Brenda Lee’s “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree” topped the Billboard Hot 100 chart for the first time ever this week, but, love it or loathe it, Mariah Carey’s “All I Want For Christmas Is You” was the top track globally, coming in at No. 1 on Billboard’s Global Hot 200 chart.
Lee’s holiday classic came in at No. 4 on the Global Hot 200 chart. Lee was 13 years old when she recorded the song, originally released in 1958. The 78-year-old is now the oldest artist to have a current No. 1 song at the top of the charts.
Billboard’s Hot 100 is based on data collected on US purchases, streams, and downloads. Globally speaking, however, Mariah still dominates.
Carey’s hit isn’t the only divisive song on the “Global Hot 200.” The 80s duo Wham has the No. 2 position with “Last Christmas,” a song whose fame or infamy has even spawned a yearly competition called “Whamageddon.”
Only two other Christmas songs have made it into the top 10 globally, Bobby Helm’s “Jingle Bell Rock” and Ariana Grande’s “Santa Tell Me.” No other Christmas songs have cracked the top 10 yet, but with 20 days left until Christmas, that may change quickly.
Carey released the hit on her 1994 album “Merry Christmas.” At one time, it was the best-selling digital single by a woman and the overall best-selling holiday digital single.
It is also the first Christmas song to receive Diamond status from the Recording Industry Association of America, selling over 10 million copies. It has played over 4 billion times on the radio, been streamed nearly 1 and a half billion times, and has almost 4 million download sales as of 2021.
In September, the song mysteriously entered the charts again with over 300,000 streams. It turned out that most of those streams came from the Philippines, where most Filipinos start Christmas activities in September.
The song has also spawned numerous memes. Carey even got in on the act, putting out her own video meme on her social channels right after Halloween.
Click here to view the full Global Hot 200 list.