Halloween ended at midnight, and Mariah Carey handled the handoff herself. Her annual “It’s Time” video landed right at 12:00 on November 1, and this year she opened it as a punk rocker fronting a band in a New York dive bar, pink and blonde hair, cat ears, heavy makeup, before the clock hit twelve and she switched into full Christmas mode on top of a giant tree.
The punk part is not a random costume. The song she performs, “Hermit,” comes from a secret alternative rock album she recorded in 1995 while she was making “Daydream,” released under the band name Chick. Her own lead vocals stayed buried for decades. She told the story in her 2020 memoir, and at her MusiCares tribute in January, Foo Fighters and Taylor Momsen performed Chick songs while she sang along from her seat.
“IT’S TIME!!!!”
Mariah Carey, captioning her annual video on Instagram
Carey started the November 1 tradition in 2019, and it has become the unofficial starting gun for the holiday season. The song waiting on the other side of the transformation, “All I Want for Christmas Is You,” spent 22 weeks at number one, the longest run in Hot 100 history, until Ella Langley’s “Choosin’ Texas” passed it earlier this year.
Her Christmastime Tour starts November 17 in São Paulo and reaches London on November 30. Christmas season is open. It was always going to be her call.
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