There’s no avoiding it: This song will become the biggest of all time

How many times have you heard Mariah Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas is You” this year? A thousand? Ten thousand? Eleventy billion?

While it may not reach the #1 spot on the singles chart this year–it’ll be tough to dislodge Brenda Lee’s 1958 hit, “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree” from that spot, thanks to a vigorous PR campaign by Lee herself–that was probably a one-time-only thing. On the roll-up to Christmas 2024, “All I Want” will inevitably take is annual position at the top of the pop charts.

And there’s more. The Daily Beast did some analysis and concluded that “All I Want” will soon become the most popular song–SONG, not just holiday tune–of all time.

A little math voodoo is required. The current record holder for the most weeks at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 is “Old Town Road” by Lil Nas X. Mariah’s song has hit the top spot 13 times, except that we’re dealing with cumulative weeks at #1 since it was released in 1994. If it hadn’t been for Brenda Lee, she would have achieved her 14th #1 with the song.

There’s another record on the horizon. “Old Town Road” came in several flavours, including the Bily Ray Cyrus remix which helped juice the song so it qualifies as a non-solo song. If we look at just single artists, Morgan Wallen’s “Last Night” spent 16 weeks at number one, just three more than “All I Want’s” current status.

Because Mariah’s song comes back year after year–and assuming that she won’t be challenged by Brenda Lee or someone similar in years ahead–“All I Want” will pass “Last Night” as early as next Christmas, but certainly by 2025. A year or so after that, it’ll pass “Old Town Road.”

And there’s more milestone that needs to be passed. The Weeknd’s “Blinding Lights” holds the record for remaining in the Hot 100 for 90 weeks. “All I Want” has been on-and-off the charts since 1994 with a total of 61 weeks. It’ll stay there for the rest of the year, meaning that it’ll end 2024 with 64 weeks of chart placement. If things keep repeating for the next couple of years, Mariah’s song will beat The Weeknd’s record in 2028.

When it does that, “:All I Want for Christmas Is You” can be called The Biggest Song of All Time–at least in terms of chart achievements and not sales or critical success.

Not bad for a song that was dashed off in about 15 minutes, huh?