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Mariah Carey Becomes First Artist at No. 1 on Billboard Hot 100 in Four Decades, Thanks to ‘All I Want for Christmas’
Carey has now ranked atop the Hot 100 in the ’90s, ’00s, ’10s & ’20s.
Mariah Carey‘s “All I Want for Christmas Is You” is the gift that keeps on giving her historic achievements, as the song makes the superstar the first artist to top the Billboard Hot 100 in four decades.
“Christmas” spends a third week atop the latest Hot 100, dated Jan. 4, 2020, having first led the charts dated Dec. 21 and Dec. 28, 2019. The song, originally released in 1994, became Carey’s 19th No. 1, after she earned 14 leaders in the 1990s and four in the 2000s.
Meanwhile, holiday songs rank in the Hot 100’s top four spots simultaneously for the first time in the chart’s 61-year history, as, following Carey’s carol, at Nos. 2, 3 and 4, respectively, are Brenda Lee‘s “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree,” Bobby Helms‘ “Jingle Bell Rock” and Burl Ives‘ “A Holly Jolly Christmas.”
Plus, a record five holiday hits infuse the Hot 100’s top 10 simultaneously, thanks also to Andy Williams‘ “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year” at No. 7.
Let’s run down the top 10 of the newest Hot 100, which blends all-genre U.S. streaming, radio airplay and sales data. All charts (dated Jan. 4) will update on Billboard.com tomorrow (Dec. 31).
New record streams for a holiday song: Carey’s “Christmas,” on Columbia/Legacy Records, tops the Streaming Songs chart for a fourth consecutive week, and fifth total frame (after a week at No. 1 last holiday season), up 33% to 72.2 million U.S. streams in the week ending Dec. 26, according to Nielsen Music. The total, helped by a new video for “Christmas” released Dec. 20, is the best weekly sum ever for a holiday hit, surging past the 54.4 million that the song drew the previous week.
(“Christmas” is the eighth song with at least 72.2 million U.S. streams in a single week. Lil Nas X’s “Old Town Road,” featuring Billy Ray Cyrus, holds the record, with 143 million, as reflected on the Streaming Songs chart dated April 20, 2019.)
“Christmas” rebounds 7-5 on Digital Song Sales, up 17% to 17,000 sold in the week ending Dec. 26, while dropping 14-26 on Radio Songs, down by 28% to 30.9 million in all-format airplay audience in the week ending Dec. 29 (with the airplay tracking week encompassing the four days after Christmas, when stations returned to non-holiday programming).
Originally released in 1994 on Carey’s album Merry Christmas, the modern classic reached the Hot 100’s top 10 at last in December 2017 and rose to its prior No. 3 high last holiday season, before topping the tally for the first time two weeks ago, becoming only the second holiday No. 1 ever on the Hot 100, joining The Chipmunks’ “The Chipmunk Song” (with David Seville), which ruled for four weeks in 1958-59.
First artist to be No. 1 in four decades: Carey becomes the first artist to top the Hot 100 in four distinct decades (notably, with a song from the 1990s extending her run into both the 2010s and 2020s).
Carey passes eight chart cornerstones that have reigned on the Hot 100 in three decades each. Here’s an updated recap:
’60s, ’70s, ’80s: Stevie Wonder
’70s, ’80s, ’90s: Michael Jackson, Elton John
’80s, ’90s, ’00s: Janet Jackson, Madonna
’90s, ’00s, ’10s: Christina Aguilera, Britney Spears, Usher
’90s, ’00s, ’10s, ’20s: Mariah Carey
Click here for a deeper dive into artists with such uncommon Hot 100 longevity.
10 x 3: Of Carey’s 19 Hot 100 No. 1s, “Christmas” is her record-breaking 10th to rule for three weeks or more. Here’s a rundown: 16 weeks at No. 1, “One Sweet Day” (with Boyz II Men), 1995-96 / 14, “We Belong Together,” 2005 / 8, “Fantasy,” 1995; “Dreamlover,” 1993 / 4, “Hero,” 1993-94; “Vision of Love,” 1990 / 3, “All I Want for Christmas Is You,” 2019-20; “Honey,” 1997; “Emotions,” 1991; “Love Takes Time,” 1990.
Carey bests The Beatles and Rihanna, each of whom have tallied nine No. 1s of three weeks or more each. (Among artists with the most No. 1s overall, The Beatles lead with 20, followed by Carey with 19 and Rihanna with 14.)
Sweet 16: Carey has now placed at No. 1 on the Hot 100 in a record-extending 16 distinct years (per Hot 100 chart dates): 1990-2000, 2005-06, 2008, 2019 and 2020.
Next up are three acts that have each spent time atop the Hot 100 in 10 individual years: Paul McCartney/Wings (1971, 1973-76, 1978, 1980, 1982-84); Michael Jackson (1972, 1979-80, 1983-84, 1987-88, 1991-92, 1995); and Madonna (1984-87, 1989-92, 1995, 2000).
