The Hallmark Movie Mariah Carey Appeared In Makes So Much Sense
Mariah Carey is known by many as the queen of Christmas (via Variety). This is mostly thanks to the popularity of her song "All I Want For Christmas Is You," which made history when it topped the charts over two decades after its original release (via Billboard). (We apologize in advance if it's now going to be stuck in your head for the rest of the day.) Like Ms.Carey, the Hallmark Channel is also known for its holiday content, so when we think about it, it's no wonder they decided to collaborate on a Christmas movie.
Plenty of stars have tried their hand at joining forces with the Hallmark Channel, from Zachary Levi to Meghan Markle (via Screen Rant). Mariah Carey took her collaboration with Hallmark a step further, though. Not only did she costar in this film, but she directed it, too. If you haven't heard of Mariah Carey's Hallmark movie, you may be surprised not only to find out what a perfect pairing this film is with an artist like Carey, but also that it's one of the best Hallmark movies there is.
All about A Christmas Melody
Mariah Carey's Hallmark Channel movie, which premiered in 2015, is (aptly for a holiday music mogul) called "A Christmas Melody" (via IMDb). The film follows Kristen, played by Hallmark Channel darling Lacey Chabert, as she moves back to her hometown with her daughter, Emily, played by Fina Strazza (via Hallmark Channel). Hallmark fan-favorite leading man Brennan Elliot plays the music teacher at Emily's new school who helps her pursue her love of singing and songwriting and may just have a bit of a budding romance with the little girl's mom.
Mariah Carey appears in a supporting role as Melissa McKean-Atkinson, a parent of one of Emily's classmates who's a bit of a classic snooty stage mom. The movie is filled with holiday cheer, a feel-good love story, and even a bit of Christmas magic. Not only that, but Carey's part in this movie proves that her talent goes far beyond music.
Why this is Mariah Carey's perfect movie match
What made "A Christmas Melody" a perfect match for Mariah Carey isn't just that she has an eye for all things Christmas or that she knows how to play that stuck-up mean girl role to a tee. Ultimately, this movie is all about what Carey is known for: seasonal songwriting. Over the course of the film, Emily marries her love of writing poetry with her talent for performing and writes a song for the school talent show. When the movie culminates in her performance of the song, we discover that Emily has been writing Carey's IRL hit Christmas song, "Oh Santa" all along (via IMDb). Of course, actress Fina Strazza performs the song with an ever-so-slightly edited set of lyrics that Carey wrote to make it fit the story.
Carey told USA Today, "I changed the lyrics so that it would fit for this 9-year-old girl and for the storyline. It's there to make people feel Christmas-y and as festive as possible." Surely any way to bring the queen of Christmas into a famously Christmas-centric network to make holiday content would've made for a great project. Yet, making a movie with such a focus on magical holiday music was the perfect movie for Mariah Carey. If making viewers feel Christmas-y and festive was her goal, Carey definitely nailed it.