Chart Commentary — DECEMBER 20, 2025
#1
ALL I WANT FOR CHRISTMAS IS YOU
by Mariah Carey (Columbia)
CAREY HAS 20/19 VISION…AND OTHER NUMERICAL FACTS
20 RECORD-BREAKING WEEKS…AND COUNTING
Mariah Carey‘s “All I Want for Christmas Is You” achieves a record-breaking 20th week at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, rewriting the mark for the longest reign over the chart’s 67-year history.
The song, originally released in 1994, surpasses the No. 1 runs of two hits that led the Hot 100 over one release cycle each: Shaboozey’s “A Bar Song (Tipsy),” in 2024, and Lil Nas X’s “Old Town Road,” featuring Billy Ray Cyrus, in 2019.
Carey claims the Hot 100’s No. 1 longevity record for a second time — In 1995-96, her and Boyz II Men’s “One Sweet Day” dominated for 16 weeks, a mark that stood on its own for more than 23 years, until it was tied by Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee’s “Despacito,” featuring Justin Bieber, in 2017, and then passed by “Old Town Road.” (She, thus, breaks the record with a song released before “One Sweet Day.”)
A week earlier, “All I Want for Christmas Is You” returned to No. 1 on the Hot 100 to lead in a record-extending seventh holiday season. It arrived on Carey’s album Merry Christmas in November 1994 and, as streaming has grown and holiday music has become more prominent on streaming services’ playlists, it hit the top 10 for the first time in December 2017 and the top five for the first time in the 2018 holiday season. It led at last, prior to the past two weeks, over the holidays in 2019 (for three weeks), 2020 (two), 2021 (three), 2022 (four), 2023 (two) and 2024 (four). (Older holiday songs are eligible to appear on the chart each season.)
Here’s a recap of the seven longest-leading No. 1s dating to the Hot 100’s Aug. 4, 1958, start. Carey is the only artist with two entries on the elite list.
- 20 weeks, “All I Want for Christmas Is You,” Mariah Carey, 2019-25
- 19, “A Bar Song (Tipsy),” Shaboozey, 2024
- 19, “Old Town Road,” Lil Nas X featuring Billy Ray Cyrus, 2019
- 16, “Last Night,” Morgan Wallen, 2023
- 16, “Despacito,” Luis Fonsi & Daddy Yankee featuring Justin Bieber, 2017
- 16, “One Sweet Day,” Mariah Carey & Boyz II Men, 1995-96
- 15, “As It Was,” Harry Styles, 2022
“All I Want for Christmas Is You” extends the longest span from a song’s first week at No. 1 on the Hot 100 to its latest to six years (charts dated Dec. 21, 2019-Dec. 20, 2025). Carey also has the second-longest span for an artist atop the Hot 100: 35 years, four months and three weeks, dating to her first week at No. 1 (Aug. 4, 1990) with her debut smash “Vision of Love.” Only Brenda Lee has a longer career stretch of topping the chart: 63 years, five months and three weeks, from “I’m Sorry” (July 18, 1960) through “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree” (Jan. 6, 2024).
19th NUMBER ONE…AND HOLDING
“All I Want for Christmas Is You” became Carey’s 19th Hot 100 No. 1, the most among soloists and one away from the Beatles’ overall record 20. It also made Carey the first artist to have ranked at No. 1 on the chart in four distinct decades (1990s, 2000s, ‘10s and ‘20s).
ONE WEEK SHY OF A CAREER CENTURY MARK
Carey collects her record-extending 99th week at No. 1 on the Hot 100, across her 20 leaders, dating to the chart’s inception.
Most Weeks at No. 1 on Hot 100:
- 99, Mariah Carey
- 60, Rihanna
- 59, The Beatles
- 56, Drake
- 50, Boyz II Men
A “LEVITATING” “CHRISTMAS”
“All I Want for Christmas Is You” adds its 77th week on the Hot 100, tying Dua Lipa’s “Levitating” as the longest-charted hit by a woman artist in the list’s history.
Longest-Charted Hot 100 Hits by Women (in lead roles):
- 77 weeks, “All I Want for Christmas Is You,” Mariah Carey (No. 1 peak for 20 weeks, 2019-25)
- 77, “Levitating,” Dua Lipa (No. 2, 2021)
- 72, “Wildflower,” Billie Eilish (No. 17, 2024)
- 69, “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree,” Brenda Lee (No. 1, three weeks, 2023-24)
- 69, “How Do I Live,” LeAnn Rimes (No. 2, 1997)
- 68, “Pink Pony Club,” Chappell Roan (No. 4, 2025)
- 67, “Birds of a Feather,” Billie Eilish (No. 2, 2024)
- 65, “Espresso,” Sabrina Carpenter (No. 3, 2024)
- 65, “Rolling in the Deep,” Adele (No. 1, seven weeks, 2011)
- 65, “You Were Meant for Me”/“Foolish Games,” Jewel (No. 2, 1997)
“All I Want for Christmas Is You,” “Levitating” and Shaboozey’s “A Bar Song (Tipsy)” share the seventh-longest Hot 100 stay. Teddy Swims’ “Lose Control” amassed a record 112-week run through October.
ELSEWHERE IN THE TOP 10
HUNTR/X’s “Golden,” from Netflix’s KPop Demon Hunters, is the highest-charting non-holiday hit, down 5-6 after eight weeks at No. 1 beginning in August.
Taylor Swift’s “The Fate of Ophelia” falls 6-7 on the Hot 100 after spending its first eight weeks at No. 1, having tied “Anti-Hero” for her longest-leading career hit.
Late legend Nat “King” Cole’s “The Christmas Song (Merry Christmas to You)” ascends 9-8 on the Hot 100, marking a new high for the chestnut that Cole first recorded in 1946.
Jarrett Nolan
I was born a poor Black child into a family that put the “fun” in dysfunction. But through that fun, there was A LOT of music. At a very young age, my parents introduced me to everything ranging from Doo Wop to the British Invasion to Motown to Philly Soul to Psychedlic Rock to Funk.
Since I’m a Jersey boy born-n-bred, I landed a job at WHTZ (Z100) as a producer. I gave the DJs info about artists to read on-air – most of mine were chart-related, naturally.
I did double duty at WSBG, a small market radio station in the Poconos, as a DJ because I have a face for radio.
Through a random twist of fate, I wound up at BMG Distribution in Times Square. Shortly after, I ended up at Arista (shouldn’t have done that!). My career in the music industry ended with a stint at being a personal assistant to alterna-rap act PM Dawn.