A Guy Is Suing Mariah Carey For 'All I Want For Christmas Is You' & Says He Did It First

Even people who don't celebrate Christmas know Mariah Carey's 1994 classic All I Want For Christmas Is You -- but now she's being sued by a man who claims that title actually belongs to him.

A New Orleans songwriter, Andy Stone, alleges that he co-wrote a song with the same title five years before Carey released her song, and he's suing her for over $20 million in damages over it.

Stone, who goes by Vince Vance, is suing Carey on the grounds that she took advantage of his "popularity and unique style" and recorded a similar song without asking for his permission, reported CNN. He came up with his version as a member of the country-pop band Vince Vance & the Valiants.

The songwriter has decided to sue Carey, her co-writer Walter Afanasieff, Sony Corporations of America and Sony Music Entertainment for copyright infringement and misappropriation.

The two songs share a title, but give them a listen and you'll see they're actually pretty different.

Stone recorded his version of All I Want For Christmas Is You in 1989 and it apparently started taking off in 1993, reported NBC News.

Carey released her hit jingle as part of her Merry Christmas album the following year, and it quickly became known as the song by that name.

Carey's version of the song has consistently done well over the years, so much so that it's been on the Billboard Hot 100 every year since 2019, even though it was recorded almost 30 years ago. It's also earned her the unofficial title of the Queen of Christmas, because you can't escape it during the holiday season.

Apparently, Stone's lawyers first reached out to Carey in April of 2021 about his complaints, but the two parties were "unable to come to any agreement."

Multiple news sources have tried to reach Stone and Carey's teams, but neither has responded.