Mariah Carey didn’t begin this year’s Christmas countdown in a Santa outfit. Her annual “It’s Time” video opens with the singer performing in a crowded punk club, revisiting music from a little-known chapter of her career.
The singer released the clip just after midnight on November 1, sharing it on social media with the caption “IT’S TIME!!!!” The announcement continues her tradition of welcoming the holiday season as soon as Halloween ends.
This year’s transformation takes her from a stage dive to the top of an enormous Christmas tree. Along the way, Carey swaps her rock-inspired appearance for festive glamour as “All I Want for Christmas Is You” begins playing.
The surprise song choice connects the new video to an alternative-rock album released in 1995. Carey helped create the record while recording the pop and R&B music that defined her public image, but her involvement remained largely unknown for decades.
Mariah Carey Turns a Punk Performance Into Her Christmas Countdown
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The opening titles place the action in New York City on October 31. An on-screen clock shows 11:58 p.m. as the camera enters a bar hosting a punk show.
Carey appears with colorful eye makeup, dark glittery lips and a studded jacket. She performs “Hermit,” identified by Entertainment Weekly as a track from the band Chick’s Someone’s Ugly Daughter.
After she jumps toward the crowd, the screen goes dark and the clock reaches midnight. Carey delivers her familiar “It’s time” announcement before the video reveals a snowy Christmas setting.
Her holiday outfit is red and sequined with white trim, and the oversized tree beneath her is covered in decorations.
Chick’s 1995 Album Featured Carey’s Friend Clarissa Dane on Lead Vocals
Someone’s Ugly Daughter was a side project Carey worked on during the sessions for Daydream. Its distorted guitars and rougher vocals offered an outlet far removed from her mainstream releases.
Carey co-wrote the original songs, helped produce the record and recorded lead vocals. However, the version released under the name Chick featured her friend Clarissa Dane singing lead, with Carey’s voice in the background.
She revealed the project’s history in her 2020 memoir, The Meaning of Mariah Carey, and accompanying social media posts. Collaborators later described those recording sessions in interviews with Pitchfork.
The version featuring Carey’s original lead vocals remains unreleased. The Halloween-to-Christmas video does not announce a release date for that recording.
‘All I Want for Christmas Is You’ Returns With 22 Weeks at No. 1
Carey released “All I Want for Christmas Is You” on her 1994 album Merry Christmas. It first topped the Hot 100 in 2019, 25 years after its release.
Previous countdown videos have shown her emerging from ice, channeling Morticia Addams and dealing with comedian Billy Eichner as a disgruntled elf.
The song enters this holiday season with 22 nonconsecutive weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100. That total previously held the chart’s record, which Ella Langley’s “Choosin’ Texas” surpassed this year.
According to Billboard, Langley’s song reached its 25th week at No. 1 on the chart dated October 31, 2026.