It happens every single year. You’re minding your own business on November 1st, maybe nursing a candy hangover or trying to figure out what to do with a rotting pumpkin, and then you hear it. That high-pitched bell chime. The one that sounds like pure sugar and credit card debt. Suddenly, your social media feed is a wall of ice blocks and glitter. Honestly, the Mariah Carey Christmas meme has become as much a part of the holiday tradition as actual trees or awkward family dinners.
Basically, we’ve collectively agreed that Mariah Carey doesn’t exist from January to October. She’s just... stored. In a vault. Under a glacier. And when the clock strikes midnight on Halloween, the thawing process begins.
What Most People Get Wrong About the "Defrosting"
There’s this weird misconception that Mariah just accidentally fell into this. Like she woke up one day and realized she was a meme. Nope. While the internet definitely started the "defrosting" joke around 2017, Mariah Carey is a marketing genius who saw the wave and decided to surf it.
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The meme usually follows a specific lifecycle. In October, people start posting grainy videos of ice cracking. By October 31st, the "she's almost out" posts peak. Then, Mariah herself drops a high-production video—often featuring a literal block of ice—and screams, "It's Time!" in a whistle tone that could probably shatter a windshield.
In her 2023 version, she was actually being defrosted by people with hair dryers. By 2025, she leveled up, collaborating with Sephora and bringing in Billy Eichner to play a grumpy elf trying to steal her "glim-mores." It's campy. It’s self-aware. And it makes her a staggering amount of money. We’re talking an estimated $100 million in royalties since "All I Want for Christmas Is You" first dropped in 1994.
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The Numbers Are Actually Terrifying
If you think the meme is just a bunch of kids on TikTok, look at the charts. In 2024, her signature song broke records again, becoming the most popular Christmas track on TikTok with over 20 million video creations. It beat out Wham!’s "Last Christmas," which is basically the only other song that even tries to compete at this level.
- 22 Weeks: The record for the longest-running number 1 single on the Billboard Hot 100 as of 2025.
- 86 Million: Her Spotify monthly listeners during the peak holiday season.
- 60 Million: The jump in listeners she gets between October and January.
The "holiday creep" is a real thing. Data from Chartmetric shows that the spike in Mariah-related searches and streams moves earlier every year. In 2022, the surge started on November 12. By 2024, it was November 9. People are literally hitting the play button before they've even finished their leftover Halloween chocolate.
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Why the Meme Actually Works
It’s not just about the song. The Mariah Carey Christmas meme works because it’s a shared cultural calendar. In a world where everyone is arguing about everything, everyone can agree that hearing those first bells is the universal signal that the year is ending.
There’s also a bit of "retail worker trauma" baked into the meme. If you’ve ever worked in a mall in December, you’ve heard that song 400 times a day. The meme serves as a sort of gallows humor for the people who have to live through the "defrosting" in real-time. It’s the internet’s way of saying, "We know. It’s coming for us all."
How to Lean Into the Mariah Season
If you can’t beat the "Queen of Christmas," you might as well join the Lambily. Here is how you actually participate in the culture without being a total Grinch:
- Watch for the "It's Time" drop: It usually happens exactly at midnight on November 1st. If you miss the live drop, you’re basically late to the season.
- Track the Billboard climb: It’s fun to watch the song jump from #100 to #1 in about three weeks. It’s like watching a heat map of the world's collective holiday spirit.
- Use the templates: Sites like Kapwing and TikTok have specific "Mariah Defrosting" filters. Use them for your own content if you want that sweet, sweet engagement.
- Check the new collabs: Every year, she partners with a new brand (like the Sephora 2025 campaign) to keep the meme fresh. It’s usually worth a look just for the sheer production value.
At this point, Mariah Carey isn't just a singer. She’s a seasonal weather event. You don’t "listen" to her as much as you survive her. But honestly? The holidays would be a lot quieter—and a lot more boring—if she stayed frozen.