Hear Mariah Carey’s Sentimental New Christmas Ballad ‘The Star’
Christmas queen Mariah Carey has recorded another nativity-themed, adult-contemporary holiday ballad, which will appear in the upcoming animated movie The Star. “Strong and wise, keeping the Lord as your guide,” she sings on “The Star.” “And through the doubt you realize He’s with you all the while … follow that star above you.”
The track leads off the movie’s soundtrack album, which will come out on October 27th; “The Star” is an instant-gratification download to people who buy the album early. Fifth Harmony, Pentatonix, Yolanda Adams, A Great Big World and Kirk Franklin also appear on the soundtrack, among others.
The movie, which features the voices of Oprah Winfrey, Kelly Clarkson, Tracy Morgan and Keegan-Michael Key, is due out November 17th. It tells the story of the nativity through the eyes of a donkey named Bo (Steven Yeun) who teams with a sheep and a dove who travel together and cross paths with what press materials describe as “three wisecracking camels and some eccentric stable animals.” They all end up playing a role in the birth of Christ.
Carey established herself as a holiday hit-maker in 1994 when her single “All I Want for Christmas Is You” was certified double platinum and became a ubiquitous yuletide anthem. It peaked at Number 11 on the Hot 100 (in 2016) and has spent 19 weeks on the chart total; it hit Number One on Billboard’s Holiday Airplay chart in 2008 and has spent 91 weeks total on the chart. She’s also released two Christmas albums – 1994’s Merry Christmas (certified five times platinum) and 2010’s Merry Christmas II You (certified gold) – which both made it into the Top Five of the albums chart.