What is the Best Christmas Song Ever?

What is the Best Christmas Song? This very question has divided Christmas dinner tables, chats down the pub, and has separated the Scrooges from the Elf-lovers since Christmas began.

Well, we finally have an objective, scientific* answer. The best Christmas song of all time is, according to science*, All I Want For Christmas Is You, by Mariah Carey.

And if you need proof beyond the fact that it is clearly an absolute banger, read on to see our working…

*This isn’t scientific at all and is purely for fun (or to end the argument you’re having right now).

The Christmas Songs with the Most Spotify Plays

We took the top 40 most requested Christmas songs, and searched for them on Spotify. For each song, we took down the total number of plays it has received on the platform (true as of 14 November 2022), and built them into a spreadsheet.

And here’s the result: the Christmas Top 40 Chart like you’ve never seen it before – ranked by Spotify plays and Spotify stream revenue. There’s one clear winner…

Rank	Song	Artist	Spotify Plays	Spotify
1	All I Want For Christmas Is You	Mariah Carey	1,186,629,933	£3,678,553
2	Last Christmas	Wham!	918,151,174	£2,846,269
3	Santa Tell Me	Ariana Grande	679,215,031	£2,105,567
4	It’s Beginning To Look A Lot Like	Michael Buble	642,944,209	£1,993,127
5	Rockin’ Around The Christmas Tree	Brenda Lee	568,718,742	£1,763,028
6	Jingle Bell Rock	Bobby Helms	561,008,172	£1,739,125
7	It’s The Most Wonderful Time…	Andy Williams	527,683,626	£1,635,819
8	Mistletoe	Justin Bieber	525,255,305	£1,628,291
9	Snowman	Sia	517,469,687	£1,604,156
10	Do They Know It’s Christmas	Band Aid	406,164,136	£1,259,108
11	Let It Snow Let It Snow Let It Snow	Frank Sinatra	396,712,252	£1,229,808
12	Feliz Navidad	Jose Feliciano	395,577,437	£1,226,290
13	Underneath The Tree	Kelly Clarkson	373,430,848	£1,157,636
14	Happy Xmas (War Is Over)	John & Yoko	372,130,036	£1,153,603
15	Holly Jolly Christmas	Michael Buble	366,535,185	£1,136,259
16	Driving Home For Christmas	Chris Rea	356,919,626	£1,106,451
17	Wonderful Christmastime	Paul Mccartney	327,656,166	£1,015,734
18	White Christmas	Bing Crosby	325,530,886	£1,009,146
19	Let It Snow Let It Snow Let It Snow	Dean Martin	316,841,126	£982,207
20	Sleigh Ride	Ronettes	311,143,081	£964,543
21	The Christmas Song	Nat King Cole	310,906,411	£963,809
22	Fairytale Of New York	Pogues/Kirsty Maccoll	282,693,218	£876,348
23	Merry Christmas Everyone	Shakin’ Stevens	274,073,002	£849,626
24	Blue Christmas	Elvis Presley	245,106,135	£759,829
25	Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas	Sam Smith	238,497,475	£739,342
26	Christmas Lights	Coldplay	227,985,989	£706,756
27	Santa Claus Is Coming To Town	Michael Buble	221,506,274	£686,669
28	Santa Claus Is Coming To Town	Jackson Five	197,073,783	£610,928
29	Step Into Christmas	Elton John	193,052,274	£598,462
30	Santa Baby	Eartha Kitt	180,507,903	£559,574
31	Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)	Darlene Love	178,283,021	£552,677
32	One More Sleep	Leona Lewis	143,362,325	£444,423
33	Baby It’s Cold Outside	Menzel & Buble	125,174,630	£388,041
34	Mary’s Boy Child/Oh My Lord	Boney M	102,694,639	£318,353
35	Merry Xmas Everybody	Slade	100,898,010	£312,783
36	I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday	Wizzard	98,801,346	£306,284
37	2000 Miles	Pretenders	81,776,145	£253,506
38	Stop The Cavalry	Jona Lewie	64,016,533	£198,451
39	Lonely This Christmas	Mud	61,235,979	£189,831
40	Christmas Time	Darkness	27,579,993	£85,498

Working out the Streaming Revenue of Hit Christmas Songs

According to Music Gateway, it’s estimated that Spotify pays (a pretty measly) £0.0031 per stream. So, we multiplied each play count by 0.0031 to get the streaming revenue for each song.

Producers: Make Your Own Christmas Hit!

Of course, paltry pay per play means that streaming revenue is just one, tiny slice of the total royalty pie. Christmas song royalties outside of streaming platforms (and there are many more besides Spotify) are pretty impressive for the big hits – so if you’re a producer, you’re probably wondering how you can get in on that action.

If you think you could do it, check out this post for advice on making your own Christmas song!

The Music PR Agency for Future Hitmakers

Give yourself the gift of publicity this Christmas, and join Urban Rebel PR. We’re a creative music PR agency that gets results – with inspirational, creative PR for DJs, producers and EDM artists. 

Contact us: call +44 (0) 161 298 6650 or send your message to info@urbanrebelpr.co