My favorite Christmas songs

Hey Charlie! I know I’m really late since Christmas was more than a month ago but I was very busy. However, I really wanted to write this article to share my TOP 5 favorite Christmas songs with you guys. Christmas is really my favorite part of the year and I actually start listening to Christmas music in November because I get too excited. So here is my article to make you wait until next Christmas (because you know, it’s in a very loooong time). 

 

5- Jingle Bell Rock by Bobby Helms 

This American popular Christmas song is considered the first mainstream rock 'n' roll Christmas song. It is a classic Christmas song is but it’s perfect to get you into the spirit of Christmas. It was first released by Bobby Helms in 1957 and although it was only two days before Christmas, the single still hit #6 on the pop chart. It has received frequent airplay in the United States during every Christmas season since then.  

I love the happy mood of the song with the singer’s voice and the chorus in the background. I also think the sound of the trumpet and saxophone makes the music really lively.  

This song was used in a lot of movies such as Home Alone 2, which I like very much, Mean Girls, Lethal Weapon (1987), and Vanilla Sky (2001) but also in several TV shows, including The Wonder Years, Chuck, House M.D., It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, The Simpsons, South Park, Family Guy and Once Upon A Time. 

 

4- Santas's coming for us by Sia 

This is a much more recent song written by Sia and Greg Kurstin and released on 30 October 2017. It is the lead single from Sia's eighth studio album and first Christmas album, Everyday Is Christmas. 

Sia described how she and Greg Kurstin ended up writing the album: "I thought we had a bit of a shortage of good Christmas music. There's obviously the classics and stuff, but anything new, I wasn't vibing that much on it," she said. "I just was having so much fun, because it's already there, all of the concepts, you just have to expand on them," Sia continued. "It's not like you have to have an original idea to begin with. It's like, Christmas, mistletoe, ho-ho-ho, Santa Claus, Christmas list, elves. You've got all of the subject matter.", "It was easy and fun. So, we did it in two weeks," she concluded. "And I couldn't stop writing new songs - so, I ended up with an original album by accident." 

The song topped Billboard's Adult Contemporary chart dated December 23, 2017. It was Sia's first ever #1 as an artist on that tally.

I think this song is very dynamic and when I listen to it, I immediately want to dance! It's also an original song which is a bit different from the same classic Christmas songs (which are great obviously) that we always hear during Christmas.

 

 

3- Santa tell me by Ariana Grande 

Santa Tell Me is a Christmas song with influences of R&B recorded by American singer Ariana Grande. It was written by Grande, Ilya Salmanzadeh and Savan Kotecha. The song was released worldwide on November 24, 2014. It has been dubbed a modern Christmas standard for its popularity in music streaming services throughout the years during holiday season. Lyrically, it features Ariana asking Santa to tell her if her new beau "really cares", and if he will leave her like men in her past have. 

Commercially, Santa Tell Me reached the top 10 in many countries such as Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Singapore, Slovakia, South Korea, Sweden and Switzerland, as well as the top 20 in Croatia, Ireland, Italy, Malaysia and the United Kingdom. The song entered the US Billboard Hot 100 at number 65 and later peaked at number 17. Additionally on Billboard Global 200 and Global Excl. U.S. charts, Santa Tell Me peaked at numbers 5 and 7, respectively. Billboard ranked the song 13th in their "The 100 Best Christmas Songs of All Time" list. This song is the highest ranked among those released in this century and continues to become a modern-day classic. 

It received its first performance at the 2014 A Very Grammy Christmas concert in the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles on November 18, 2014. 

I love this song because it always makes me want to sing along and I find Ariana Grande’s voice really beautiful and soft. I like the joyful and chill mood it provides me every time I listen to it. 

 

2- All I want for Christmas is you by Mariah Carey 

This is for sure the most famous Christmas song ever and although we hear it every during Christmas, I never get bored of listening to it because I think it’s a one of the best Christmas songs.  

All I Want for Christmas Is You was recorded by American singer Mariah Carey for her fourth studio album and first holiday album, Merry Christmas (1994). Written and produced by Carey and Walter Afanasieff, it was released as the lead single from the album on October 29, 1994. The track is an uptempo love song that includes various instruments such as piano, drums, violin, flute, bass effect and cowbells. All I Want for Christmas Is You is composed with pop, soul, R&B, gospel and adult contemporary influences and stylings. It is now a Christmas standard and continues to surge in popularity each holiday season.  

The song became a global success, topping the charts in twenty-six countries including Australia, Canada, France and Germany. In 2019, it topped the US Billboard Hot 100 for the first time, 25 years after its original release, thereby breaking several records, including the longest trip to number one. The following year, it also topped the charts in the United Kingdom for the first time, spending a record 69 weeks in its top 40. With an estimated sales of over 16 million copies worldwide, All I Want for Christmas Is You is the best-selling holiday song by a female artist, and one of the best-selling physical singles in music history. The song is certified Diamond, denoting sales of 10 million copies in the United States. On December 25, 2018, the song set the single-day record for the most Spotify streams, with 10.82 million plays and re-broke the record exactly a year later with 12.029 million streams in a single day. On November 24, 2019, it therefore won three records in Guinness World Records for this. 

In an interview in 1994, Carey described the song as "fun", and continued: "It's very traditional, old-fashioned Christmas. It's very retro, kind of '60s.". In 2019 Mariah said that her favorite part of the song was “I won’t even wish for snow” because “I always wish for snow. I always want it to be a special festive winter wonderland. I always have. And so when I was writing these things down, I made a list of all the stuff that I thought of since childhood and crafted it to be about a long-lost love.”. She cowrote it in about 15 minutes and says this speed is the secret to the song’s success. Lyrically, the song describes the singer not caring about the usual material aspect of the holiday season such as lights, trees, snow and presents, as long as she is with her lover for Christmas. Due to the song's lasting impact, Carey was called the "Queen of Christmas" 

This song has been covered multiple times by various artists including Michael Bublé, Justin Bieber, Miley Cyrus, Demi Lovato and Ariana Grande. It was also used in a lot of famous Christmas movies such as Love Actually. 

 

1- Last Christmas by Wham! 

This is the best Christmas song ever in my opinion! I love everything about it: the rhythm, the story it tells, the mood it creates.... All the elements you need to make a wonderful Christmas music are in this song!  

Last Christmas is a song by British pop duo Wham!, originally released in December 1984. It was written and produced by George Michael, and has been covered by many artists since its original release. The song had its beginnings in 1984, while George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley were visiting Michael's parents. It was written by Michael in his childhood bedroom. 

Upon its initial release in 1984, "Last Christmas" spent five consecutive weeks at number two in the UK Singles Chart. The song had for many years held the record as the highest-selling single never to top the charts by the Official Charts Company (OCC) with 1.9 million copies sold (not including streams). Outside the United Kingdom, the song topped the charts in Denmark, Germany, Ireland, Slovenia, and Sweden and peaked within the top ten of the charts in several countries including Australia and the United States.   

And by the way, I recommend you the movie Last Christmas (2019). If you love romance comedies and Christmas, I’m sure you’ll like it! 

So this was my article! I hope you like it and invite you to share, if you want of course, some great Christmas songs you would recommend in the comments.

Bye!