Lists

Here are the biggest Christmas songs released this century

Once certain types of radio stations discovered they could rack up big ratings by playing nothing but Christmas music for six weeks, the market for new seasonal tunes exploded. Not only did they need content, but artists realized that if they made it onto one of these stations, they could see big royalty cheques year after year after year. No wonder it seems like everyone is releasing a Christmas album these days.

ASCAP, the American performance rights collective, has compiled this list of the most popular/most-played holiday songs released so far this century. And since Mariah Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas is You” was released in 1994, she’s not on this list.

  1. “Underneath the Tree” by Kelly Clarkson and Greg Kurstin (2013)
  2. “Santa Tell Me” by Ariana Grande, Savan Kotecha and Ilya Salmanzadeh (2013)
  3. “Mistletoe” by Justin Bieber and Adam Messinger (2011)
  4. “Like It’s Christmas” by Gian Stone (2019)
  5. “Snowman” by Greg Kurstin and Sia (2017)
  6. “Christmas Isn’t Canceled (Just You)” by Kelly Clarkson and Jessi Collins (2021)
  7. “Believe” by Glen Ballard (2004)
  8. “Cozy Little Christmas” by Ferras Alqaisi, Katy Perry and Greg Wells (2018)
  9. “Favorite Time of Year” by Chris DeStefano and Hillary Lindsey (2020)
  10. “Under the Mistletoe” by Kelly Clarkson (2020)

(Via Variety)

Alan Cross

is an internationally known broadcaster, interviewer, writer, consultant, blogger and speaker. In his 40+ years in the music business, Alan has interviewed the biggest names in rock, from David Bowie and U2 to Pearl Jam and the Foo Fighters. He’s also known as a musicologist and documentarian through programs like The Ongoing History of New Music.

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