Mariah Carey Kicks Off Netflix’s NFL Christmas Gameday With ‘All I Want for Christmas Is You’
The best way to spread Christmas cheer is singing loud for all to hear — and Mariah Carey is, quite famously, one of the loudest singers of all. It’s fitting, then, that the Queen of Christmas kicked off Netflix‘s inaugural NFL Christmas Gameday with a festive performance of her holiday hit “All I Want for Christmas Is You.”
The pre-recorded performance saw the star decked in a glittering red suit and singing against a snowy backdrop. Footage of past Steelers and Chief games were flashed across the screen, along with scenes of fans watching the big game at home (with a special cameo from Kevin Hart).
The feature comes as the singer notches her third consecutive week at Number One with the holiday tune, hitting a record 17-week total. It surpasses Carey’s previously longest-running chart-topper, “One Sweet Day” with Boys II Men, which spent 16 weeks at Number One.
Carey’s appearance marked the start of game day for the Kansas City Chiefs and Pittsburgh Steelers, playing at 1 p.m., as well as the Baltimore Ravens and Houston Texans, playing at 4:30 p.m. But mostly, she kicked off game day for pop fans. Her performance precedes a special halftime show set from Beyoncé, who will premiere songs from Cowboy Carter live for the first time. On the music front, Carey and Beyoncé are in good company. For the Ravens-Texans game, vocal group Pentatonix have been tapped to perform the national anthem.
“This Christmas, we all get our wish,” Carey said in a teaser trailer for her opening appearance. “The NFL is live on Netflix. And I’ll be there, too.” The singer also recently concluded the Christmas Time tour, which made stops in 20 cities across North America. Her debut Christmas album Merry Christmas celebrated its 30th anniversary this year.
“I was very young and was just starting out and I felt like people do Christmas albums later in their lives,” Carey told Associated Press in October. “But now people have started to do them whenever, like right at the top of their career. So, I mean, what was I feeling like? I was a little bit apprehensive and then I was like, ‘I love this.’ And I decorated the studio and just had the best time.”
