Christmas is still about two months away, but that’s not stopping Mariah Carey from getting into the spirit. As the harbinger of Christmas, Carey announces the beginning of the holiday season like a beautiful foghorn: the Halloween decorations come down, and “All I Want For Christmas is You” starts playing in malls and TJ Maxx’s all over the U.S., The Grinch airs on Freeform five times a day, and holiday toy catalogs get shoved into our mailboxes like pigs in blankets.
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Shout bah humbug from the rooftops all you want, Scrooge, but there’s no denying Mariah Carey is the queen of Christmas, and when she says it’s time, it’s time. Recently, she was tasked with awaking Jimmy Kimmel from his long winter nap in a long-standing prank that has been done by Rhianna, Britney Spears, Dua Lipa, and Miley Cyrus: sneaking into Kimmel’s house early in the morning and scaring him half to death with loud music. Only, this time, the prank was delightfully Christmas-themed, as Carey announced It’s Time.
Sneaking through Kimmel’s house with a festively dressed backup group—including a full-fledged Santa—Carey knelt serenely by his bed where Kimmel slumbered. When he cracked open his tired eyes and asked, “What time is it?” the song “All I Want For Christmas is You” kicked on, and Carey and her backup crew threw fake snow and waved glowsticks like they were at a Christmas rave.
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“You like it and you know it!” Carey shouted at a still bleary Kimmel, who simply laid in bed and let it happen, watching his wife, Molly McNeary, dance joyfully in her pajamas. After, when he got up, Carey presented him with a t-shirt emblazoned with her portrait and the words “It’s Time.”
Time indeed as Carey has also recently announced that she’s bringing her annual holiday tour back for 2023. In early October she announced that Merry Christmas One and All! will return to close out this year’s holiday season.
The tour kicks off on November 15 in Highland, California, and will hit 13 cities across the U.S. The Christmas extravaganza concludes with a performance at Madison Square Garden on December 17, giving her time to head home and celebrate Christmas Day on December 25.
2022 marked the first year Carey held her Christmas tour since the start of the pandemic, but it looks like she’s getting back into the holiday groove with the return of the tour this year. Fans can expect classic holiday performances, as well as Carey’s own Christmas repertoire. Tickets are available via StubHub, where orders are 100% guaranteed through StubHub’s FanProtect program. StubHub is a secondary market ticketing platform, and prices may be higher or lower than face value, depending on demand.
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