Eight of America's Top 10 Songs Were Christmas Recordings in December

By Elena Vasquez

Eight of the 10 biggest songs in America during the week of the Billboard Hot 100 dated December 20, 2025 were Christmas recordings. Mariah Carey's "All I Want for Christmas Is You" held Number 1, Brenda Lee's "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree" sat at Number 2, and Wham!'s "Last Christmas" took Number 3. The oldest of those recordings had been released more than half a century earlier.

That result is an anomaly in an industry that spends heavily on new releases. Songs recorded decades ago now compete directly with contemporary pop stars for streaming numbers, radio airplay and chart positions, then vanish in January and return the following November. In short, holiday music runs on an annual calendar that ordinary hits do not.

Why do decades-old songs keep winning?

The explanation runs through nostalgia, family tradition, streaming technology, radio programming and music psychology. Christmas songs attach to a recurring event rather than a fleeting cultural moment. A song played in someone's childhood home becomes linked to parents, grandparents and family gatherings. When that listener grows up, they often choose the same recording while decorating their own tree, and their children grow up hearing it too.

The tradition becomes generational. A new pop single must introduce itself to listeners; a classic Christmas song arrives with decades of emotional associations already attached, and the opening notes alone can trigger a response.

Bing Crosby's "White Christmas," written by Irving Berlin, has connected with audiences since 1942, carrying particular weight for listeners during the Second World War. Nat King Cole's "The Christmas Song," written by Mel Tormé and Robert Wells, remains a staple through his celebrated 1961 stereo recording.

What changed in the streaming era?

Streaming transformed the measurement. Before digital music, listening required buying the album, a single or catching the song on radio — one purchase lasted decades. Now every eligible listen counts toward consumption figures.

Spotify reported in October 2026 that holiday favourites were already receiving an average of 36.2 million streams a day. Users created more than 100,000 holiday playlists during September alone. The company also confirmed that all five of the most-streamed holiday tracks in the United States during December 2025 were more than 30 years old.

Billboard's methodology reflects this. The Hot 100 combines streaming, radio airplay and sales, so older seasonal recordings can re-enter and compete when activity qualifies them. A song recorded in 1958 can outperform a brand-new release simply because millions of people listen during the same week.

Radio reinforces the cycle. Many stations adopt all-Christmas formats in November and December, building programming around "Jingle Bell Rock," Andy Williams' "It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year," Dean Martin's "Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!" and Burl Ives' "A Holly Jolly Christmas." Shopping centres, restaurants and retailers add further cultural presence.

Film supplies another engine. Brenda Lee's "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree," recorded in 1958 when she was 13, gained an enormous new audience through "Home Alone" in 1990. In December 2023 it reached Number 1 on the Hot 100 for the first time — 65 years after release, with Lee aged 78 — aided by a new video featuring Tanya Tucker and Trisha Yearwood.

Which songs set the modern records?

Mariah Carey released "All I Want for Christmas Is You" on her album "Merry Christmas" in 1994, drawing on classic Christmas pop, Motown rhythms and Phil Spector's production style. It first reached Number 1 on the Hot 100 in December 2019, a quarter-century after release, and has returned to the summit across multiple seasons.

Wham!'s "Last Christmas," written and produced by George Michael and released in 1984, reached Number 1 on the UK Official Singles Chart in January 2021. In December 2023 it became the UK's official Christmas Number 1, then repeated the feat in 2024 — the first song ever to claim that distinction in consecutive years.

Newer recordings can break through. Kelly Clarkson's "Underneath the Tree," Ariana Grande's "Santa Tell Me" and Justin Bieber's "Mistletoe" have established annual audiences, alongside Sia's "Snowman" and Michael Bublé's recurring album "Christmas." Kylie Minogue's "XMAS" reached the UK's official Christmas Number 1 in 2025, proving a fresh release can still win in a season dominated by familiar catalogue.

For artists, publishers and rights owners, an established holiday recording can generate recurring income year after year without a conventional promotional cycle. But no marketing campaign can guarantee tradition status — that decision belongs to listeners, who return to the same melodies each December because the recordings have become part of how they experience the season. As soon as the opening sleigh bells sound, Carey is already heading back toward Number 1.