Critic’s Notebook: Mariah Carey’s Christmas Tune Could Become the Greatest Song of All Time
Christmas may be over, but Mariah Carey’s holiday tune is the gifting that keeps on giving — and it could become the greatest song of all time.
“All I Want for Christmas Is You” was released in 1994 but finally reached the Top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 2017 after streaming numbers were factored into chart success. It hit the No. 1 spot in 2019 and each year since, the festive jam reemerges as the holidays approach and it spends several weeks in the highest position. This week the track logged its 17th week at No. 1 and edges close to the 19-week record set by both Lil Nas X and Billy Ray Cyrus’ “Old Town Road” and Shaboozey’s “A Bar Song (Tipsy).” Carey’s hit could tie the record this year, and by next year, it will surely break it.
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And that’s just it: What other song gets to come back to life each year and dominate the charts? While the lifespan of most major pop hits may last a year — Carey, and Christmas songs in general, hit differently thanks to the holiday season. So by pure numbers, “All I Want for Christmas Is You” will become the best performing song in Billboard history. And each year Carey knows how to capitalize during the Christmas season, from her holiday tour to TV specials to merchandising. Call it her karma for releasing an epic Christmas jam.
Carey also deserves this honor. Musicians have been creating original Christmas songs for years, but it’s rare they become classics or standards in the way “All I Want” has. She’s one of the greatest songwriters of all-time (and yes I am so ready to debate you if you challenge that), and she crafted something that puts us all in the right mood the day after Halloween. And if you feel like you’ve heard the song too much, it disappears in January, giving you enough time to miss it when it reappears 11 months later.
Carey’s song also earns this distinction because she’s the queen of the charts. Let’s just go over her stats: She’s got 19 No. 1s, making her only second to The Beatles’ 20-song record and we all know she will surpass that. Overall, her music has spent 96 weeks at No. 1 on the Hot 100 and the gap between her and the No. 2 person is wide at 36 weeks. And while there are contemporary songs that reach the top of the charts each week, a good number of them rarely stay there. Some make a splash on the charts simply because of the hype of the artists, and those “hits” plunge shortly after. Others get juiced by marketing plans like bundling. They are technically No. 1 hits but not in the same way Carey’s songs have LIVED on the charts. There is a big difference. Her numbers don’t lie.
So here’s to Carey and “All I Want for Christmas Is You” making history and becoming the best performing song of all time. Santa may be fiction, but Carey and this holiday staple are the real deal.
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