Billboard Hot 100 Top 10:
1- "thank u, next" - Ariana Grande (=) -- Ariana gets her seventh week at No. 1, but again it's by the skin of her teeth. The song is showing a lot more staying power than I initially anticipated as it has some legitimate momentum on the radio charts, which is going to help it stay here a while. It also had a solid week of sales thanks to the Christmas holiday with people redeeming iTunes gift cards and what not, which was the case for like every song on the charts this week. But in both of those categories, Halsey still remains a step or two ahead. Thus the story here is about streaming. Ariana falls 13 percent to 37.9 million U.S. streams while Halsey remains essentially even compared to last week with 32 million U.S. streams. If these trends continue, it's likely only another week or two before Halsey takes the crown. But I imagine that both of these songs are going to be here in the top five for quite a while longer, which is an overall win.
2- "Without Me" - Halsey (=) -- I suppose it is possible that Halsey hits a snag and starts tumbling. That's happened in races like this. But Halsey has had an incredible run on the sales chart where she has been No. 1 for six weeks now and radio continues to eat this up, so I don't see this going anywhere. It's just a matter of what happens in the upcoming weeks with that streaming margin.
3- "All I Want for Christmas is You" - Mariah Carey (+4) -- Quickly before we get all Christmasy, allow me to point out that Mariah going to No. 3 means we have an all female top three on the Hot 100, which is the first time since 2014 when Taylor Swift (with two songs) and Meghan Trainer ruled supreme. I would like this to happen more often. But yeah, the big story here is, of course, the Christmas impact on the charts this week. I honestly didn't know what was going to happen. Radio tracking week goes Monday through Sunday, meaning there was only two days this tracking week of Christmas songs on the radio, while streaming and sales go Friday through Thursday, meaning there was only five days of Christmas songs on streaming and sales. Turns out said five days was enough to give all the Christmas songs one final surge, especially when it comes to streaming as Christmas Day and Christmas Eve were HUGE for these songs. Mariah is actually No. 1 on streaming right now with 51.9 million U.S. streams, a new weekly record for a seasonal song. Mariah also becomes only the second artist to ever get a Christmas song into the top five, with the first instance being in 1958 when "The Chipmunk Song," by David Seville & The Chimpunks hit No. 1. More records broken below with three additional Christmas songs in the top 10.
4- "SICKO MODE" - Travis Scott (-1) -- It's great to see Travis Scott falling this week. But I have a suspicion that he'll be back next week, so I can't celebrate just yet.
5- "Sunflower (Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse)" - Post Malone & Swae Lee (-1) -- Here's an idea. When all the Christmas songs fall of the charts next week, let's get "Sunflower" to jump up to No. 3 instead of "SICKO MODE." It's a much more pleasant song. Nothing special, but decently catchy and enjoyable. And it kinda reminds me of "Spider-Verse" when it plays.
6- "High Hopes" - Panic! At the Disco (=) -- Staying put at No. 6 means Panic! had a decent week of holding it together given that Mariah launched into the top three. In fact, Panic! was able to jump ahead of "Happier" and also do well enough to hold off the other Christmas songs that soared this week.
7- "Happier" - Marshmello & Bastille (-2) -- Solid run for Marshmello and Bastille. I'm expecting it to still be here next week, but it seems like the floor is starting to fall from beneath these two with this song, so I don't think it will last too much longer.
8- "Jingle Bell Rock" - Bobby Helms (+5) -- And let the joy begin because our final three songs are all Christmas songs entering the top 10 for the very first time, giving us four Christmas songs in the top 10, something that has never happened before as there's been only nine Christmas to ever enter the top 10, which is counting these four. In regards to Bobby Helms' "Jingle Bell Rock," this song sets the new record for longest trip to the top 10 as it first appeared on the Hot 100 on December 22, 1958, meaning it was a journey of 60 years and two weeks in getting here. This is also the first ever top 10 entry for Bobby Helms, who previously charted only twice with "Borrowed Dreams" (No. 60; August 1958) and "The Fool and the Angel" (No. 75; January 1959). I'm sure Bobby Helms is smiling up above at this achievement as he passed away in 1997.
