Here Are the Top-Gaining Songs of the 2022 Holiday Season
Written by djfrosty on January 6, 2023
The presents have been opened and wallets closed, as the 2022 holidays have concluded. But which holiday songs made the biggest gains over the latest holiday season?
Here’s a look at the seasonal songs that logged the 10 top increases in on-demand audio and video streaming over the 2022 holidays as compared to 2021, according to Luminate, among the 50 most-streamed songs, on-demand, this holiday season.
Overall, streaming of holiday songs surged 12.1% over the latest holidays (Nov. 18-Dec. 29, 2022, correlating to the tracking period of Billboard‘s Holiday 100 songs chart dated from Dec. 3 through Jan. 7), as compared to the corresponding period the year before (Nov. 19-Dec. 30, 2021), per the top 500 holiday titles in each of the last two holiday seasons. (For this research, UGC [user-generated content] was included, although it does not contribute to Billboard‘s charts.)
Below is a recap of the 10 top-gaining seasonal songs year-over-year during the latest holidays — and their newest chart highlights.
The Top-Gaining Songs of the 2022 Holiday Season
“Here Comes Santa Claus,” Gene Autry
- 70.5 million on-demand audio and video U.S. streams Nov. 18-Dec. 29, 2022, up 53.5% from Nov. 19-Dec. 30, 2021
The song galloped to a No. 25 high on the Billboard Hot 100 dated Dec. 31, besting its prior No. 28 peak reached three years earlier. Originally released in 1947, it hit the top 10 on Billboard pop and country charts annually through the end of the ’40s.
“Blue Christmas,” Elvis Presley
- 77.2 million, up 48.8%
The King’s festive favorite logs a new No. 24 best on the Jan. 7 Hot 100. Up from No. 27, it marks his first appearance in the top 25 in exactly 44 years, since “My Way” held at its No. 22 peak on the Jan. 7, 1978, survey.
“Deck the Halls,” Nat King Cole
- 86.4 million, up 41.1%
The track made a jolly jaunt to a new No. 16 high on the Dec. 31 Hot 100. As previously reported, Cole achieves his first top 10 since 1963 with “The Christmas Song (Merry Christmas to You),” which gained by 5% to 95.4 million on-demand streams this holiday season vs. the same period the year before.
“This Christmas,” Donny Hathaway
- 53.4 million, up 39.1%
The song rises to a new No. 37 highpoint on the Jan. 7 Hot 100. It’s his top-ranking entry since “The Closer I Get to You” – one of his six charted duets with Roberta Flack – a No. 2 hit in 1978.
“Christmas Eve/Sarajevo 12/24,” Trans-Siberian Orchestra
- 36 million, up 37.8%
The instrumental rock reimagination of “God Rest Ye, Merry Gentlemen” and “Carol of the Bells” reached No. 35 on the Holiday 100 in December, its best rank on the chart in over two years.
“Merry Christmas,” Ed Sheeran & Elton John
- 41.4 million, up 37.4%
The cheery song by the British superstars fared far better in its second year. On the Hot 100, it climbed to No. 42, after it hit No. 55 in its first year of release. If its momentum continues, it could swell John’s total of top 40 hits beyond his current sum of 59, while Sheeran boasts 23 top 40 entries.
“Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!,” Dean Martin
- 60.5 million, up 31.7%
After first making notable inroads in streaming in the mid-2010s, the classic has hit the top 20 on the Streaming Songs chart each holiday season since 2018, reaching a No. 5 best in December 2020.
“Jingle Bells,” Frank Sinatra
- 81.3 million, up 31.3%
The recording ascends to No. 20 on the Jan. 7-dated Hot 100, marking a milestone for the late legend: he ranks in the top 20 for the first time since June 3, 1967, when “Somethin’ Stupid,” with daughter Nancy, placed at No. 16 following four weeks at No. 1.
“Do They Know It’s Christmas,” Band Aid
- 40.1 million, up 29.7%
The all-star anthem hit No. 34 on the Dec. 3 Holiday 100, its best rank since 2018. Helping its profile, LadBaby’s update, “Food Aid” (also a charity single) topped the Dec. 31 Official UK Singles chart. With the coronation, the husband-and-wife duo of Mark and Roxanne Hoyle became the first act with five Christmas UK No. 1s, surpassing The Beatles’ four in 1963-65 and 1967.
“All I Want for Christmas Is You,” Mariah Carey
- 262.3 million, up 29.6%
Rounding out the top 10-gaining holiday hits over the most recent Yuletide season, Carey’s 1994 modern classic made more Hot 100 history, upping its total to 12 weeks at No. 1, including four in a row, its most time on top in any holiday period. Its 262.3 million on-demand streams over the 2022 holidays led all songs, followed by runner-up Brenda Lee’s “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree” (202.8 million).
In highlights just outside the seasonal songs with the 10 biggest increases over the latest holidays, Wham!’s “Last Christmas” gained by 29.1% to 150.7 million on-demand streams, as it hits a new No. 4 best on the Jan. 7 Hot 100; Sia’s “Snowman,” from 2017, surged by 26% to 39.7 million streams; and Ariana Grande’s “Santa Tell Me,” from 2014, jumped by 18.9% to 115.3 million streams.
Meanwhile, three songs released this holiday season made the top 50 in 2022 holiday on-demand streams, with all three Amazon Original exclusives and covers of classics: Lizzo’s “Someday at Christmas” (44.4 million), Lauren Spencer-Smith’s “Last Christmas” (37.6 million) and Kane Brown’s “Blue Christmas” (36.8 million).