ABC/Heidi Gutman(NEW YORK) — Looking to build your playlist of the most popular holiday songs? You’d better put Mariah Carey at the top. The pop diva’s “All I Want for Christmas Is You” is one of the most-played songs this time of year.
In fact, the song tops the 2018 list of the Top 25 Holiday Songs compiled by the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP), marking the second year in a row that it’s landed at #1 on the tally.
“From the very beginning, Mariah and I wanted to create music that would make listeners feel the same sense of nostalgia we all feel around the holiday season,” co-writer and producer Walter Afanasieff says of “All I Want for Christmas Is You.” “And what started as a simple rock and roll melody on the piano, I’m so pleased to say has topped this list once again and become a holiday classic.”
Holiday tunes by other famous veteran pop and rock artists that also made the list include George Michael’s “Last Christmas” at #7, Jose Feliciano’s “Feliz Navidad” at #17 and Paul McCartney’s “Wonderful Christmastime” at #25.
In addition, the star-studded 1984 U.K. charity single “Do They Know It’s Christmas?” took the #24 spot. The track features vocals by more than 20 artists, including George Michael, Bono, Sting, Phil Collins, Boy George, Simon LeBon and Bananarama.
Here’s the list of ASCAP’s Top 25 Holiday Songs for 2018, along with who wrote them and when:
1. “All I Want for Christmas Is You” by Mariah Carey and Walter Afanasieff (1994)
2. “It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas” by Meredith Willson (1951)
3. “A Holly Jolly Christmas” by Johnny Marks (1962)
4. “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree” by Johnny Marks (1958)
5. “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year” by Edward Pola and George Wyle (1963)
6. “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” by Johnny Marks (1949)
7. “Last Christmas” by George Michael (1984)
8. “Jingle Bell Rock” by Joseph Carleton Beal and James Ross Boothe (1957)
9. “Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow” by Sammy Cahn and Jule Styne (1945)
10. “Sleigh Ride” by Leroy Anderson and Mitchell Parish (1951)
11. “The Christmas Song” by Mel Tormé and Robert Wells (1946)
12. “Here Comes Santa Claus (Down Santa Claus Lane)” by Gene Autry and Oakley Haldeman (1947)
13. “White Christmas” by Irving Berlin (1941)
14. “Santa Claus Is Comin’ to Town” by Fred Coots and Haven Gillespie (1934)
15. “You’re a Mean One, Mr. Grinch” by Dr. Seuss and Albert Hague (1966)
16. “Home for the Holidays” by Robert Allen and Al Stillman (1954)
17. “Feliz Navidad” by Jose Feliciano (1970)
18. “Frosty the Snowman” by Steve Nelson and Walter E. Rollins (1950)
19. “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” by Ralph Blane and Hugh Martin (1943)
20. “Santa Baby” by Joan Javits, Anthony Springer and Philip Springer (1953)
21. “Blue Christmas” by Billy Hayes and Jay Johnson (1948)
22. “Christmas Eve/Sarajevo 12/24” by Robert Kinkel, Paul O’Neill and John Oliva (1995)
23. “Underneath the Tree” by Greg Kurstin and Kelly Clarkson (2013)
24. “Do They Know It’s Christmas?” Bob Geldof and Midge Ure (1984)
25. “Wonderful Christmastime” by Paul McCartney (1979)
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