During the winter, any person who frequents retail stores may have overheard the song, “All I Want for Christmas is You,” performed by Mariah Carey, playing in-store. Other than in October, November and December, it is uncommon to hear this song without being played on one’s own accord. This is where an idea sprung. Since Carey’s song only plays in stores during winter, she could be considered as “frozen” until the season has come around.

Believed to have originally started in 2017 on X, formerly known as Twitter, Carey’s emergence was referred to as her defrosting for Christmas, due to the idea that she is frozen during all of the other seasons. Along with this joke, there would often be a photo of Carey in a block of ice. Generally around the start of November is when people will start to notice mentions of the defrosting, according to dailydot.com.

This meme was all in good fun, but nobody would have expected Carey herself to acknowledge the joke. On Oct. 31, 2023, Carey posted a video to her YouTube channel, titled “Mariah Carey – IT’S TIME!!.” In this video, Carey is in a vault and trapped in ice. Surrounding Carey are several figures, each wearing Halloween costumes, and they are using what looks to be heat guns on the block. After a moment, Carey bursts out of the cube whilst singing “it’s time,” according to youtube.com.

Carey would release another video in 2024 related to her “defrosting.” This video, titled “MARIAH CAREY – IT’S TIME!!!! (2024)” and garnering around 5-million views, is colored in black and white, and Carey walks into a large, gothic mansion whilst wearing a long, dark dress. Carey meets with a man, and they dance together. Carey eventually pushes the man away and throws a dagger at the man, which misses. Then the pair turns and looks at a closet, which has calendars counting down nearby. The closest opens to reveal a red and white robe while a clock spirals in the background. The screen then shatters, and Carey says her iconic line, “it’s time,” according to youtube.com.