After 65 years, Brenda Lee’s classic holiday song “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree” has reached the number one spot on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, beating out Mariah Carey’s iconic hit “All I Want for Christmas Is You.” The song, which Lee recorded in 1958 at the age of 13, has been a staple of holiday playlists for decades, with a notable appearance in the 1990 film “Home Alone.”
In recent years, the song has seen a resurgence in popularity thanks to streaming platforms, often reaching the number two spot on the charts. However, this year, Lee, now 78, made a renewed push for the song, releasing a new music video and joining TikTok. This effort paid off, as “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree” secured the number one position on the chart, narrowly edging out Carey’s song in streams.
Historically, “All I Want for Christmas Is You” has held the number one position on the Billboard Hot 100 for the past four years. However, with 34.9 million streams for “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree” compared to 32.4 million for Carey’s song, Lee was able to claim the coveted top spot. This achievement marks Lee’s first number one hit since 1960.
Additionally, “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree” now holds the record for the longest time it took for a song to reach number one on the Hot 100 chart since its inception in 1958, displacing Carey’s previous record of 25 years for “All I Want for Christmas Is You.”
In other music news, Taylor Swift has made a significant impact on the album charts this week, with five of her albums appearing in the Top 10. This includes the return of “1989 (Taylor’s Version)” to the number one spot for the third time, along with “Midnights,” “Folklore,” “Lover,” and “Speak Now (Taylor’s Version)” also making the top rankings.
Drake’s “For All the Dogs,” which was the top-selling album last week, has fallen to the number two spot, while Morgan Wallen’s “One Thing at a Time” claims the number four position.
The resurgence of Brenda Lee’s “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree” serves as a testament to the enduring popularity of holiday classics and the influence of streaming on music consumption in the modern era.
