Brow Beat

Mariah Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas Is You” Is No Longer the Most-Heard Holiday Song

Carey performs during the National Christmas Tree Lighting ceremony near the White House on December 6, 2013.

Photo by NICHOLAS KAMM/AFP/Getty Images

Since its release in 1994, Mariah Carey’s “All I Want For Christmas Is You” has become something of a holiday tradition. If you are alive and outdoors at any point between Thanksgiving and Christmas, you’re likely to hear it: a festive, full-throated anthem issuing from passing cars and open windows. Most often, you’ll hear it in malls, where the tune infiltrates the American psyche via its total hegemony in the retail sector.

But alas, that era has ended. According to PlayNetwork, the leading provider of “branded entertainment media experiences,” Carey’s powerhouse ballad has slipped to number two in the ranking of holiday shoppers’ most-heard songs. The new champion is the Shins’ peppy cover of Paul McCartney’s “Wonderful Christmastime.” But worry not: Mariah still reigns over Billboard’s Holiday 100, and our hearts. PlayNetwork’s full top 20 is below:

1. The Shins, “Wonderful Christmastime”
2. Mariah Carey, “All I Want For Christmas Is You”
3. Christina Aguilera, “Christmas Time”
4. Waitresses, “Christmas Wrapping”
5. Jack Johnson, “Someday At Christmas”
6. Kelly Clarkson, “Underneath The Tree”
7. Michael Buble, “A Holly Jolly Christmas”
8. Bing Crosby, “White Christmas”
9. Train, “What Christmas Means To Me”
10. Ella Fitzgerald, “Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas”
11. Coldplay, “Christmas Lights”
12. Jose Feliciano, “Feliz Navidad” 
13. Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings, “White Christmas”
14. Vince Guaraldi Trio, “Christmas Time Is Here”
15. Sam Smith, “Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas”
16. Pentatonix, “The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting On An Open Fire)”
17. Paul McCartney, “Wonderful Christmastime”
18. She & Him, “Baby, It’s Cold Outside”
19. Elvis Presley, “Blue Christmas”
20. Darlene Love, “Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)”