As for other feats achieved with the Hot 100 coronation of “Christmas,” the song completed the longest journey to No. 1 ever from an original release: over 25 years. Plus, Carey extended her mark for the most No. 1s among soloists (19). This week, she adds her record-padding 82nd career week at No. 1, while extending the longest span of leaders for any act: 29 years and five months, dating to her first week atop the chart, dated Aug. 4, 1990, with “Vision of Love.”
Carey’s “Christmas” concurrently tops the streaming-, sales- and airplay-based Holiday 100 chart for a 40th total week, of the 45 overall frames in the chart’s history, dating to its 2011 inception. (Following this week, the Holiday 100 will go back up into Billboard‘s attic until it’s unpacked and brought down again next holiday season.)
Brenda Lee’s “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree” holds at its No. 2 Hot 100 high; it entered the top 10 for the first time last holiday season, over 58 years after it debuted on the chart. It also keeps at No. 2 on Streaming Songs, up 44% to 65.1 million U.S. streams.
Rounding out the first all-holiday top four in the Hot 100’s history, Bobby Helms’ “Jingle Bell Rock” goes gliding 9-3 and Burl Ives’ “A Holly Jolly Christmas” lifts 6-4. The songs also rank at Nos. 3 and 4 on Streaming Songs, with 54.4 million (up 44%) and 53.2 million U.S. streams (up 63%), respectively.
When it rose 8-3 on the Hot 100 dated Dec. 21, Lee’s “Rockin’ ” set the record for the longest ride ever to the top five from its debut on the chart: 59 years and nine days. It also granted Lee the mark for the longest break between top five hits: 57 years and three weeks since she’d last ranked in the region, on Dec. 1, 1962, with “All Alone Am I.” Now, the late Helms halts the second-longest such drought: 53 years, four months and one week since he’d last charted in the top five, with “Sunny” on Aug. 27, 1966.
The late Ives, meanwhile, earns his first top five Hot 100 hit, ending the longest wait for a first such song from an artist’s first appearance on the chart: 58 years and two weeks, since he arrived on the Dec. 18, 1961-dated ranking with his first of three top 10s, “A Little Bitty Tear.”
As for the other holiday song in the latest Hot 100’s top 10, of a record five at the same time, Andy Williams’ “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year” ascends to a new high, roaring 15-7 (41.1 million, up 44%) and marking the late crooner’s highest rank since 1963.
Highest-Charting Holiday Songs in the Hot 100’s History
No. 1, three weeks to-date, Dec. 21, 2019, “All I Want for Christmas Is You,” Mariah Carey
No. 1, four weeks, beginning Dec. 22, 1958, “The Chipmunk Song,” by The Chipmunks with David Seville
No. 2, Dec. 28, 2019, “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree,” Brenda Lee
No. 3, Jan. 4, 2020, “Jingle Bell Rock,” Bobby Helms
No. 4, Jan. 4, 2020, “A Holly Jolly Christmas,” Burl Ives
No. 7, Jan. 4, 2020, “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year,” Andy Williams
No. 7, Jan. 8, 2000, “Auld Lang Syne,” Kenny G
No. 7, Jan. 6, 1990, “This One’s for the Children,” New Kids on the Block
No. 9, Feb. 21, 1981, “Same Old Lang Syne,” Dan Fogelberg
Notably, for several years (1963-72; 1983-85, barring occasional exceptions), holiday songs were ineligible to chart on the Hot 100, instead appearing on separate holiday rankings. Over the past decade, holiday hits have proven strong in streaming, further helping spark some of the highest peaks for Yuletide tunes in the chart’s entire history.
As for non-seasonal songs, Post Malone‘s “Circles” drops 3-5 on the Hot 100 after topping the charts dated Nov. 30 and Dec. 7. Still, it tops Radio Songs for a second week, up 2% to 98.3 million in audience.
Arizona Zervas‘ “Roxanne” dips to No. 6 from its No. 4 Hot 100 high, as it leads the multi-metric Hot Rap Songs chart for a fifth week and Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs for a second frame; Lewis Capaldi‘s “Someone You Loved” repeats at No. 8, after it logged three weeks at No. 1 on the Hot 100; and Maroon 5‘s No. 4-peaking “Memories” slips 7-9.
Rounding out the Hot 100’s top 10, Lizzo‘s No. 3-peaking “Good as Hell” holds at No. 10 and (as it’s on sale in the iTunes Store for 69 cents) reaches No. 1 on Digital Song Sales for the first time (20,000 sold, up 95%), becoming her second leader on the list, after “Truth Hurts” tallied five weeks on top. “Good” concurrently rules Hot R&B Songs for an eighth week.
Find out more Hot 100 news on Billboard.com this week, and, for all chart news, you can listen (and subscribe) to Billboard‘s Pop Shop Podcast and follow @billboard and @billboardcharts on both Twitter and Instagram. And again, be sure to visit Billboard.com tomorrow (Dec. 31), when all charts, including the Hot 100 in its entirety, will refresh.
Source: billboard.com