9- "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree" - Brenda Lee (+2) -- Brenda Lee comes in just behind Bobby Helms' previously mentioned record as "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree" also hits the top 10 for the first time ever after first debuting on the Hot 100 in December 1960. This is Brenda's 13th total top 10 entry and first since "Losing You" hit No. 6 in 1963. And let me emphasize how happy it makes me seeing both of these songs in the top 10 as they are the perfect Christmas duo. Two wildly entertaining Christmas dance songs that have been favorites of mine for as long as I can remember.
10- "A Holly Jolly Christmas" - Burl Ives (+2) -- Last week when Andy Williams hit the top 10 with "It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year," he broke a record for longest break between top 10 entries at 47 years. I mentioned that said record might be a hard one to break given the rarity that these holiday songs present for these artists. Well, open mouth, insert foot. The record lasted a week. Burl Ives was last in the top 10 in 1962, meaning the new record for time in between top 10 hits for an artist is now set at 56 years. This record will at least last another year because all the Christmas songs will be dropping off the charts until next Christmas rolls around. But hey, a standing ovation for all of these songs. It's made me so happy to have something on the charts worth cheering about. Is there potential for one of these songs to eventually hit No. 1 one of these years? Well, Mariah hit No. 3 this season with a shortened tracking week. Christmas will be falling on a Wednesday in 2019, which means a slightly longer tracking week, so maybe there's hope for this next Christmas?
Rising on the Hot 100:
11- "The Christmas Song (Merry Christmas to You)" - Nat King Cole (+6) -- For a final week this season, this section on the Hot 100 is full of Christmas songs. Maybe next Christmas season I'll just have a Christmas section in my Billboard Analysis. We'll see. But it was really fun to see four Christmas songs in the top 10 while almost getting a fifth one as Nat King Cole barely missed out, peaking at No. 11. Perhaps next year?
13- "It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year" - Andy Williams (-3) -- It did surprise me seeing Andy Williams falling out of the top 10 this week after while everything else got a huge boost. But hey, Andy had his time in the spotlight last week and him stepping aside made for three additional Christmas top 10 entries, meaning we had a total of five Christmas songs in the top 10 this year, just at slightly different times. It would've been kinda fun seeing Andy Williams shooting up to the top five with Mariah, but hey, getting to the top 10 at all was a huge win.
16- "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" - Gene Autry (+12) -- Rudolph is on the Hot 100 twice this year as Chuck Berry's "Run Rudolph Run" is one of our returning Christmas entries this week. More on that later, but it's definitely a joy seeing this classic Rudolph song that everyone has sung as a child hitting the top 20!
19- "Money" - Cardi B (+11) -- What's Cardi doing breaking up our Christmas streak?
20- "Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow" - Dean Martin (+12) -- The weather wasn't very frightful for me on Christmas this year. It was actually kinda warm for Utah in December. Mother Nature was a little mixed up and didn't listen to Dean. But she did a few days later as we got a couple of good snow storms after Christmas. In tallying up Christmas song totals, with "Let It Snow" hitting No. 20, it means we officially hit eight Christmas songs in the top 20 this season.
25- "Last Christmas" - Wham! (+2) -- With Wham! hitting No. 25, make that total nine Christmas songs in the top 25. Now in honor of this song, let's hope all of you did a great job of giving your heart to the right person this season. I'd hate to hear the sad stories of hearts being given away this past week. But hey, keep your head up because that means you'll have something to sing about next Christmas!
26- "Sleigh Ride" - The Ronettes (+7) -- I'm still elated that this was the year we let "Sleigh Ride" on the Hot 100. I haven't spent a lot of time listening to this specific version, but the song itself has been a Christmas favorite of mine for a long time, especially after playing it in ninth grade Band class.
