McDonald’s tweeted ‘All I Want for Christmas’ as music notes and got trolled by Mariah Carey

Mariah Carey sets the record straight. Picture: Alamy

By Sophia Alexandra Hall

@sophiassocials

 

G - B - D - F - G - F - D - B - G - C - D - G - D

Ah, Christmas; the smell of French fries, ketchup packets, and a Big Mac in a pear tree.

Or at least that’s what McDonald’s wants you to think of, as it announced its Christmas menu collaboration for 2021 last night.

The cryptic message G - B - D - F - G - F - D - B - G - C - D - G - D was posted on Twitter, and fans were unsurprisingly puzzled.

Some Twitter users immediately started guessing what the global fast-food giant was trying to say.

One fan questions if the sequence holds the secret to the meaning of life... Picture: Twitter

Others, such as American singer-songwriter Charlie Puth, used this as an opportunity to ask that their favourite McDonald’s meal item remain on the menu forever...

Then, musical fans in the comments section began to realise the sequence could actually be musical, and many took to their pianos to figure the melody out.

But it wasn’t until this tweet from the Christmas queen, Mariah Carey herself, that everyone began to realize what had happened.

G - B - D - F# - G - F# - D - B - G - C - D - G - D are the notes (in G major) which open the Christmas classic, Mariah Carey’s All I Want for Christmas is You.

The 13 notes are played on a glockenspiel as an introduction to the four-minute anthem.

As well as accidentally giving the public a lesson in how accidentals can change the entire context of a song, McDonald’s used the tweet to launch their Christmas menu collaboration with Carey this December.

“Just like McDonald’s brings people around the table with their favourite orders, Mariah’s music connects us all during this time of the year,” said McDonald’s USA Vice President Jennifer Healan. “We’re so excited to team up to bring even more holiday cheer to our fans.”

Starting on 13 December, McDonald’s customers in the US will be able to access a Twelve Days of Christmas-inspired ‘Mariah Menu’ of free food, if they spend a minimum of $1 on the fast-food chain’s app.

Will Smith recalls Fresh Prince cast ‘went silent’

... as he played Beethoven on piano in improvised scene

By Sophia Alexandra Hall, ClassicFM London

@sophiassocials

 

Will Smith looks back at the off-script scene where he surprised the pilot cast of Fresh Prince by performing Beethoven’s ‘Für Elise’ on piano.

In the pilot episode of the 90s American sitcom television series The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Will Smith performs Beethoven’s Für Elise on the piano for his onscreen Uncle Phil, played by James Avery.

The iconic scene is a fan-favourite, but until now, not many people knew that this scene was completely improvised.

In chapter three of Will Smith’s self-titled memoir, he reveals that he went against the crew’s directions for the original episode ending.

“The producers had originally planned on me sitting with my back to the piano so they could push the camera in on my face as I pondered the profundity of Uncle Phil's closing words,” writes Smith. “But when I sat down, I faced the piano, and began playing Mom-Mom’s favorite, Beethoven’s ‘Für Elise’.”

James Avery and Will Smith on The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. Picture: Alamy

The tense scene begins with Smith’s character exchanging tense words with Uncle Phil, as Smith accuses his uncle of forgetting his roots and where he comes from.

Phil replies, “Before you criticise somebody, you find out what he’s all about”, and ends the conversation by leaving Smith alone in the room after he refuses to listen to Smith’s side of story, therefore not taking his own advice.

When Smith starts playing the piano after his uncle has left, Phil returns to the doorway, unbeknownst to Smith’s character.

He watches on in subdued shock for a few moments, as he realises he may have misjudged Smith, and taps his hand thoughtfully against the doorframe as if he’s going to say something, before leaving once again.

The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air ran from 1990-1996. Picture: Getty

Prior to the scene, Smith says that no one in the cast knew that the actor had previously had piano lessons. So when he started playing, “the set went silent as everyone realized this show was about to be special”.

Smith recalls: “The point of the scene had been to never judge a book by its cover. The producers were so inspired by this improvisational moment that they kept it, and it became the defining thematic premise of the entire series.”

And fans are in agreement with this inspirational moment. One commenter on an upload of the scene to YouTube remarks, “I love the ending of this scene. Uncle Phil sees potential in Will and misjudged him like he told Will not to.”

To find out that this heartfelt ending is completely improvised is just one of the reasons the show remains a beloved fan-favourite, and it’s easy to see how the show quickly became America’s highest-rated new sitcom in its first season.