Mariah Carey, Brenda Lee, and the Fight for a Christmas Number One
Plus, new Netflix Christmas movies, See's Candies, and more.
Well.
What a week.
The temperatures have dropped, but I’m personally not quite in the Christmas mood yet. The skies are still too blue. The mood where I live, in Chicago, is too down. And the end of this year has been overwhelming and challenging for many. I imagine that’ll eventually change, but for right now, I’m accepting it for what it is and taking things slow.
Which is why this week’s lead story is more analytical than week’s past. I hope you enjoy it. (P.S. My mother told me she didn’t know I had a gift section in this newsletter, so I’m hear to tell you that there are more goodies in the newsletter after the lead story, including movie recommendations, news, and yes, gifts.)
The New U.S. Christmas Number One
A decade ago, Mariah Carey did not remind us that it's time. But now, and especially during the social isolation of the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic, it has become something of a tradition.
Last week on TikTok, I saw a creator make a video about refreshing Mariah Carey's TikTok page at 11:59 p.m. so they could be the first person to type "first" in the comment section of her annual post-Halloween, November 1st announcement. Fandom Twitter accounts like Pop Base and Pop Crave were soon to jump on the announcement by reposting Mariah's video. Since she posted the video, it has racked up 91.9 million views across TikTok, Twitter, and Instagram, proving people are just as eager to view what she creates from year to year as they are to celebrate what many call the kickoff to the season.
But I'm less interested in Mariah's foray into content creation as I am in what she represents. A decade ago, the number one songs on the Billboard Hot 100 during the holiday season were tracks like any other time of the year. In 2014, the number one song on Christmas Day was “Blank Space” by Taylor Swift. In 2004, it was Snoop Dogg’s “Drop it Like it’s Hot.”
But in recent years, the US has adopted a similar Christmas number one culture as exists in the UK. And the music critic in me finds all of this delightful. It took more than 20 years after perennial holiday favorite Love Actually was released (which features a Christmas number one subplot) for that culture to arise in the United States.
Blame streaming.
Prior to the rise of streaming culture, Billboard would only track album and singles sales for its charts. However, people just don't buy music like they used to. On the album side of things, we see this with dwindling sales for records in the top 10. Some weeks have seen album sales of 60,000 copies or less equal a number one record. And so, in 2012, Billboard allowed streaming numbers from “web radio” like Spotify to count for their album and song charts.
According to Billboard, paid subscription streams represent a full point value per play, ad-supported streams represent a 2/3-point value per play and programmed streams represent a 1/2-point value per play. For contemporary artists who rely on streaming numbers to get a better understanding of their fan base, these new metrics have become a lifeline. Millennial and Gen Z consumers are less and less likely to actually buy a new record or a new song upon release, but streaming numbers provide a somewhat accurate insight into an artist's listening base.
During the rest of the year, these streaming wars are only really followed in the general public by stans of contemporary pop singers like Taylor Swift or Lady Gaga.
But during the holiday season, these streaming numbers have fueled a new culture of the Christmas number one. If streaming counts for sales of a song, it's no wonder that Christmas songs have now gained true footing in the Billboard top 10. Your average consumer is not repurchasing a copy of Bing Crosby's "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas," but they are listening to it when wrapping presents or baking cookies. And they've certainly added it on repeat for their Christmas parties' Spotify playlists.
That's why Mariah Carey's regularly popular 1994 single, "All I Want For Christmas Is You," has become uberly popular and entered the Christmas song canon (a real feat for a modern Christmas song). Since Billboard's streaming changes, "All I Want For Christmas" has reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 every year since 2019. Prior to the new Billboard rules, it had never reached that feat and peaked at number 26.
For Mariah Carey, the Queen of Christmas, this has turned into a fourth wind of her career. This winter, she'll return with her “Christmas Time” Tour to celebrate the season. But this has also encouraged other labels with popular Christmas songs to get in on the act.
I first noticed it last year when I received a press release from Universal Music about Brenda Lee's "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree." The press release was meant to mark the song’s 65th anniversary, but it also was a concerted introduction to a label's attempt to dethrone Mariah and give Brenda a number one for her song. And unsurprisingly, it worked.
