Mariah Carey's 'A Christmas Melody' Melody Is A+

People are like snowflakes when it comes to picking their favorite holiday music — no two are alike. Some people are happy that certain radio stations turn to an all-Christmas playlist before Thanksgiving, others need to wait until the turkey is done, and still others wished they'd never hear a sleigh bell at all. Some love "Wonderful Christmastime," others find it unbearable. But, if there is a universal in the world of Christmas music, it's that Mariah Carey's "All I Want for Christmas Is You" is the best holiday song. Mariah just nailed it. She is the Queen Diva of Christmas. So it makes sense that the Hallmark channel would tap her to direct and star in an original holiday movie, A Christmas Melody, which will debut on Dec. 19. And, yes, there will be more songs. Since there's always room for more of her on a holiday playlist, where can you listen the song from Mariah Carey's A Christmas Melody ?

Before we get to the song, you need to know the context. The movie is about a single mom, Kristin (Lacey Chabert), who has to close her New York City clothing boutique and move back to her hometown in Ohio with her daughter, Emily (Fina Strazza). There, she runs into her former high school rival, Melissa (played by Carey, which is a huge stretch considering Carey is about a decade older than Chabert). Even as adults, Melissa is still a — pardon the expression — mean girl, but Emily finds solace with a music teacher (Brennan Elliott) working on a new Christmas song.

So, where does the song fit in? According to USA Today, it's Mariah Carey's "Oh, Santa!" with some tweaks. “I changed the lyrics so that it would fit for this 9-year-old girl and for the story line,” she says. “It’s there to make people feel Christmas-y and as festive as possible.”

Carey doesn't sing in A Christmas Melody, but you can get her recording of "Oh, Santa!" It's included on Carey's holiday album, Merry Christmas II You. It's one of four original songs that Carey wrote for the album, and it's not that hard to track down. You can listen to it in the video below.

Like what you hear? Then you can also listen to it whenever you like on Spotify, and add it to your ever-growing Spotify holiday playlist. If you simply must own it, you can download it from Amazon for $1.29 (or buy the whole physical cd, if you're still doing that, for the price of $13.70). It's also available for $1.29 on iTunes.

If you prefer Strazza's version of the song, though, you're just going to have to watch A Christmas Melody on Dec. 19.

Image: Brian Douglas/Hallmark (2)