Whitney Duncan – “All I Want For Christmas”

Songwriters: Mariah Carey and Walter Afanasieff.

Yes, Virginia, The 9513 is reviewing a song co-written by Mariah Carey.

Her Highness of High Notes’ “All I Want For Christmas” has thrived past its 1994 debut as a popular holiday cover song by artists of many genres, from emo rockers My Chemical Romance to the poor man’s Hannah Montana, the Cheetah Girls.

The song’s versatility speaks to its likability, and the sexy secular tune has served Carey well: “All I Want For Christmas” remains one of her highest charting singles and is the best-selling holiday ringtone ever, a modern-day honor bestowed by today’s cell phone-dependent musical audience.

Country newcomer and former Nashville Star contestant Whitney Duncan adds her name to the cover list by releasing her twangy version as a single on iTunes this month. While Carey’s version evokes images of glittery (no, not that Glitter) holiday histrionics, Duncan could be sitting by the fire and Christmas tree strumming her guitar during the intro.

Duncan’s ending high notes come up predictably short of Carey’s, and she is wise to keep the most far-reaching octaves few and far between. She relies instead on her voice’s sultry grit, and there are tinges of Tanya Tucker in Duncan’s voice that emerge through the prerequisite jingle bells.

“All I Want For Christmas” has the same breathy, bluesy vocals of “Skinny Dippin’,” which she performed on Nashville Star’s original song night when the show was still on the USA Network and still had some resemblance to a talent show geared toward country music.

Unfortunately, the also shares her sometimes stilted phrasing and nasally accent that can come on a little too strong.

If you’re looking for a touching Christmas song extolling the virtues of the true meaning of the holiday season, this song ain’t it. But it’s a fun holiday romp that jives well with Duncan’s flirty image; “All I Want For Christmas” is one of those songs that sticks in listeners’ heads—and Duncan’s record label, Warner Brothers, must be hoping the song will be stuck in enough heads after the holidays, when her album Right Road Now is released early next year.