<p id=”par-1_65″>The <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/tag/christmas/?swcfpc=1″>Christmas</a> season is here, which means that plenty of people are cueing up their holiday-themed Spotify playlists. Whether you can’t get enough of <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/entertainment/best-christmas-song-written-murderer.html/?swcfpc=1″>Darlene Love’s “Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)”</a> or are a devoted fan of Paul McCartney’s divisive hit “Wonderful Christmastime,” there’s no shortage of seasonal tunes to enjoy. But one song comes out on top, having racked up millions in streaming royalties. </p>
<h2 class=”wp-block-heading” id=”h-mariah-carey-s-all-i-want-for-christmas-is-you-is-the-most-successful-christmas-song-on-spotify”>Mariah Carey’s ‘All I Want for Christmas Is You’ is the most successful Christmas song on Spotify </h2>
<figure class=”wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio” id=”emb-1″><div class=”wp-block-embed__wrapper”>
<iframe loading=”lazy” title=”Mariah Carey – All I Want for Christmas Is You (Make My Wish Come True Edition)” width=”925″ height=”520″ src=”https://www.youtube.com/embed/aAkMkVFwAoo?feature=oembed” frameborder=”0″ allow=”accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share” referrerpolicy=”strict-origin-when-cross-origin” allowfullscreen></iframe>
</div></figure>
<p id=”par-2_75″>Recently, the folks at <a href=”https://www.gigacalculator.com/” target=”_blank” rel=”noreferrer noopener”>GIGACalculator</a> decided to do a deep dive into the data to determine the most popular Christmas songs of all time. They analyzed multiple Spotify playlists, as well as lists from Billboard, Official Charts, and Time Out, to identify popular tracks, then noted their current Spotify streams. To estimate streaming royalties, they relied on industry marketplace Music Gateway. In the end, the song that came out on top was no big surprise. </p>
<p id=”par-3_38″>Mariah Carey’s 1994 hit “<a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/entertainment/mariah-careys-all-i-want-for-christmas-is-you-originally-rock-song.html/”>All I Want For Christmas Is You</a>” is the most successful Christmas song in the U.S., with 1.89 billion streams and an estimated $7.57 million in total streaming royalties as of Nov. 25, 2024.</p>
<p id=”par-4_74″>Those earnings are just a fraction of Carey’s total take from her addition to the canon of popular Christmas songs. In 2017, <a href=”https://www.economist.com/graphic-detail/2017/11/30/the-music-industry-should-be-dreaming-of-a-white-christmas” target=”_blank” rel=”noreferrer noopener”>The Economist</a> estimated that the song had earned more than $60 million in royalties since its release. In 2021, the song generated an estimated $6.16 million in global revenue and publishing royalties, according to <a href=”https://www.billboard.com/pro/how-much-mariah-carey-make-all-i-want-for-christmas-is-you/” target=”_blank” rel=”noreferrer noopener”>Billboard</a>. However, not all that money goes to the “Fantasy” singer, who co-wrote the tune with Walter Afanasieff. </p>
<p id=”par-5_21″>In a 2021 interview with <a href=”https://parade.com/1303115/paulettecohn/mariah-carey-all-i-want-for-christmas-interview/” target=”_blank” rel=”noreferrer noopener”>Parade</a>, Carey addressed reports that she and Afanasieff had written the chart-topper in just 15 minutes. </p>
<p id=”par-6_74″>“I think that the story has taken on different layers,” the Grammy-winner said. “I started writing that on a little DX7 or Casio keyboard that was in this little room in the house that I lived in at the time in Upstate New York lifetimes ago. Just writing down everything that I thought about. All the things that reminded me of Christmas that made me feel festive that I wanted other people to feel.”</p>
<h2 class=”wp-block-heading” id=”h-last-christmas-and-santa-tell-me-also-top-the-list-of-popular-christmas-songs”>‘Last Christmas’ and ‘Santa Tell Me’ also top the list of popular Christmas songs </h2>
<figure class=”wp-block-image size-full” id=”emb-2″><img decoding=”async” src=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Ariana-Grande.webp?strip=all&quality=80″ alt=”Ariana Grande wearing a white dress and singing into a microphone” class=”wp-image-3748828″><figcaption class=”wp-element-caption”>Ariana Grande in 2014 | Christopher Polk/WireImage</figcaption></figure>
<div class=”related-article related-article–simple”>
<span class=”related-article-flag”>Related</span>
<p class=”related-article__title”>
<a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/entertainment/graceland-christmas-5-holiday-traditions-elvis-presley-iconic-home.html/”>
Graceland at Christmas: 5 Holiday Traditions at Elvis Presley’s Iconic Home </a>
</p>
</div>
<p id=”par-7_91″>What other songs join “All I Want for Christmas Is You” on the list of top holiday tracks? The No. 2 spot on the list went to Wham!’s 1984 song “Last Christmas.” It had 1.59 billion streams and an estimated $4.39 million in Spotify royalties. Ariana Grande’s “Santa Tell Me” had just over 1 billion streams and $4.39 million in estimated royalties. Meanwhile, <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/entertainment/elvis-presley-once-gave-brenda-lee-a-special-gift-he-was-a-big-fan-of-the-teenage-singer.html/”>Brenda Lee’s</a> perennially popular 1958 song “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree” was also streamed a little more than 1 billion times, generating an estimated $4.25 million in royalties. </p>
<p id=”par-8_42″>Other top-earning Christmas songs on Spotify include Michael Bublé’s “It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas,” Sia’s “Snowman,” Bobby Helms’ “Jingle Bell Rock,” Andy Williams’ “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year,” Justin Bieber’s “Mistletoe,” and José Feliciano’s “Feliz Navidad.” </p>
<p id=”par-9_16″><em>For more on the entertainment world and exclusive interviews, subscribe to </em><a href=”https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCWmTM34h0-P7FcCwuA6h6sw/videos” target=”_blank” rel=”noreferrer noopener”><em>Showbiz Cheat Sheet’s YouTube channel</em></a><em>.</em></p>