Mariah Carey's All I Want For Christmas Is You named Most Popular Christmas Song

25 December 2021, 12:00

Mariah Carey has edged out Wham! as the most popular Christmas song in a new poll
Mariah Carey has edged out Wham! as the most popular Christmas song in a new poll. Picture: YouTube

A new survey claims that the pop diva's 1994 classic is now more popular than Wham!'s Last Christmas...

Radio X

By Radio X

Mariah Carey's 1994 festive single All I Want For Christmas Is You has been named the most popular Christmas song of all time in a new survey based on social media users and Spotify plays.

Online retailer I Want One Of Those conducted the research, taking into consideration the most searched songs, plus the most played songs on Tik Tok, Instagram and Spotify.

This allowed the team to compile a Top 10 of favourite Christmas tunes as of 2021, with Mariah proving more popular than festive warhorses like Wham!'s Last Christmas and Do They Know It's Christmas by Band Aid.

As for old school classics like Slade, Wizzard, Chris Rea and The Pogues, they were nowhere to be seen in the Top 10.

Top 10 Ultimate Christmas Songs of All Time

  1. Mariah Carey - All I Want For Christmas is You

    Mariah Carey - All I Want For Christmas Is You (Official Video)

    Mariah's hit had made the singer an estimated $45 million since its release in 1994 and has racked up the most searches in this survey.

    The track was also the leader via Tik Tok AND Instagram plays, as over eight million videos have used the tune on the former platform and 273,000 on the latter.

  2. Wham! - Last Christmas

    Despite being ten years older than the Mariah Carey track, the George Michael favourite was knocked into second place - it's still had 700 million streams on Spotify, however.

    Wham! - Last Christmas (Official Video)

  3. Ariana Grande - Santa Tell Me

    One for the millennials here, with the 2014 track notching up over half a billion plays on Spotify.

    Ariana Grande - Santa Tell Me (Official Video)

  4. Michael Buble - It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas

    The evergreen 2011 cover was also the second most played song on Instagram among the list.

    Michael Bublé' - It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas (Official Music Video)

  5. Brenda Lee - Rockin' Around The Christmas Tree

    Released in released in 1958, this vintage favourite has been streamed over 400,000,000 times on Spotify and has 81,100 plays on Tik Tok.

    Brenda Lee - Rockin' Around The Christmas Tree (Official Lyric Video)

  6. Justin Bieber - Mistletoe

    Justin Bieber - Mistletoe (Official Music Video)

  7. Bobby Helms - Jingle Bell Rock

    Bobby Helms - Jingle Bell Rock (Official Video)

  8. Andy Williams - It’s The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year

    Andy Williams - It's The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year (Music Video)

  9. Band Aid - Do They Know It's Christmas?

    Band Aid - Do they know it's christmas 1984 | HD - Widescreen 16:9

  10. Sia - Snowman

    Sia - Snowman [Official Video]

Compiled by IWOOT, November 2021. Here's the full set of data for you to peruse.

If you think that's leaning towards the more - shall we say - modern end of the musical spectrum, then compare and contrast that list with the following Top 10 that was compiled by PRS in 2019.

PRS are the Performing Rights Society, who track plays of songs on TV and radio - in their survey, they revealed the most popular Christmas tunes among Brits. In this poll, the 1987 classic Fairytale Of New York by The Pogues featuring Kirsty MacColl came out tops.

The Top 10 Most Popular Christmas Songs In Britain

  1. The Pogues featuring Kirsty MacColl - Fairytale Of New York
  2. Wham! - Last Christmas
  3. Slade - Merry Xmas Everybody
  4. Bing Crosby - White Christmas
  5. Wizzard – I Wish It Could Be Christmas Every Day
  6. Mariah Carey – All I Want For Christmas Is You
  7. Chris Rea - Driving Home For Christmas
  8. Band Aid - Do They Know It's Christmas?
  9. Greg Lake - I Believe In Father Christmas
  10. Johnny Mathis - When A Child Is Born

The Pogues - Fairytale Of New York (Official Video)

If that's still not to your taste, then check out Radio X's Indie Xmas Live Playlist on Global Player for some cooler Christmas tunes.

Radio X Indie Xmas Live Playlist
Radio X Indie Xmas Live Playlist. Picture: Radio X