Every winter, something crawls out of hiding and makes its presence felt — sure, the groundhog on Groundhog’s Day, but also the 1994 holiday song “All I Want for Christmas Is You” from iconic singer Mariah Carey.
And now, in 2019, 25 years after the song’s initial premiere, the song reigns atop the Billboard Hot 100.
.@MariahCarey's "All I Want For Christmas Is You" is officially No. 1 on the #Hot100 for the first time this week, 25 years after its release.
— Billboard Charts (@billboardcharts) December 16, 2019
Remarkably, this is a feat that’s never been accomplished by the song, which seems odd given its ubiquity once the holiday season rolls around. You cannot ignore the song, whether flipping stations in the car, going to the supermarket, watching television or generally existing and breathing air anytime between, oh, mid-October through Christmas.
And yet, it’s never ruled the top of the charts. Billboard reports that this accomplishment makes the tune the first holiday song to attain No. 1 status since “The Chipmunk Song,” which hit the top spot for four weeks from 1958 into 1959.
It goes without saying that Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas Is You,” which was co-written by Carey and Walter Afanasieff (aka Baby Love), is now a bona fide classic, Carey’s 19th No. 1 hit to date. Via Billboard:
Carey adds her 19th Hot 100 No. 1, extending her record for the most among soloists.
She also moves to within one of The Beatles’ overall-record 20 Hot 100 No. 1s.
The acts with the most Hot 100 No. 1s, dating to the chart’s Aug. 4, 1958, inception: The Beatles (20), Carey (19), Rihanna (14), Michael Jackson (13), and Madonna and The Supremes (12 each).
An incredible accomplishment for Mariah Carey, and another victory lap for the enduring holiday anthem that just refuses to die.
Embrace it, because “All I Want For Christmas Is You” isn’t going anywhere. In fact, it’s more present than ever before.
