Oh dear. It’s just too easy to be mean. Where do I start? The fact I couldn’t tell who was Mariah Carey and who was Justin Bieber; Bieber’s awful ad libs, and his annoying pronunciation of words (“Christ-mass”, “mizzletoe”); the attempt at scatting at the beginning; the constant, irritating melisma; the vocoder; Mariah’s whistle notes; or the fact that she was stupid enough to have another crack at a classic.
Don’t get me wrong — I have a complete soft spot for the 90s original. But I ask myself, why? Why would you reinvent something that was already so successful in the first place?
The whole premise of the video seems to be based on the fact that all Bieber and Carey want for “Christ-mass” is each other. If you can suspend your disbelief then you may be able to enjoy Carey frolicking creakily around in a red velveteen number, and Bieber doing funny little poses on a podium which might have been acceptable if he was a credible rapper… but unfortunately he isn’t. If that doesn’t please you, then at the very least you can enjoy Bieber’s red leather/tartan/sheepskin jacket.
You can see the awkward interactions, blatant product placement and dollar signs in their eyes here.
I already hate myself for listening to this over and over again to write this review.
Rating: 2/10