Legacy and cultural impact Due to the song's lasting impact, Carey was dubbed the "Queen of Christmas". As of 2017, the song was reported to have earned $60 million in royalties. The song has been described as a "yuletide tune" by Forbes writer Lauren Alvarez, who went on to say that the song has "become debatably the unofficial song of Christmas each year". Time writer Cady Lang stated that there are multiple reasons for the song's popularity, the first being the "powerhouse vocals of the beloved elusive chanteuse." She also noted the song's impact on pop culture stating that it is "a reminder that pop music, and maybe especially Christmas-themed pop music, can be as transportive for the singer (and the songwriter) as it is for the listener". The popularity of "All I Want for Christmas Is You" is noteworthy, not merely in its staying power (although a quarter of a century at the forefront of the holiday genre is a flex, if there ever was one) or its momentum in gaining ubiquity year after year, but in its ability to command the category over a period in which her industry and the culture has evolved significantly. Los Angeles Times writer Jody Rosen noted that the song's success reflects "the zeal of Carey's super-fans" and "speaks to the character of the song itself: its timeless quality, the way it seems to hover between musical eras and idioms. The song's harmonic palate, its diminished chords and lustrous chromatic passages, call to mind the jazz-inflected Christmas hits of the midcentury [...] Carey's calisthenic vocals, combining gospel-style melismatic runs and subtly funky syncopations, are unmistakably 90s, redolent of hip-hop-influenced R&B that Carey herself helped pioneer." Rosen went on to call it the 21st century's "White Christmas" calling Carey "another hall of fame vocalist and showbiz giant who was indelibly associated with the holiday". The Ringer writer, Rob Harvilla, stated that "December belongs to Mariah Carey". He went on to say that "the very first time you [hear the song, it sounds] classic [...] timeless, like it was playing in the manger when Jesus Christ was born." Critics also noted the song a tad reminiscent of the works of Judy Garland and Nat King Cole, while also describing it as hearkening back to "'60s and '70s Motown covers of prewar Christmas classics, such as The Jackson 5's [and] Stevie Wonder". Slates Ragusea conceded that