Darlene Love Teases Christmas Collab with Mariah Carey (Exclusive)

• Darlene Love tells PEOPLE that there’s no beef between her and Mariah Carey over the “Queen of Christmas” title
• Love says Carey even called her to tell her how much she adores Love’s signature hit “Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)”
• Love teases that a Christmas collab between the two singers may still be on the horizon

Darlene Love wants to put any notion of competition between her and Mariah Carey in the world of Christmas music to rest.

The legendary singer, 83, tells PEOPLE that most of the supposed tension between her and Carey, 55, vying for the title of “Queen of Christmas” has been fabricated by fans.

“The thing came up with Mariah Carey and I had to deal with that. I said, ‘Listen, I ain’t never thought about being the Queen of Christmas. I think everybody is a Queen of Christmas. Everybody got one,'” Love says. “So we went all through that with the fans and it got so crazy, and it wasn’t me and Mariah Carey, it was our fans. I say, ‘Okay, hold on you guys. Wait a minute. I might make one comment about it, but that’s what I always do. Just one comment and I’m done. This is what I feel. I feel that you guys should not put me in a box. You should let everybody enjoy me.’ ”

In fact, Love shares that Carey gave her kudos directly.

“When all of that was going on with Mariah Carey, she wrote, she said, ‘Listen, as far as I’m concerned, Darlene Love is the Christmas Queen. I grew up on “Christmas (Baby, Please Come Home.” That always played in my house.’ So I tell people it wasn’t going on between me and Mariah. It was going on with our fans,” the star says.

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The situation between the two artists began when Carey attempted to trademark the “Queen of Christmas” title in 2022, leaving fellow holiday crooners Elizabeth Chan and Love to speak out, with the former even filing legal action against Carey. Love asked in a Facebook post at the time, “Is it true that Mariah Carey trademarked ‘Queen of Christmas’? What does that mean, that I can’t use that title?”

Ultimately, when Carey gave Love her flowers on social media, the star seemed to change her tune. “Thank you, Mariah Carey! This just warmed my heart!” Love wrote in response to Carey’s comment of kudos on Facebook at the time. “Love you very much and I apologize if my words towards you were a bit harsh. I’ve always LOVED & ADORED you!! I’m HONORED to share the Queen of Christmas title with you and all the other talented performers on earth!

She then teased, “Maybe we can re-record Christmas Baby for a new holiday release in 2023?”

Love’s rep later reiterated the singer’s desire to hop on the track together and clear the air, telling PEOPLE in 2023, “That’s her wishlist for 2023, to invite Mariah to rerecord the song with her in the studio.” Love’s rep further noting that the star has always “loved” Carey but “didn’t understand” her attempt to trademark the “Queen of Christmas” title.

Now, Love is teasing to PEOPLE once again that the collaboration may still come to fruition.

“It was so funny. Last year, Cher calls me out of the blue and we re-recorded it together,” she says, adding, “That really threw me … I went, ‘Well, I guess Mariah Carey is coming next.’ I think those kind of things… Somebody’s thinking about it somewhere. Good things can come around — any day, any time now.”