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And Finally Artist News
Mariah Carey’s All I Want For Christmas Is You completes 26 year climb to UK number one
By Andy Malt | Published on Monday 14 December 2020
Mariah Carey’s ‘All I Want For Christmas Is You’ has hit the number one spot in the UK singles chart for – and you might want to sit down for this – the first time since it was released 26 years ago.
That’s right, one of the most enduring Christmas songs never actually reached number one when it was originally released in 1994. Back then, it was pipped to the post by the less festive (but still enduring) ‘Stay Another Day’ by East 17. Since digital music data was fully added to the chart in 2007, the track has returned to the top 40 every year, peaking at number two for each of the last three years, but until now it has been denied that number one position.
The song’s lengthy journey to the top, and its annual return to the chart, also means that it has broken a record. It has spent more weeks on the chart before becoming number one than any other song in chart history, having racked up 70 weeks in the top 40 over the years.
Official Charts Company data shows that the track is on course for a second week at the top this Friday, although it is closely trailed by Wham’s ‘Last Christmas’. However, if Mariah wants the Christmas number one she was denied 26 years ago, the competition will be even more fierce. With Christmas Day on a Friday this year, the new songs vying for the top spot will able to build up a full week’s worth of sales and streams following their release later this week before the big reveal.
Among the contenders, LadBaby will be attempting to bag the Christmas number one spot for the third year in a row with new single ‘Don’t Stop Me Eatin’ – a take on Journey’s ‘Don’t Stop Believin’ – which will be released this Friday. He will again be raising money for food bank charity The Trussell Trust.
“We’re back”, he says. “And after the year we’ve all had, it’s our most important year yet! With emergency food parcels being handed out every nine seconds in the UK – a 47% rise on last year – and two in five families now relying on food banks, we HAVE to do whatever it takes to build a hunger-free future for every adult and child in the UK”.
“Help us achieve something far greater than the last two years”, he goes on. “Together let’s break a record for a song that helps feed the most UK families than any other song in history. That is how 2020 should be remembered. In a year when so much has been lost, don’t stop believing!”
Other possible Christmas number one songs this year include Jess Glynne’s ‘This Christmas’, Matt Lucas’s ‘Merry Christmas, Baked Potato’ and Liam Gallagher’s ‘All You’re Dreaming Of’.
“After such an extraordinary year, Christmas is sure to feel more special than ever – and, of course, the Christmas number one race will be one of the highlights again”, says Official Charts Company boss Martin Talbot. “This year’s race will also feel extra special because the festive chart-topper will be announced on Christmas Day”.
“This year, the contenders will be aiming to wrest the Christmas number one title from LadBaby, who has taken the title for the past two years – and there are plenty of big name contenders”, he goes on. “But, as history has always told us, only a fool would make a prediction this far out. The British public will decide”.
If you were wondering, ‘Stay Another Day’ by East 17 is currently not even in the top 100. This time last year it was already at 95 and it then peaked at 35 in the post-Christmas chart. But, like Martin Talbot says, you shouldn’t start making predictions just yet. But maybe it could spoil it for Mariah Carey once again in a last minute rush for the festive number one spot. Probably not, eh? I’m just not quite ready to give up the excitement of the competition.
