People start to search for Christmas songs at the same time every year, according to analysis of Google search data from online entertainment experts at Slotbox.com – and it’s sooner than you might think.
Data shows that UK searches for "Christmas songs" start to climb at the same time every year, from October 25 to 31. Christmas songs searches then continue to soar, peaking from December 17 to 25 on average each year. Unsurprisingly they then take a huge plummet from January 2, when the festivities come to a halt.
For the last five years searches for "Mariah Carey" have also skyrocketed from the last week in October, suggesting we really do only want her for Christmas. The iconic Christmas diva is well aware, too, as just this week she posted a festive Instagram video to gear fans up, putting “All I Want for Christmas” in their heads.
A spokesperson from Slotbox.com said: "There’s always a lot of conversation around when is the right time to start playing Christmas songs, so it’s interesting to see that searches start to increase from the end of October. Typically, radio stations and retail outlets start playing festive songs from the beginning of December, however, as Brits are keen to get the festivities started two months in advance, perhaps we’ll start to hear Mariah Carey and Michael Bublé even earlier this year.”
The Prince of Wales, Prince William, says that his favourite Christmas song is Feliz Navidad.
He said: “I could say Mariah Carey … as well, it’s a good one, and obviously there are many others but I think I’ll probably go for Feliz Navidad – it’s a bit more jolly.”
Mariah Carey’s All I Want For Christmas Is You topped a poll to find the UK’s favourite Christmas song in 2021. The festive classic defeated The Pogues and Kirsty MacColl’s Fairytale Of New York and Wham’s Last Christmas in a poll of Magic Radio listeners.
The radio station asked listeners to vote for their favourite track as their Christmas truck toured regions across the UK, including Sheffield, Manchester, Glasgow and London. Members of the public who visited the truck had to vote for their favourite festive song, with All I Want For Christmas Is You securing first place in all cities visited.
Overall, the hit received 33% of the votes cast, with Fairytale Of New York coming in second place with 12% of the votes, and Last Christmas scoring eight per cent. Magic Radio also asked guests what their favourite Christmas tunes are, and Kian Egan from Westlife picked Carey’s song.
He said: “So I’m going to go with one that I thought Mark [Feehily] might have picked actually, Mariah Carey, All I Want For Christmas, because it’s just a classic and you know, I don’t think we’ll ever have a Christmas without this song in our lifetimes.
“And obviously we love Mariah, we got to work with her a long, long time ago now.”
Ed Sheeran picked Fairytale Of New York because he loves “a cheery Christmas song”. He added: “What I love about Fairytale Of New York is it still makes people dance and feel happy, but it’s actually quite a miserable song.
“I love when songs sound happy, but they’ve got this dark undertone to them.”
A record number of Christmas songs made it into the top 40 singles chart during 2020. By Christmas Day, of the top 40, a total of 26 had a festive theme – the highest proportion for any Christmas chart in history.
The previous record was 16 out of 40, in 2017.
Eight of the top 10 were seasonal hits, including All I Want For Christmas Is You by Mariah Carey (number 2), Last Christmas by Wham! (3) and Merry Christmas Everyone by Shakin’ Stevens (7).
2020 also saw the earliest appearance in the top 40 for a festive song. All I Want For Christmas Is You entered the chart on November 20 – five weeks before Christmas week.
Wham!, The Pogues, Shakin’ Stevens, Michael Buble and Band Aid (the original 1984 recording) all joined Carey in the top 40 on November 27, making an unprecedented number of Christmas songs in the chart before December had even begun.
The findings were compiled by the PA news agency, and are based on every top 40 since 1970 – the first full year of the official singles chart – that has featured a festive song in the weeks up to and including Christmas.
They reveal dramatic variations in the popularity and prevalence of Christmas songs over the past half-century, with some years boasting a handful of seasonal hits, while others have featured as few as one or none at all.
Fertile years included 1973-75, which saw such hits as Merry Xmas Everybody by Slade (1973), Step Into Christmas by Elton John (1973), Lonely This Christmas by Mud (1974) and I Believe In Father Christmas by Greg Lake (1975).
Slade pictured in 1973 (PA)
Another bumper period was 1983-85, featuring the likes of 2000 Miles by The Pretenders (1983) and Walking In The Air by Aled Jones (1985), along with Wham!, Shakin’ Stevens and Band Aid.
The 1990s was very different, with few original festive singles troubling the top 40 and only All I Want For Christmas Is You – a number 2 hit on its first release in 1994 – surviving the decade to become a long-term classic.
There were some years when the only trace of Christmas in the chart was a novelty song, such as Your Christmas Wish by the Smurfs in 1996, or I Believe In Christmas by the Tweenies in 2001.
In 2005 digital downloads started to be included in the chart, which kick-started the tradition for seasonal favourites to reappear in the top 40 year after year.
Downloads were fully incorporated into the chart by 2007 – which was the year All I Want For Christmas Is You returned to the top 40 for the first time since 1994, and it has since reappeared every year.
In 2014 audio streams were added to the charts for the first time, making it even easier for songs, rather than just new singles, to enter and stay in the charts.
Cliff Richard, seen here in 1968, has enjoyed more UK festive hits than anyone else (PA)
In recent years more contemporary hits have joined the likes of Wham! and Shakin’ Stevens in reappearing every Christmas, such as Leona Lewis’s song One More Sleep, first released in 2013, and Michael Buble’s version of It’s Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas, which made its top 40 debut in 2016.
Over the five decades since 1970, Sir Cliff Richard has enjoyed the most chart appearances with different seasonal songs, scoring seven top 40 hits with Little Town (1982), Mistletoe And Wine (1988), Saviour’s Day (1990), We Should Be Together (1991), The Millennium Prayer (1999), Santa’s List (2003) and 21st Century Christmas (2006).
Having 26 festive songs in the top 40 is a far cry from the one Christmas song that bothered the charts in 2002 (Sleigh Ride by S Club Juniors), let alone 1970 and 1971, when no seasonal tunes appeared.
For anyone who cannot wait for the charts to be free of festive clutter, the omens are good: once January arrives, the top 40 has a habit of ridding itself of Christmas songs remarkably quickly – including Carey.
