Mariah Carey — pop music icon and the “Queen of Christmas” — released her hit holiday single, “All I Want for Christmas Is You,” in 1994. Since then, the song has become one of the top Christmas songs of all time, and on Dec. 3, it was certified diamond by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), making it the first holiday single to earn the award.
Last.fm listenership data from the past three years shows “All I Want for Christmas Is You” usually begins making its way up the music charts around late October, but does that mean the holiday hit gets the most plays on streaming apps during the Christmas season? VERIFY reached out to music experts to get the stats.
THE QUESTION
Is Mariah Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas Is You” the most-streamed holiday song on music apps?
THE SOURCES
THE ANSWER
Yes, Mariah Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas Is You” is the most-streamed holiday song on music apps.
WHAT WE FOUND
It’s true! “All I Want for Christmas Is You” is the most-streamed holiday song, according to music streaming app data from Apple Music, Amazon Music, Billboard, Pandora and Spotify.
As of Dec. 3, the song tops Billboard’s Holiday 100 chart, where it’s spent the last 46 weeks at number one, along with its Holiday Streaming Songs chart. “All I Want for Christmas Is You” also has the top spot on Billboard’s “Greatest of All Time Holiday 100 Songs” list, which features holiday classics like “Jingle Bell Rock” by Bobby Helms, “The Christmas Song (Merry Christmas To You)” by Nat King Cole and “White Christmas” by Bing Crosby.
An Amazon Music spokesperson told VERIFY the song has already been streamed 46% more in 2021 on the music streaming app globally when compared to this time last year. It’s also one of the most requested holiday songs on Amazon Music via Alexa so far this season, according to the spokesperson. Other top holiday songs on Amazon Music include “Rockin' Around The Christmas Tree” by Brenda Lee, “Last Christmas” by Wham! and “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” by Gene Autry.
Apple Music and Pandora also confirmed to VERIFY via email that “All I Want for Christmas Is You” is the most-streamed holiday song on both music streaming platforms.
In 2019, Spotify called “All I Want for Christmas is You” the top-streamed holiday song on its platform, saying the single had more than 520 million global plays, over 1,000 covers and a presence on more than 12 million playlists at that time. The song currently tops Spotify’s “Christmas Hits” list, and is the most popular song on Carey’s artist profile, with nearly a billion streams overall.
VERIFY also reached out to TIDAL to confirm the holiday hit’s current streaming status on its platform but did not hear back by the time of publication.
Carey is continuing to spread holiday cheer this year. Her Apple TV+ holiday special, “Mariah's Christmas: The Magic Continues,” premieres on the streaming app on Dec. 3.
More from VERIFY: Yes, there is a Santa shortage for the 2021 Christmas season
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