28- "Here Comes Santa Claus (Right Down Santa Claus Lane)" - Gene Autry (+7) -- This was one of the more unique entries this year. It's one of the Christmas songs that I don't think is known as well, which is why I was glad to get the chance to study it a bit more and now it's been one of the many Christmas songs stuck in my head this season.
29- "Feliz Navidad" - Jose Feliciano (+5) -- Perhaps the most catchy Christmas? When I get "Feliz Navidad" stuck in my head, there's no getting out until Christmas is over and I'm totally fine with that. Also, keeping up our total, we had 12 Christmas songs in the top 30 this year. That's an impressive number!
32- "(There's No Place Like) Home for the Holidays" - Perry Como (+9) -- Perry Como narrowly misses out on hitting top 30, but it was still a great year for him with two Christmas songs on the charts. In light of this song, I really did enjoy being home for the holidays. I had to leave a couple of days ago and heading back to normal life at the end of the holiday season is a rather depressing drive. But hey, Christmas will be back again in 11 months, so there's something to look forward to!
34- "White Christmas" - Bing Crosby (+14) -- It wasn't a very white Christmas for me this year. It was a mostly green Christmas. But we got a white New Year's, so maybe that made up for it? But even if the ground wasn't white on Christmas, my soul was very bright seeing Bing Crosby on the charts again this year! Let's bring him, and the rest of these songs, back next season!
35- "It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas" - Perry Como & The Fontane Sisters (+7) -- The second Perry Como song managed to sneak into the top 35 this year, which is a solid mark. I'll say again with this song, this is one of the more fun Christmas songs to sing as this is a very musically creative song with fun verses that have a lot of detail. Once you know the full song, it's an excellent one to use for caroling.
42- "Happy Xmas (War is Over)" - John & Yoko / The Plastic Ono Band with The Harlem Community Choir (+3) -- Perhaps this one is one of the more controversial Christmas song. If you don't like 70's politics mixed in with your Christmas music, John and Yoko's song might not be for you. But I suppose I'm just used to all of the anti-war songs that came out at the time. They add a different level of emotion to the music, which is why I'm fine with it. If you're wondering what happened to fellow Beetle Paul McCartney, his Christmas song was the lone Christmas entry to fall off this week.
43- "Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)" - Darlene Love (+7) -- Honestly, I didn't really know this song before this year. But I'm glad our huge influx of Christmas music this year helped introduce me to a song that is perhaps a classic to many so that I can feel even more cultured.
44- "Underneath the Tree" - Kelly Clarkson (re-entry) -- Joining the Christmas party this week on the charts are four new additional entries coming from Kelly Clarkson, Chuck Berry, Elvis Presley and Frank Sinatra. We'll get to Elvis and Mr. Sinatra in the new arrivals section, but here we have the re-entry of Kelly Clarkson's original Christmas song "Underneath the Tree" from her 2013 Christmas album "Wrapped in Red." If I'm being honest, Kelly is a singer who has frustrated me as of late. She has a great voice and sung a few great songs early on in her career, but she developed into a bit of a one-trick pony with her lyrics, always singing about the same subject with little originality and I got bored of that. For quite some time, I've been waiting for her to impress me with a new song, but it hasn't really happened in some time. Because of that, I can't actually remember if I ever listened to her Christmas album. And if I have, it didn't become a Christmas staple for me. "Underneath the Tree" shows that I wasn't really missing a lot. She showcases some excellent vocals to go along with a fun, upbeat tune, but it's the same Kelly again singing about that same subject. With this Christmas tune, she makes it about as simple as you can get by saying, "You're all that I need underneath the tree." That's kind of it. She talks about how all Christmases in the past have been extremely lonely because she didn't have this person in her life. Presents meant nothing and apparently neither did family or families. Just her relationship status. According to Kelly in this song, being single on Christmas means that Christmas sucks. Not really my type of holiday cheer, to be honest. In fact, I've been single for every Christmas in my life and still loved it, so take that Kelly!
