LOS ANGELES, Dec 11 ― There are just a couple of weeks left until Christmas. Many music lovers are getting into the holiday spirit by listening to songs dedicated to what crooner Andy Williams described as “the most wonderful time of the year.” To help them, the American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers has compiled a list of 2021's most popular Christmas songs.
Some music fans think Mariah Carey is the undisputed queen of Christmas, while others believe the title should go to Meredith Willson for his song It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas. The American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP) is breaking down the tie in its top 25 most popular Christmas songs this year.
To establish this ranking, the American organization used the number of streams and radio listeners for songs with a copyright date after 2001. However, it only took into account songs written by its member songwriters.
Classics stay at the top
The most popular song that meets these criteria is none other than Sleigh Ride, a Christmas song by Leroy Anderson and Mitchell Parish from 1948. It is closely followed by the famous Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow by Sammy Cahn and Jule Styne (1945) and the catchy A Holly Jolly Christmas by Johnny Marks (1962). The ASCAP rankings underscore just how good the Christmas season is for classics. All of the songs appearing in the organisation's top 10 were composed between the 1940s and 1970s.
To the surprise of many, Mariah Carey and her iconic All I Want for Christmas is You (1994) only reached the 14th position on the ranking. Something that is all the more surprising as the hit is at the top of Billboard's chart of the most popular Christmas songs of all time. The accompanying video clip has more than 700 million views on YouTube.
ASCAP has also compiled the most popular Christmas songs written in the last two decades into a single chart. Kelly Clarkson reigns supreme with the songs Underneath the Tree (#1), Christmas Isn't Canceled (Just You) (#6) and Under the Mistletoe (#10).
Check out the entire ACAP Top 25 Most Popular Christmas Songs of 2021 below:
1. Sleigh Ride by Leroy Anderson and Mitchell Parish (1948)
2. Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow by Sammy Cahn and Jule Styne (1945)
3. A Holly Jolly Christmas by Johnny Marks (1962)
4. It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas by Meredith Willson (1951)
5. Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town by Fred Coots and Haven Gillespie (1934)
6. Jingle Bell Rock by Joseph Carleton Beal and James Ross Boothe (1958)
7. Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer by Johnny Marks (1949)
8. Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree by Johnny Marks (1958)
9. Winter Wonderland by Felix Bernard and Richard B. Smith (1934)
10. Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas by Ralph Blane and Hugh Martin (1944)
11. Last Christmas by George Michael (1984)
12. Frosty the Snowman by Steve Nelson and Walter E. Rollins (1950)
13. It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year by Edward Pola and George Wyle (1963)
14. All I Want for Christmas Is You by Walter Afanasieff and Mariah Carey (1994)
15. The Christmas Song by Mel Tormé and Robert Wells (1946)
16. Jingle Bells by James Lord Pierpont; Frank Sinatra version arranged by Gordon Jenkins (ASCAP, 1958)
17. Do You Hear What I Hear? by Noel Regney and Gloria Shain (1962)
18. White Christmas by Irving Berlin (1941)
19. Here Comes Santa Claus (Down Santa Claus Lane) by Gene Autry and Oakley Haldeman (1947)
20. Feliz Navidad by José Feliciano (1970)
21. Silver Bells by Raymond Evans and Jay Livingston (1950)
22. Santa Baby by Joan Javits, Anthony Springer and Philip Springer (1953)
23. Happy Holiday/The Holiday Season by Kay Tompson and Irving Berlin (1942)
24. I'll Be Home for Christmas by Kim Gannon, Walter Kent and Buck Ram (1943)
25. Wonderful Christmastime by Paul McCartney (1979) ― ETX Studio
