How Mariah Carey’s Christmas Hit Became a $100M Phenomenon

Five big questions re: Mariah Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas is You”:
1) What is the most popular Christmas song ever?
2) How much revenue has “All I Want for Christmas is You” generated?
3) When do people start listening to “All I Want for Christmas is You”?
4) Who listens to this song two weeks before Thanksgiving?
5) Does everyone share Mrs. Screen’s love for “All I Want for Christmas is You”?

Big question #1: What is the most popular Christmas song ever?

Top 10 Christmas Songs in the United States according to Spotify:
1) “All I Want for Christmas is You” by Mariah Carey
2) “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree” by Brenda Lee
3) “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year” by Andy Williams
4) “Last Christmas” by Wham
5) “Jingle Bell Rock” by Bobby Helms
6) “It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas” by Michael Bublé
7) “White Christmas” by Bing Crosby
8) “The Christmas Song” by Nat King Cole
9) “Holly Jolly Christmas” by Burl Ives
10) “Let it Snow! Let it Snow! Let it Snow” by Frank Sinatra

Highest ranking on Billboard Hot 100 for “All I Want for Christmas is You:”
1) 2013 – #21
2) 2014 – #26
3) 2015 – #35
4) 2016 – #11
5) 2017 – #9
6) 2018 – #3
7) 2019 – #1
8) 2020 – #1
9) 2021 – #1
10) 2022 – #1
11) 2023 – #1

Big question #2: How much revenue has “All I Want for Christmas is You” generated?

Quick answer: $100M

Key details for Mariah Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas is You:”
1) Released in 1994
2) $60M+ in revenue (as of 2016)
3) Up to $16M in total revenue last year
4) 100M+ copies sold
5) It only took 15 minutes to write and compose
6) First Christmas song to hit #1 since 1958
7) Originally peaked at #12 when released
8) It has reached #1 in 14 different countries

Big question #3: When do people start listening to “All I Want for Christmas is You”?

Quick answer: The official kickoff (November 1st) is when Mariah Carey sends a social media post to her fans (The Lambily) stating, “It’s Time!”.

Weekly Spotify ranking in the U.S. according to KWORB:
1) 11/9 – #65
2) 11/16 – #34
3) 11/23 – #14
4) 11/30 – #2
5) 12/7 – #1
6) 12/14 – #1
7) 12/21 – #1

Number of weeks at #1 for Billboard:
1) 2019 – 3
2) 2020 – 2
3) 2021 – 3
4) 2022 – 4

Big question #4: Who listens to this song two weeks before Thanksgiving?

Quick answer: Mrs. Screens and Lil Screens (5th grade), though the Screens household has not been immune to #Traylor mania, which has cut into streams for “All I Want for Christmas is You.”

Mrs. Screens billion dollar idea to melt the internet: Taylor Swift covers “All I Want for Christmas is You”.

Big question #5: Does everyone share Mrs. Screen’s love for “All I Want for Christmas is You”?

Never forget: A bar in Dallas banned the song until December 1st, with a limit of once per night after that.