Top 15 Christmas Songs to  add to your holiday playlist


By: Willa Sabelko

15. "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" By Michael Bublé

RELEASE DATE: October 21, 2011

SPOTIFY STREAMS: 150,925,398

PERFECT FOR: drinking hot chocolate around the fireplace on an unexpected snow day as you watch the snowstorm consume your neighborhood in white.

As he reinvented classics and created his own takes on the beloved holiday tracklist, Bublé's Christmas album has found its way into the hearts and homes of many. Billboard reports that the album was "released in 2011 and spent five weeks atop the list late that year and in early 2012 and has returned to the top 10 in every subsequent holiday season," bringing huge success for the musician. 

Youtube video linked ⤴

Youtube video linked ⤴

14. "Mistletoe" By Justin Bieber

RELEASE DATE: October 17, 2011

SPOTIFY STREAMS: 677,935,753

AWARDS: Song of The Year & Music Video of The Year (Hollywood Teen TV Awards)

PERFECT FOR: jamming out to w/ friends while driving to go see Elf  in theaters.

Critics complimented "Mistletoe," claiming they could hear the maturation of 17-year-old Justin's voice. Additionally, the song set the record for the highest-ranking debut for a Christmas song in Billboard Hot 100 chart's history. 

13. "Blue Christmas" By Elvis Presley

RELEASE DATE: 1957

SPOTIFY STREAMS: 318,552,387

CURRENTLY PRESLEY'S #1  SONG ON SPOTIFY 

AWARDS:  Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award

PERFECT FOR: playing in the background as you snuggle up on the couch with good company. You have Christmas cookies in hand and a long night ahead of playing board games and Mario Kart, laughing until your stomach hurts from the inside out, and dreading when you have to make the 6-hour drive home in the morning. 

"The King of Rock and Roll" made "countrified Christmas music" a staple to the holiday season, despite his doubts that the "studio would even release" the song, according to the Wide Open Country Staff. They also stated that one of the backup singers, Millie Kirkham, reported Presley saying, "'Let's just get this over with,'" because they thought it was a futile effort; however, it was a success! 

Youtube video linked ⤴

Youtube video linked ⤴

12. "Frosty The Snowman" By Bing Crosby

RELEASE DATE:  1962

SPOTIFY STREAMS: 47,917,456

AWARDS: received the recording industry’s 1st Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award

PERFECT FOR: grooving to while you make your very own Frosty with a sibling or friend!

Primary Wave reports that Bing referred to himself as "'an average guy who could carry a tune,'" but I don't know many average guys with 3 stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame! Bing Crosby has a star for recordings, another for radio, and a final one for motion pictures. Another one of Bing's Christmas Classics, "White Christmas," was a best-seller for 5 decades. Crosby was also the most recorded voice in history, and when he passed in 1977, he was still "the biggest selling recording star of all time, certified by the Guinness Book of World Records."

11. "All I Want for Christmas Is You" By Mariah Carey

RELEASE DATE: October 29, 1994

SPOTIFY STREAMS: 1,590,891,732

CURRENTLY CAREY'S #1 SONG ON SPOTIFY 

PERFECT FOR: decorating your home for Christmas with fuzzy socks equipped.

Mariah Carey's "All I Want for Christmas Is You" has become a holiday season classic, and Carey's Merry Christmas album is known to "defrost" as Christmas approaches. Wikipedia reports that the song "is the longest-running number-one song on the Billboard Holiday 100 chart" and  it is "the longest-running holiday number-one on the Billboard Hot 100." Furthermore, Carey's Christmas hit is "the only song to return to number-one in more than two separate chart runs." 

The song also broke these Guinness World Records in 2019: 

Youtube video linked ⤴

Youtube video linked ⤴

10. "Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow! (with The B. Swanson Quartet)" By Frank Sinatra, B. Swanson Quartet

RELEASE DATE: 1950

SPOTIFY STREAMS: 506,390,402

NME AWARDS: World's Outstanding Singer (1955), Outstanding American Male Singer (1955 & 1956), Outstanding Popular Singer in World (1956)

PERFECT FOR: a cozy night in, in which you bake cookies and watch the snow fall outside with no worries in the world.

According to OldTimemusic, the original lyricist, Sammy Cahn, and original composer, Jule Styne, wrote the song in California and wanted "to write a song that would make people feel like it was wintertime, despite the warm weather outside," so they "focused on creating a charming winter scene with the lyrics." Since then, the song has become a Christmas classic, warming the homes of millions each year. 

9. Live Cover of "Wonderful Christmastime" - Sir Paul McCartney By Harry Styles

RELEASE DATE: December 18, 2019

YOUTUBE STREAMS:  2,812,298

HARRY'S AWARDS (HIMSELF AS NOMINEE): 


PERFECT FOR: singing your heart out while driving around and looking at Christmas lights. 

Harry performed the cover of the classic in the BBC Radio 1 Live Lounge. 

Youtube video linked ⤴

Youtube video linked ⤴

8. "Santa Tell Me" By Ariana Grande

RELEASE DATE: November 24, 2014

SPOTIFY STREAMS:  913,557,267

CURRENTLY GRANDES' #1 SONG ON SPOTIFY 

BILLBOARD AWARDS: 

#21: Greatest of All Time Holiday 100 Songs (2021) 

#13: The 100 Best Christmas Songs of All Time (2021)

PERFECT FOR: making gingerbread houses with your best friends.

Songfacts claims that Ariana explained during a live stream that the song is "'sort of about being fed up with Santa because he doesn't necessarily pull through all the time.'" 