This may be due to changing tastes of the generations. Although Mariah's song is ubiquitous for millennials, I began to notice more traditional selections and older throwbacks from Gen Z creators on TikTok. Think Wham!'s "Last Christmas" or Nat King Cole's “The Christmas Song” or, yes, Lee's "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree." And if a new song was chosen, there was as strong of a push for Carey as there were for songs from this millennium, like Kelly Clarkson's "Underneath the Tree" or Ariana Grande's "Santa Tell Me." Similar to how TikTok has opened up the playing field for singers, musicians, and sounds across different generations and from various genres, it has also done so for the Christmas season. And so, while "All I Want For Christmas Is You" may have been the standard for the millennial monoculture, many other tracks have become fair game.
I'd personally love for a resurgence of Donny Hathaway's "This Christmas." And I'll always hold a special place in my heart for more obscure tracks like Rotary Connection's "Christmas Love" or Extreme's "Christmas Time Again" from the A Very Special Christmas 2 compilation album. It'll be interesting to see how the race for the Christmas number one plays out this year. Thus far, a number of tracks have entered the Billboard Hot 100. But just because you can reach the top of the charts doesn't mean you will stay there. Brenda Lee has shown what's possible.
See
Meet Me Next Christmas: Netflix Christmas movies are, in my opinion, even worse than Hallmark movies. Fundamentally, I think the streamer doesn’t quite understand the formula that makes them work. The actors are often a little too beautiful and the use of red and green often gives more uncanny valley than warm and comforting. Some of their films don’t even feel like Christmas films at all, as if they dropped the holiday into the script at the last minute to have something new to premiere during the season. And yet I watch them anyway, likely because they’ve cornered the Aughts-Era, Actually Famous Millennial Actress market in a way that Hallmark, Lifetime, and other networks have failed. All of that’s to say that they’ve just premiered their first in this year’s selection, Meet Me Next Christmas, and it stars Christina Milian and the delicious Kofi Siriboe. I will be watching.
Other Releases
Holiday Mismatch: This premiered last weekend on Hallmark and features Caroline Rhea and Beth Broderick from Sabrina, the Teenage Witch. I talked about it in an earlier newsletter. Now streaming Hallmark.
Five Gold Rings: A NYC painter returns home to Minnesota, tasked by her late grandmother to return five mysterious rings before Christmas. Nov. 7, 8pm, Hallmark Movies & Mysteries.
Hot Frosty: I’m excited to see Christmas Queen Lacey Chabert make the big leap from Hallmark to Netflix in this new movie about a snowman that comes to life (I felt embarrassed just typing that out). Nov. 13, Netflix.
According to new research, the most streamed Christmas one-hit wonder is Bobby Helms’s 1957 classic, “Jingle Bell Rock.” I’m both surprised and not surprised.
Apparently, there is ANOTHER Taylor Swift/Travis Kelce-inspired Christmas movie that is more specifically mirroring their life (and not just focused on the Kansas City Chiefs). It looks AWFUL and I’m not just saying that. Like absurdly bad. If you want to torture yourself, you can catch it on Lifetime. But why would you?
The delightful Halle Bailey and Smokey Robinson will host a Motown Christmas special on NBC on December 11. After this past week, I need something comforting like this.
Advent of the Week
If you’re looking for a super manageable advent calendar for this year, may I recommend a candy one? Last year, I purchased the Compartes gourmet bonbon advent calendar and thoroughly enjoyed having a sweet treat at the end of each day. (Well, almost each day. Some of them had nuts, which I’m allergic to.) This year, I’m grabbing the See’s Candies advent calendar, which features a mix of chocolate pieces and lollipops. $75, at See’s Candies.
Everything Else
A marble condiment set is exactly the sort of gift that someone would never purchase for themself, but shows a level of thoughtfulness and expense that is sure to surprise and please when given to someone else. $78, at Anthropologie.
Etsy may have become a hell hole filled with Temu and AliExpress pieces masquerading as homemade, but there are still some lovely sellers offering unique gifts. Blind Date with a Book is a package that features a surprise, gently used book selected by the seller, based on a genre of your selection. Options include romance, self help, mystery, biography, contemporary fiction, thriller, young adult fiction, historical fiction, fantasy, classics, chick-lit, comedy fiction, and Christian fiction. Each book comes with two bookmarks and a tea bag or hot chocolate. $14.95, on Etsy.
Until next time!
Great read!