Please, please, please – tell us did Sabrina Carpenter just shade Mariah Carey?!
Because that’s what it looks like to us!
Now, just because Music by Sabrina Carpenter including some of this summer’s most popular songs doesn’t mean it’ll go into hibernation when the season changes.
This winter, she’ll be hosting a variety music special on Netflix. A holiday special, no less.
But in the promotion A Meaningless Christmas With Sabrina CarpenterShe apparently threw a little shade at one of the biggest stars of all time. You probably know her best as the Queen of Christmas…
Netflix has tapped Sabrina Carpenter to headline the holiday season
On December 6, Netflix will air the year-end musical variety special, A Meaningless Christmas With Sabrina Carpenter.
We know the special will feature “unexpected duets and comedic guests.”
In addition to the undisclosed guests, Sabrina will perform some of her own songs.
Sabrina Carpenter has a holiday EP, Fruit cake. Although it is not as long as one of the their complete albumsThis collection of songs should be much more appetizing than the eponymous EP.
It will also feature classics from the Christmas season. Netflix may be billing this as a “holiday” variety special, but while there are several holidays in the coming months, the title really seems to be about one in particular.
“The holidays have always been so special to me,” Sabrina Carpenter expressed in a statement. “I’m excited to bring my own take on a classic holiday variety show — infusing my love of music and comedy to make something that’s uniquely my own.”
So where does the shade towards Mariah Carey come in?
As you can see in the Netflix Teaser for the Sabrina Carpenter special, the video clearly overshadows Mariah Carey — or at least references her.
The image evokes Mariah Carey’s classic “All I Want For Christmas Is You” outfit. It’s essentially a hoax, surprising people with Sabrina Carpenter.
This may blow up at Sabrina Carpenter (albeit unfairly) or at Netflix itself. But most people probably won’t resent the homage.
For years, Mariah Carey’s “All I Want For Christmas Is You” has been a harbinger of the entire holiday season. And we mean holiday season — no matter what holidays you might celebrate between Halloween and New Year’s, Mariah Carey’s song will be playing.
Mariah did something almost unthinkable: she created a Christmas classic in the modern era. Many Christmas songs are so old that they have terrible values or cultural references that need to be explained. “All I Want For Christmas Is You” was released in 1994.
Of course, other music stars have come up with catchy Christmas songs. But even if I personally enjoy Lady Gaga’s “Christmas Tree” and Guther & The Sunshine Girls’ “Christmas Song”, we can all recognize that Mariah’s success is on another level.
Did Netflix miss the mark?
Anytime someone seemingly insults Mariah Carey, whether it’s Sabrina Carpenter or someone else, it risks blowing up in their face. Mariah has faced real scandals and exercised poor judgment at times, but many people love and adore her. (Plus, sometimes her judgment is not so bad)
We don’t think Netflix or Sabrina Carpenter meant any disrespect to Mariah Carey. If anything, this is a nod to Mariah effectively dominating a few months of the year.
We hope Mariah enjoys the accolades. And the royalty checks, too, since her music will be streaming around the world in a few months.