7. "Holly Jolly Christmas" 

By Michael Bublé

RELEASE DATE: October 21, 2011

SPOTIFY STREAMS: 525,663,299

BUBLÉ'S AWARDS (HIMSELF AS NOMINEE): 

PERFECT FOR: driving home from the Christmas tree farm.

The Standard explained how Michael Bublé expressed that his Christmas album's popularity is "'one of the things that makes [him] happiest in life'" because he feels honored "'that during such a special time of year, people have invited [him] into their homes, and [he] get[s] to be part of something that’s so intimate and means so much to them.'"

Youtube video linked ⤴

Youtube video linked ⤴

6. "Winter Wonderland" By Michael Bublé

RELEASE DATE: October 21, 2011

SPOTIFY STREAMS: 86,405,496

CHRISTMAS ALBUM'S AWARDS + RECORDS: 

PERFECT FOR: delicately placing each ornament on a fresh Christmas tree.

A common theme in Bublé's interviews about his album titled Christmas is his gratefulness to be apart of the holiday season for so many across the world. On the Pop Shop Podcast, he expressed these feelings, explaining how the holiday season can be "a time when us human beings might need a bit of a break. And there’s a little more empathy and kindness. And I thought, man, to be connected to something so beautiful..." 

5. "Little Saint Nick" By The Beach Boys

RELEASE DATE: December 9, 1963

SPOTIFY STREAMS: 200,400,144

CURRENTLY THE BEACH BOYS' #1 SONG ON SPOTIFY 

PERFECT FOR: jamming to while hopping from store to store for Christmas shopping.

Wikipedia reports that the band's genius songwriter, Brian Wilson, "'wrote the lyrics to it while [he] was out on a date, and then [he] rushed home to finish the music.'" The song went on to hit #3 on Billboard's special seasonal weekly Christmas Singles chart and is a groovy Christmas hit!

Youtube video linked ⤴

Youtube video linked ⤴

4. "Rockin' Around The Christmas Tree" By Brenda Lee

RELEASE DATE: November 24, 1958

SPOTIFY STREAMS: 950,579,701

CURRENTLY, LEE'S #1 SONG ON SPOTIFY 

PERFECT FOR: dancing around the tree with lights, tinsel, and garland.

"Rockin' Around The Christmas Tree" was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2019, and in November 2023, Brenda Lee made a music video for the legendary song. By December 2023, the song topped the US Billboard Hot 100 chart, making it Lee's 3rd #1 single and making Lee, age 78, the oldest artist to top the Hot 100. Additionally, the song set the record for the longest period of time between an original release and the time it tops the Hot 100 (65 years), as well as the longest time between #1 singles by an artist (63 years, one month, and two weeks).  

3. "Santa Claus Is Coming To Town" By The Jackson 5

RELEASE DATE: November 25, 1970

SPOTIFY STREAMS: 262,828,832

CURRENTLY THE JACKSONS' #1 SONG ON SPOTIFY 

AWARDS: 

PERFECT FOR: a Christmas karaoke night.

"Santa Claus Is Coming to Town" by The Jackson 5 blends Christmas joy and jazzy R&B into the perfect synthesis of holiday melodies. The Jackson 5's Christmas album spent 4 weeks at the top of Billboard's Special Christmas Albums chart. Also, the album was the best-selling Christmas album of 1970 and 1972 in the US. 

Youtube video linked ⤴

Youtube video linked ⤴

2. "Last Christmas" By Wham!

RELEASE DATE:  December 3, 1984

SPOTIFY STREAMS: 1,294,745,985

CURRENTLY WHAM!'S #1 SONG ON SPOTIFY 

PERFECT FOR: a winter road trip soundtrack.

Andrew Ridgeley of the duo, explained to SmoothRadio that, "the song came about when they were visiting George's parents." He said, "'We'd had a bite to eat and were sitting together relaxing...when, almost unnoticed, George disappeared upstairs for an hour or so. When he came back down, such was his excitement, it was as if he had discovered gold which, in a sense, he had....We went to his old room...and he played me the introduction and the beguiling, wistful chorus melody to 'Last Christmas.' It was a moment of wonder....George had performed musical alchemy, distilling the essence of Christmas into music. Adding a lyric which told the tale of betrayed love was a masterstroke and, as he did so often, he touched hearts.'" 

They began recording in the summer, and according to Wikipedia, George "'plastered [the studio] in Christmas decorations to set the mood'" and "wrote, performed, produced and played every single instrument on the track." 

The song was #1 on the UK Singles Chart for 8 weeks in 2020 and an additional 8 weeks in 2022. 

1. "It's Beginning To Look a Lot Like Christmas" by Michael Bublé

RELEASE DATE: October 21, 2011

SPOTIFY STREAMS: 880,854,322

CURRENTLY BUBLÉ'S #1  SONG ON SPOTIFY 

PERFECT FOR: watching the snow fall outside your window, decorating Christmas cookies, wrapping presents, looking at lights, decorating the tree, etc.

As previously mentioned, Michael takes a lot of pride in his Christmas album. As reported by The Standard, Michael Bublé said, “‘I think, as a parent, (it) is (about) wanting to recreate these incredible moments and feelings that you had as a kid…It makes me feel really good that… 11 or 12 years ago, there was a teenager whose parents played them this (Christmas) record for the first time, and it became part of their holiday and now they’re playing it for their newborns and their kids, and it does mean a lot to me.’” Bublé has become a staple and classic for so many families, and "It's Beginning To Look a Lot Like Christmas" embodies the holiday season as a whole. 

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All photos from Google. Spotify/Youtube stats, chart history information, records, and awards are as of 12/6/23.