girl when she wrote the song. She doesn’t play keyboard or piano.

Longtime collaborator Walter Afanasieff played Grinch to the pop diva's claim that she basically wrote the song as a little girl.

She doesn’t know a diminished chord from a minor seventh chord to a major seventh chord.” “I am proud of this song that I wrote basically as a kid on my little Casio keyboard,” she [told Billboard in 2017](https://www.billboard.com/pro/mariah-carey-christmas-hot-100-top-10-reaction/). She doesn’t play keyboard or piano. “But she doesn’t play anything. She doesn’t understand music, she doesn’t know chord changes and music theory or anything like that. He said there was “never any alternate story ...

Mariah Carey's biggest Christmas hit, All I Want for Christmas has hit a controversy over its writing credit as her former producer and co-writer has made ...

[ All I Want For Christmas](https://www.pinkvilla.com/entertainment/hollywood/mariah-carey-sued-her-iconic-song-all-i-want-christmas-you-heres-why-1136285) when she was just a kid. [, Mariah Carey'](https://www.pinkvilla.com/entertainment/hollywood/mariah-careys-christmas-concert-2022-6-major-details-including-a-duet-with-her-daughter-and-more-1204260)s popular holiday track, All I Want For Christmas manages to top the charts as fans get into the holiday spirit with the festive song. As per Walter's claims, they came up with the song together while working on three songs for her Christmas album, Merry Christmas. [ Mariah ](https://www.pinkvilla.com/entertainment/hollywood/mariah-carey-declares-end-spooky-season-and-start-christmas-hilarious-video-watch-931546)doesn't know how to play instruments and said, "She doesn’t play anything, she doesn’t play keyboard or piano. Speaking about Carey taking credit for it, he said, "When she started to hint at the fact that, 'Oh, I wrote that song when I was a little girl!' But why weren’t you saying that for 12 or 13 or 15 years prior to that? Walter Afanasieff recently appeared on the Hot Takes & Deep Dives with Jess Rothschild podcast, in which he revealed how he and Carey co-created the song after collaborating on her 1993 album Music Box.

Afanasieff also claimed that Mariah Carey doesn't know how to play instruments and said, "She doesn't play anything, she doesn't play keyboard or piano.

As per Walter's claims, they came up with the song together while working on three songs for her Christmas album, Merry Christmas. Walter Afanasieff recently appeared on the Hot Takes & Deep Dives with Jess Rothschild podcast, in which he revealed how he and Carey co-created the song after collaborating on her 1993 album Music Box. However, recently the song has been in the news for other reasons, as her former co-producer and co-writer has called out the singer for taking all credit for writing the popular track.

This holiday season, Mariah Carey is receiving criticism, and it's all due of her wildly popular song, "All I Want for Christmas.

Walter went on to say, "She doesn't know chord changes and music theory or anything like that. It was revealed by Walter, who co-wrote the Christmas song, that Mariah nearly certainly couldn't have come up with it on her alone. She stated in the documentary that "It's A Wonderful Life" was playing in a home in New York while she was there. She acknowledged that she is not a great pianist, even claiming that some of the tunes she writes are "happy accidents." [the 2019 documentary](https://variety.com/2019/music/news/mariah-carey-all-i-want-for-christmas-amazon-music-mini-documentary-watch-1203432538/)" Mariah Carey Is Christmas: The Story of "All I Want for Christmas Is You." The "We Belong Together" hitmaker revealed in 2017 that she first began writing the song on a piano as a young child.

You haven't worked in days, there's a serious dent in your case of Christmas ales and the only non-football on the TV is Die Hard, a Christmas movie.

The clean, cool chill of the holiday air. Now grab the Q-tips, clean ’em out and fire up Napster! Everyone knows the most important December list is one that ranks Christmas movies one through ten. Secondly and probably most importantly, there’s plenty of Mila Kunis. We did the heavy lifting so you didn’t have to. This is Mila freakin Kunis.