What is the Best Christmas Song Ever? The (not very) Scientific Answer
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 [email protected]