Sabrina Carpenter in “A Nonsense Christmas with Sabrina Carpenter” at the Sunset Gower Studios in Los Angeles, CA.
Alfredo Flores/Netflix
We might be a little biased, but Billboard firmly believes music is the best part of the holiday season every year.
That includes songs from all time periods, and certainly some of the Christmas canon’s oldest classics — think Bing Crosby’s “White Christmas,” Brenda Lee’s “Rockin’ Around The Christmas Tree” and Andy Williams’ “It’s The Most Wonderful Time of the Year.” Premiere artists of the latter half of the 20th century have also offered up a number of beloved contemporary carols, with special mentions spanning Paul McCartney’s “Wonderful Christmastime,” Wham!’s “Last Christmas” and, of course, Mariah Carey’s incomparable “All I Want for Christmas Is You.”
But with all due respect to the iconic pre-Y2K tracks that have won us over in decades past, the 2000s are also brimming with holiday musical excellence. Some of the best Christmas tracks of the 21st century are hidden gems, some of them are Billboard chart-toppers and some of them are already well on their way to becoming cross-generational classics joining the ranks of the tracks listed above — but all of them demonstrate that celebrating the best time of year through songwriting is a timeless art.
From uptempo bangers from Kelly Clarkson, Ariana Grande and Justin Bieber that shoot holiday adrenaline through shopping-mall speakers each year to more understated tracks from Sufjan Stevens, Norah Jones and Colbie Caillat that capture the versatile beauty of the season, the past quarter-century or so has tied bows on numerous Christmas stand-outs. See Billboard‘s top 25 Xmas tunes from this time period below.
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Sufjan Stevens, “Lumberjack Christmas”
Year: 2006
Best lyric: “No one save you from Christmases past/ You’ll have to love him, or leave him at last”
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!!!, “And Anyway It’s Christmas”
Year: 2013
Best lyric: “Nothing feels quite like a kiss does / And anyway it’s Christmas.”
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Lea Michelle, “Christmas in New York”
Year: 2019
Best lyric: “Find me on Broadway or at the ballet/ And I’m five years old again/ Making my wish list, but all I wish is/ For another Christmas in New York.”
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Norah Jones, “Christmas Calling (Jolly Jones)”
Year: 2021
Best lyric: “And the friends who feel like family/ With their secret angels holding me?/ And the snow is falling, can’t you see?/ Is it Christmas calling out to me?”
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Kylie Minogue, “Every Day’s Like Christmas”
Year: 2015
Best lyric: “Until you, every day was ordinary, it’s true/ And now every day’s like Christmas.”
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Straight No Chaser feat. Kristen Bell, “Text Me Merry Christmas”
Year: 2014
Best lyric: “Text me Merry Christmas/ Let me know you care/ Just a word or two/ Of text from you/ Will remind me you’re still there.”
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V, “Christmas Tree”
Year: 2021
Best lyric: “Your light’s the only thing that keeps the cold out/ Moon in the summer night/ Whispering of the stars/ They’re singing like Christmas trees for us.”
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Kelly Clarkson & Brett Eldridge, “Under the Mistletoe”
Year: 2020
Best lyric: “Magic fills the air/ Standin’ over there/ Santa hear my prayer/ Here under the mistletoe.”
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Jimmy Fallon & Meghan Trainor, “Wrap Me Up”
Year: 2023
Best lyric: “Wrap me up/ It’s like Christmas magic/ Wrap me up/ I’m the whole damn package.”
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Colbie Caillat, “Christmas in the Sand”
Year: 2012
Best lyric: “Don’t need your winter coat, don’t need you winter hat/ Just grab the one you love and say, ‘You’re never coming back.’”
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Dan + Shay, “Take Me Home for Christmas”
Year: 2020
Best lyric: “Baby, won’t you take me home for Christmas, show me ’round your town?/ Take me where you used to watch the snow come down/ All of your traditions, I wanna know ’em all.”
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Sabrina Carpenter, “A Nonsense Christmas”
Year: 2022
Best lyric: “You’re my wish list/ Lookin’ at you got me thinkin’ Christmas/ Snowflakes in my stomach when we’re kissing.”
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Bleachers, “Merry Christmas, Please Don’t Call”
Year: 2024
Best lyric: “And the toughest part is that we both know/ What happened to you/ Why you’re out on your own/ Merry Christmas, please don’t call.”
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Kacey Musgraves, “Christmas Makes Me Cry”
Year: 2016
Best lyric: “I wonder if I’m the only one/ Whose broken heart still has broken parts/ Just wrapped in pretty paper/ And it’s always sad seeing mom and dad/ Getting a little grayer.”
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Leona Lewis, “One More Sleep”
Year: 2013
Best lyric: “‘Cause I got five more nights of sleeping on my own/ Four more days until you’re coming home/ Three more dreams of you and mistletoe/ Two more reasons why I love you so.”
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Ingrid Michaelson & Sara Bareilles, “Winter Song”
Year: 2008
Best lyric: “This is my winter song/ December never felt so wrong/ ‘Cause you’re not where you belong/ Inside my arms.”
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John Legend, “You Deserve It All”
Year: 2021
Best lyric: “You give of yourself so unselfishly/ So I, I wanna give with all the finest things/ I found a gift that’s perfect/ And you’re more than worth it.”
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Taylor Swift, “Christmas Tree Farm”
Year: 2019
Best lyric: “And when I’m feelin’ alone/ You remind me of home/ Oh, baby, baby, Merry Christmas/ And when the world isn’t fair/ I pretend that we’re there/ Baby, baby, Merry Christmas.”
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Pentatonix, “That’s Christmas to Me”
Year: 2014
Best lyric: “I’ve got this Christmas song in my heart/ I’ve got the candles glowing in the dark/ I’m hanging all the stockings by the Christmas tree/ Oh, why? Cause that’s Christmas to me.”
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Michael Bublé, “Cold December Night”
Year: 2011
Best lyric: “Oh but this evening can be a holy night/ So cozy on up by the fireplace/ And dim those Christmas lights.”
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Mariah Carey, “Oh Santa!”
Year: 2010
Best lyric: “I’ve been really, really, really good this year/ So put on that red suit and make him appear/ ‘Cause Christmas cheer/ Just ain’t the same without my baby.”
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Justin Bieber, “Mistletoe”
Year: 2011
Best lyric: “I don’t wanna miss out on the holiday/ But I can’t stop starin’ at your face.”
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Sia, “Snowman”
Year: 2017
Best lyric: “I want you to know that I’m never leaving/ ‘Cause I’m Mrs. Snow, ’til death we’ll be freezing.”
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Ariana Grande, “Santa Tell Me”
Year: 2014
Best lyric: “I’ve been down this road before/ Fell in love on Christmas night/ But on New Year’s Day, I woke up and he wasn’t by my side.”
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Kelly Clarkson, “Underneath the Tree”
Year: 2013
Best lyric: “It just wasn’t the same/ Alone on Christmas day/ Presents, what a beautiful sight/ Don’t mean a thing if you ain’t holding me tight.”