Where Are You Christmas?

"Where Are You Christmas?" is a power ballad written by James Horner and Will Jennings, with additional lyrics provided by Mariah Carey.[2] The song is composed in the key of B♭ major and set to a slow tempo of 56 BPM.[4] Hill's vocals range almost two octaves, from F₃ to E♭₅.[4]

In a 2021 interview with Harper's Bazaar, Carey stated that she thought "up the song's bridge, which transforms melancholy into triumph, in the car en route to work with" Horner.[5]

Billy Dukes of Taste of Country ranked "Where Are You Christmas?" at number 6 on a list of the top 50 country Christmas songs, writing that the song was "touching" and that "Hill performs it like a woman at the top of her game, which she certainly was".[6] Describing the song as underrated, Pip Ellwood-Hughes of Entertainment Focus praised Hill's vocal performance, writing that "[she] sounds incredible as she unleashes the full range of her powerful voice".[7]

Conversely, Cameron Martin of The Atlantic labeled the song as one of the top ten "most annoying" holiday songs.[8] Steve Simels of TV Guide was critical of "Where Are You Christmas?" in his review of the Grinch film, writing that "none but the thoroughly perverse of hearing should stick around for the closing credits and Faith Hill warbling" the song.[9]

Mariah Carey (pictured) co-wrote the song but was denied release of her version due to an ongoing legal battle with her ex-husband. Carey has since expressed her wishes in releasing her version.[10]

The release of the song was involved with some controversy between American singer Mariah Carey, who co-wrote the song with James Horner and Will Jennings, against her former husband Tommy Mottola, the chairman and CEO of Sony Music at the time.[10] During their divorce, Mottola blocked Carey's release of the song due to an ongoing legal battle.[10]

In 2020, during the promotion for her memoir, Carey revealed on a Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen episode that "she did record it, and she does have the demo somewhere" but that she would have to "dig back into the vault to find [her] version".[10] In 2021, she said that she is "enthusiastic but hesitant" to release her version of the song.[5]

"Where Are You Christmas?" has been covered by a variety of artists since its release, including JoJo Siwa, Ali & Theo, The Blenders, Charlie Miller, The Country Piano Players, Dominik Hauser, Elizabeth South, Jim McDonough, John Tracy, Mannheim Steamroller, Nick Lachey, Steven C, and Sue Keller.[11] In 2018, American group Pentatonix also recorded an a cappella version of the song.[12]

"Where Are You Christmas?" peaked at number 10 on the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart in January 2001, becoming Hill's fifth top ten single at that format.[13] The song experienced crossover success at radio, peaking at number 26 on the Hot Country Songs chart and at number 40 on the Adult Pop Songs chart, in addition to reaching a peak position of 65 on the Billboard Hot 100. In 2013, "Where Are You Christmas?" peaked at number 15 on the seasonal Holiday 100 chart,[14] on which it has continued making appearances throughout the 2010s.[2] The song has never entered the Canadian Hot 100, but did reach a peak position of 38 of the Hot Canadian Digital Songs component chart in 2018.[15]

"Where Are You Christmas" was placed seventh[lower-alpha 1] on the list of all-time best-selling Christmas/holiday digital singles in SoundScan history in 2016.[16] As of December 2019, total digital sales of the Faith Hill recording has reached 1,002,000 downloads according to Nielsen SoundScan.[17]