Mariah Carey Says It’s Too Early to ‘Defrost’ for Christmas: ‘I Said Not Yet!’

Mariah Carey knows how to set the tone. On Tuesday, October 28, she shared a playful clip across her official social channels to remind fans that, despite the hype, the holiday season isn’t here quite yet.

The short video leans into a long-running gag: Carey’s trademark whistle and the familiar “It’s time” cue that usually signals her turn-of-season moment. In this clip, the camera follows her throughout the day as people wait for that signal — only for Carey to laugh it off, exclaiming “I said not yet” and “It’s not time yet,” then closing the clip with a soft, teasing “not yet” while she gets her glam finished.

Earlier the same day, rising girl group KATSEYE dropped a tongue-in-cheek visual for their Bowen Yang–assisted single “Gabriela.” The video pays affectionate tribute to Carey’s own catalog and viral moments, spoofing a red-carpet exchange with Billboard’s Kyle Denis from the 2025 MTV Video Music Awards and recreating looks from iconic Carey videos such as “Honey,” “We Belong Together” and, naturally, “All I Want for Christmas Is You.”

Carey’s memorable VMA night this year included receiving the Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award — her first at the ceremony. Ariana Grande, who took home Video of the Year for the short film Eternal Sunshine: Brighter Days Ahead, presented the honor after Carey delivered a powerful medley that mixed classics like “We Belong Together” with newer material such as “Sugar Sweet.”

That VMA spotlight came just weeks before the arrival of Here for It All, Carey’s sixteenth studio album. The record, which features “Sugar Sweet” and the Hot 100–charting lead single “Type Dangerous” (peaking at No. 95), opened at No. 7 on the Billboard 200 and topped the Top Album Sales chart.

Watch Carey’s playful holiday teaser below:

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