45- "Run Rudolph Run" - Chuck Berry (re-entry) -- Christmas done in 50's Rock 'n Roll style is quite the exciting Christmas. When it comes to Chuck Berry, I immediately think of "Back to the Future" where Marty performs "Johnny B. Goode" for the people at the dance. With both "Johnny B. Goode" and "Run Rudolph Run," I feel like getting up and dancing like the people at the dance did initially before Marty got a little carried away. This doesn't have the style or feel of a Christmas song at all. This is straight-up old-style Rock 'n Roll with some excellent guitar part and a fun piano jam in the background. It throws the Christmas vibe in lyrically with Rudolph guiding Santa's sleigh, but it puts the image in my head of Santa and his reindeer cruising wildly through the sky like Marty on the stage in "Back to the Future." This unique element of it makes it one of the more exciting Christmas songs as well as one that other covers never fully do justice to.
53- "Cozy Little Christmas" - Katy Perry (+15) -- I still haven't been able to listen to this song as it's an Amazon Prime exclusive. But maybe some time soon Katy will release it on all streaming platforms. Or perhaps I'll get my Amazon Prime account. I momentarily discontinued it this year, but I do plan on reviving that account at some point in the future. When I do, I'll find a way to let you know what I think of this full song.
55- "The Christmas Song" - Lauren Daigle (+35) -- Lauren wins the award for biggest jump this year as her arrangement of "The Christmas Song" nearly cracks the top 50. Perhaps I'm a bit harsh on it because Nat King Cole's version is a lot better. But this is still a solid arrangement. I want more from Lauren Daigle on the charts, so maybe this will give her even more of a boost in the future. With this being the final Christmas entry of this section, it's fun to say that we officially had 24 Christmas songs on the charts this year. Paul McCartney's song fell off, meaning this week there was 23 Christmas songs. But we're not done yet! There's two more Christmas songs to cover in the new arrivals section, one from Elvis and the other from Frank Sinatra
66- "Look Back at It" - A Boogie wit da Hoodie (+30) -- Oh yeah. There's also two albums bombs this week. One from 21 Savage and the other from A Boogie wit da Hoodie. I will not be touching either of those albums, but it will mean that next week's rising songs section will be a little wild as all of the Christmas songs will fall off as well as both of the album bombs. I might have the entire Hot 100 in this section.
New Arrivals:
37- "A Lot" - 21 Savage -- I will not be covering the 21 Savage album bomb this week.
40- "Blue Christmas" - Elvis Presley -- Isn't it excellent seeing Elvis on the charts again? That's why this Christmas season has been so great. It's like a blast from the past with so many iconic singers all together on the charts. Now "Blue Christmas" admittedly is not a Christmas song that has been a staple for me. And it might be the most simple song Elvis has done. Or at least one of them. I'm not an Elvis aficionado. But there's not a whole lot of lyrics and the song barely crosses two minutes, but the charm and charisma of Elvis is one that has gone unmatched throughout the years. He's the King for a reason. His style and voice is so unique to him that anyone on the street can recognize it, even if they're not huge on music. It's hard to put Elvis to words and do him justice. He's Elvis. What is there to say? I love Elvis just like everyone else in the world. Even though his lyrics are simple as he just says it'll be a blue Christmas without this person, he puts so much soul into the song that he sells the depressing nature of the song. Unlike Kelly, he's not saying ALL Christmases have been boring and lonely. He's just saying, or inferring, that this upcoming Christmas will be a blue one if this significant other is not around. Perhaps one might more fully enjoy a happy and upbeat Christmas song to set the proper mood, but one can't help just love Elvis. It's fun that 2019 has begun with an Elvis song charting.
