Mariah Carey’s All I Want for Christmas is You is the gift that keeps on giving and has made millions over the years

It’s taken 26 years, but Mariah Carey has finally done it: reach the No.1 spot on the British and US music charts simultaneously with her much-loved festive classic All I Want for Christmas Is You. And Covid-19 may have played a big role in the song hitting its second wave.

It seems after a year of pandemic chaos, people have needed all the cheering up they can get and Mariah’s perennial favourite was the track they turned to for comfort. And the American songbird was clearly delighted.

“Happy Christmas UK!” she said in a statement. “We finally made it!!! We are keeping the Christmas spirit alive together despite how dismal the year’s been. Love you always! Joy to the world.”

In 1994, the year the song was released it, it was beaten to the UK top spot by East 17’s Stay Another Day. Although it’s continued to pop up in the charts each year, it’s only over the past two years that it’s hit No.1 in the US. 

The song managed to notch up impressive streaming numbers, with 758 million streams on Spotify. That’s 200m more streams than last year. Which explains why this year it hit top spot sooner and is tipped to enjoy a five-week reign.

While Mariah’s hit doesn’t feature on SA’s Apple Top 100 or Spotify’s Top 40, it’s currently sitting at No. 2 on Good Hope FM’S Hit 30 Chart.

The song, which reportedly took less than an hour to write, has been a nice little money-spinner for Mariah. According to a study by financial magazine The Economist, it had earned her around $60m (R780m) in royalties by 2017. And as the jingle storms up the charts, it seems set to earn her even more.

But she isn’t the only artist who is helping to lift spirits with old festive favourites. Last Christmas by Wham! sits at the No. 2 spot in the UK, according to the Official Charts, with Fairytale of New York by The Pogues and Kirsty MacColl following closely behind in third.

Meanwhile, modern favourites include Ariana Grande’s Santa Tell Me, Leona Lewis’ One More Sleep, Justin Bieber’s Mistletoe and Kelly Clarkson’s Underneath the Tree. 

Canadian crooner Michael Bublé, who is known as the Christmas king, is holding his own in the charts too. His 2015 offering, It’s Beginning To Look a Lot Like Christmas, has sold three million copies to date, remains the UK’s best-selling festive album.