It has been thirty years since Mariah Carey released her Christmas song “All I Want For Christmas,” which quickly became the universal theme song for the holiday. The classic has remained a chart-topper in the last few years; however, its fate might be changing with the rise of older classics making a comeback.
Last FM recently released stats to prove that “All I Want For Christmas Is You” may be taking the back seat. The streams for the holiday classic dropped by 35% between last October and two months ago, and a 22% drop between December 2023 and the present month.
‘All I Want For Christmas Is You’ is facing competition from other Christmas songs
Though not always number one, “All I Want For Christmas Is You” has always appeared on the charts since its release in 1994, and it took nearly three decades to beat all others in the UK and US. For now, the classic has dropped to number two, right behind Wham!’s “Last Christmas” from 1984.
“All I Want For Christmas Is You” comes right above Brenda Lee’s “Rockin’ Around The Christmas Tree,” which is fast becoming a contender for the number one spot, having surpassed 1 billion streams.
Mariah Carey and her team spruce up promotion efforts
To revive the song, Mariah and her team went in on their campaign as early as October, encouraging fans to get into holiday cheer and begin streaming. She celebrated its 30th year of release with a reissue, posting the cover to Instagram alongside the Merry Christmas album.
She acknowledged the fact that the post came early, adding that she simply wanted her followers to have a glimpse of the anniversary cover art, noting that it will be available in four physical copies from December.