47- "Wow." - Post Malone -- We interrupt Elvis and Sinatra to quickly bring you Post Malone. And yeah, "wow" is not a word I'd use to describe this song, unless it was in the context of "Wow, that was boring." Part of me wants to root for Post Malone because he is kind of a funny dude when you listen to him in interviews. But he just doesn't write good music. "beerbongs & bentleys" was my least favorite album bomb that I subjected myself to in 2018 mostly because it was lifeless and dull. When all you can sing about is drinking beer and driving fancy cars, and other things like that, then I tune out rather quickly. And that's all he's doing here. He's talking about how rich he is and how many fancy cars and other toys he has. As if we haven't heard those exact same lyrics a thousand other times. Pick a different lane to drive in, Post. Sing about something interesting. If you even know how. Now "Better Now" was a tolerable song, as is "Sunflower," but "Wow." is not. If we have to have a Post Malone song around, let's keep "Sunflower" and reject "Wow." Please? The other thing that caught my attention here is that he has a line where he talks about driving is new Lambo in the Utah snow. Two things about that. First, why is Post Malone referencing my home state of Utah of all places? Second, driving your Lambo in the Utah snow sounds like a bad idea. You're going to slide around and wreck that thing. According to Genius, Post bought this new Lambo because his Rolls-Royce Wraith got totaled. So let's make good choices.
49- "Jingle Bells" - Frank Sinatra -- When I saw that "Jingle Bells" had charted, I straight-up laughed. It was a happy, joyous laugh. But still. I laughed. I was just so amused that "Jingle Bells" is now officially a Billboard Hot 100 hit. I mean, what is there to say about "Jingle Bells"? It's quite possibly the most commonly sung Christmas song ever. Every kid that's ever been born has sung "Jingle Bells" at some point in their life. Am I wrong? Historically speaking, it was first released in 1857 by James Lord Pierpont and probably sang by every person on Earth since. Wikipedia has a whole article titled "List of artists who have recorded 'Jingle Bells'" and said list is a really long one. I don't know the exact chart history of "Jingle Bells," but I do think it's a bit interesting that of all the songs to bring Frank Sinatra back to the charts, "Jingle Bells" is the one to get him there. He probably has a hundred other Christmas songs that would've better represented his style than "Jingle Bells," but hey, his arrangement is a fun one. He adds a lot more layers to the song that makes it something more than just your average recording of "Jingle Bells." And quite frankly (pun not intended), Frank Sinatra has such a smooth voice that he could sing anything and make it sound great. There's a reason why he's one of the most popular singers ever. I mean, he released 59 studio albums and 297 singles with a career that spanned over 50 years. Oddly enough, he only had three songs that were top 10 hits on the Hot 100, but that's mainly because his heyday was before the Hot 100 was formed in 1958. The 1940's were the biggest years for Sinatra after releasing his first single in 1939. But he still charted songs on the Hot 100 all the way until 1980, even though only three of them hit the top 10. So yeah, it's a bit strange that "Jingle Bells" is the song to bring him back. But it's great to see him nonetheless!
57- "Swervin" - A Boogie wit da Hoodie featuring 6ix9ine -- I will not be covering the A Boogie wit da Hoodie album bomb this week.
58- "Can't Leave Without It" - 21 Savage -- I will not be covering the 21 Savage album bomb this week.
65- "Startender" - A Boogie wit da Hoodie featuring Offset & Tyga -- I will not be covering the A Boogie wit da Hoodie album bomb this week.
67- "All My Friends" - 21 Savage -- I will not be covering the 21 Savage album bomb this week.
70- "Break da Law" - 21 Savage -- I will not be covering the 21 Savage album bomb this week.
73- "Monster" - 21 Savage -- I will not be covering the 21 Savage album bomb this week.
86- "1.5"- 21 Savage -- I will not be covering the 21 Savage album bomb this week.
88- "Out for the Night" - 21 Savage -- I will not be covering the 21 Savage album bomb this week.
93- "Gun Smoke" - 21 Savage -- I will not be covering the 21 Savage album bomb this week.
94- "Demons and Angels" - A Boogie wit da Hoodie featuring Juice WRLD -- I will not be covering the A Boogie wit da Hoodie album bomb this week.
95- "ASMR" - 21 Savage -- I will not be covering the 21 Savage album bomb this week.
