Broken Chart

From Billboard.com:

"Taylor Swift’s The Life of a Showgirl sparkles as the No. 1 title on the 2025 year-end Billboard 200 Albums chart. It’s the fifth time she has ruled the year-end roundup and she remains the only act to have the year-end No. 1 Billboard 200 album more than three times."

To quote Iago from Disney's Aladdin (1992): "Oh, there's a big surprise! I think I'm gonna have a heart attack and die from that surprise!"
 
Headline today on Billboard.com:

Mariah Carey's All I Want For Christmas Is You unwraps record-breaking 20th week at No. 1 on Billboard Hot 100

Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go take some Pepto-Bismol.
 
I have successfully either turned off the radio or changed the channel each time it has come on so far. Going to a hockey game on Saturday where they have there Christmas theme. Won't be able to avoid it there. :(
 
All I Want For Christmas Is You is from Mariah Carey's 1994 album Merry Christmas. It reached #6 on the adult contemporary chart and #12 on the Hot 100 airplay chart in December 1994. Beginning in December 1998, airplay-only songs, which were not commercially available as singles, began to be included on the Hot 100. The song got enough airplay in December 1999 to reach #10 on the adult contemporary chart and #83 on the Hot 100. It's appeared on the Hot 100 every year since 2012.

All I Want For Christmas reached number one on the December 21 2019 Hot 100 and stayed in the top spot for two weeks. It went to number one again on December 19 2020 (two weeks), December 25 2021 (two weeks), December 17 2022 (five weeks), December 23 2023 ((three weeks), December 14 2024 (four weeks) and December 13 2025 (two weeks and counting).
 
So it's bullshit then. In the original system, ranking was based on album and CD sales. The big releases from new artists (let's say Taylor Swift) would always outsell old seasonal stuff. Whatever metric they're using now is bogus.
 
The Billboard Hot 100 is compiled weekly from radio airplay; "audience impressions," i.e., how many people hear each song; retail sales; digital downloads (such as Amazon and iTunes); and streaming (such as Spotify, Pandora, Apple Music and YouTube).

Prior to the introduction of the Hot 100 on August 4, 1958, Billboard published four weekly charts: Best Selling Retail Records (begun on July 27, 1940 and later renamed Best Sellers In Stores), Most Played In Juke Boxes (begun on January 8, 1944), Most Played By Disc Jockeys (begun on January 27, 1945) and The Top 100 (begun on November 12, 1955 and defined as "A list of the top 100 record sides in the nation according to a combined tabulation of dealer, disc jockey and juke box opeartor replies to The Billboard's weekly popular record Best Seller and Most Played surveys").

The Four Aces' Love Is A Many-Splendored Thing was number one on that first Top 100 chart. Beginning with the July 1, 1957 chart – Pat Boone's Love Letters In The Sand was number one – the chart was renamed The Top 100 Sides and was now "A list of the top 100 record sides in the nation according to a tabulation of dealer unit sales, listed by the specific side requested by customers." In the case of double-sided hits, each side would be listed separately.
 
On Billboard's website is a chart, updated when necessary, showing the one hundred Greatest Of All Time Hot 100 Artists. The Beatles are number one and are followed by Madonna, Elton John, Elvis Presley and Ma........Mar...........no, I just can't say it. The rest of the top ten are Stevie Wonder, Janet Jackson, Michael Jackson, Whitney Houston and Rihanna. Drake is #11, the Rolling Stones are #12, Paul McCartney is #13, the Bee Gees are #14, Taylor Swift is #21 and the Beach Boys are #34.
 
Easy part is I haven’t listened to any Christmas stations yet. The good fortune part is I normally would have heard it in a store or someplace like that by now, and just haven’t.

I somehow avoided the song the entire Christmas season. Glad about that.
 
Brace yourself for another "broken chart." On December 9, Billboard published a list of The 100 Best Christmas Songs Of All Time as chosen by the magazine's staff. All but five of the songs are secular. Here are the top ten:

1. All I Want For Christmas Is You – Mariah Carey (1994)
2. Christmas (Baby Please Come Home) – Darlene Love (1963)
3. The Christmas Song – Nat "King" Cole (1953)
4. Last Christmas – George Michael (1984)
5. White Christmas – Bing Crosby/Ken Darby Singers (1942)
6. Rockin' Around The Christmas Tree – Brenda Lee (1958)
7. Feliz Navidad – José Feliciano (1970)
8. Christmas In Hollis – Run-D.M.C. (1987)
9. Santa Claus Is Coming To Town (Live) – Bruce Springsteen (1975)
10. This Christmas – Donny Hathaway (1970)

Elvis Presley's Blue Christmas is #12, the Beach Boys' Little Saint Nick is #16, Bobby Helms' Jingle Bell Rock is #19, Burl Ives' A Holly Jolly Christmas is #25, Paul McCartney's Wonderful Christmnastime is #27, Gene Autry's Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer is #31, the Carpenters' Merry Christmas Darling is #41 and David Seville & the Chipmunks' The Chipmunk Song is #57.
 
I avoided both Mariah and Wham this year.
Not sure how I got lucky with that.

The downside is that I didn't hear THe Kinks Father Christmas, or Bob & Doug's 12 Days.
 
I've got six.

2. Christmas (Baby Please Come Home) – Darlene Love (1963) - Darlene just rocks, and can still bring it. I miss her coming on Letterman every year.
5. White Christmas – Bing Crosby/Ken Darby Singers (1942)
6. Rockin' Around The Christmas Tree – Brenda Lee (1958)
7. Feliz Navidad – José Feliciano (1970)
8. Christmas In Hollis – Run-D.M.C. (1987) - It's still a banger.
9. Santa Claus Is Coming To Town (Live) – Bruce Springsteen (1975)
 
Father Christmas is #40 on Billboard's list. Bob and Doug McKenzie's The Twelve Days Of Christmas didn't make the list, eh? "Look out the window. Snow, hosehead. It's The Great White North and it's snowing."
 
Billboard just published the Hot 100 for the week of December 27. The top nine songs are Christmas songs. The song that was number one last week remains at number one for a record-setting 22nd non-consecutive week. Can you guess what it is?

CLUE #1: BROKEN CHART.
 
6 good christmas songs:

3. The Christmas Song – Nat "King" Cole (1953)
4. Last Christmas – George Michael (1984)
5. White Christmas – Bing Crosby/Ken Darby Singers (1942)
6. Rockin' Around The Christmas Tree – Brenda Lee (1958)
7. Feliz Navidad – José Feliciano (1970)
9. Santa Claus Is Coming To Town (Live) – Bruce Springsteen (1975)

1 christmas channel changers:
1. All I Want For Christmas Is You – Mariah Carey (1994)
 
The song that was number one last week remains at number one for a record-setting 22nd non-consecutive week.
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