Kelly Clarkson has credited Mariah Carey with "paving the way" for artists to record original Christmas music.
In an interview for The New York Times celebrating the 30th anniversary of Mariah's enduringly successful 1994 album Merry Christmas, the Stronger hitmaker praised the superstar for proving just how popular festive tracks can be.
"When Mariah came out with her first Christmas record, she changed the game for all of us," Kelly told the publication. "She paved the way for all of us to be able to have a chance at creating original Christmas songs because she proved to the industry how not only lucrative it could be - but how magical it can be to have a record that is a part of your life every year."
The Kelly Clarkson Show host unveiled her second festive album, When Christmas Comes Around..., in 2021.
In addition to covers of seasonal classics, Mariah also recorded two original songs, All I Want For Christmas Is You and Miss You Most (At Christmas Time), for her iconic album.
And while the Believe singer is sometimes dubbed the Queen of Christmas, the 55-year-old insisted she never tires of the subject.
"It's something that I look forward to all year," she smiled. "Maybe people think it's something that I put on, but it's really my favourite time of year."
Elsewhere in the chat, Mariah noted that she finds it "really rewarding" when fans come up to her and express their delight over her Christmas music.
"I'm just grateful and thankful for it and for all the people that come up and say, 'I love your music,' or, 'I listen to your Christmas music in July' - that started to become a thing. I've always wanted to do this for my life, and so now we get to do it," the mother-of-two added.
