It’s official: the Christmas season begins November 1st.
On Monday, September 23rd (the first day of Fall), Mariah Carey saw her skinny shadow and announced she’d be ushering in the Christmas season with a 25th anniversary deluxe edition of her holiday album, ‘Merry Christmas’ out November 1st. The double-disc set looks to be the ultimate Lambily collector’s item with the promise of new merch bundles, unreleased live tracks from her 1994 performance at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine and a new version of “Sugar Plum Fairy,” among other treats.
The reissue’s main objective, though, is crystal clear. By featuring Carey‘s smash hit, “All I Want For Christmas Is You,” the deluxe edition of ‘Merry Christmas’ will serve as a vehicle for the single to ascend the Hot 100 and out-peak its position of #3 last holiday season – and potentially go #1.
Carey‘s infamous single – one of her rare few from the 90s to have not gone #1 – certainly has the momentum of a #1 hit if past holiday seasons indicate anything. AIWFCIY reached a new peak of #3 on the Hot 100 in 2018 while breaking the all-time record for most streams on Spotify in a single day (10.82 million). A repackaged version of the single aided by Carey‘s engaged social media presence could be just enough to push the song all the way to the top.
In the spirit of the season, Pop Crave has taken a way-too-early look into the Christmas Hot 100 to look at all the records Carey could break if she goes #1:
Extends the record for most Hot 100 #1 songs by a solo artist (19)
Carey holds a strong lead for most #1’s among female and solo artists with a massive 18 tracks (Rihanna ranks #2 with 14), averaging one every year for the period between her first and last chart topper (1990-2008). The resurgence of “AIWFCIY” has a shot at extending her record to 19, just one short of The Beatles (20).
First artist to ever go #1 in four separate decades
Mariah Carey‘s “All I Want For Christmas Is You” reached its all-time peak of #3 on the Hot 100 this year a full two weeks earlier than she did in 2018. With more momentum behind the hit than ever, it’s likely we’ll see the song go #1 in 2019 and perhaps once again in the tracking weed that ends in 2020. If this happens, Carey will be the first artist in Billboard Hot 100 history to reign atop the chart in four separate decades.
First Christmas song to go #1 since The Chipmunks
Despite Carey holding the most successful Christmas song of all time, “The Chipmunk Song (Christmas Don’t Be Late)” by David Seville and The Chipmunks from 1958 remains the only holiday hit to top the Hot 100. “IAWFCIY” recently became just the second holiday track after “Chipmunk” to go Top 5 when it peaked at #3 in 2018.
Extends record for most #1s by a songwriter among women (18)
Carey stands shoulder to shoulder with songwriting legends like Paul McCartney, Max Martin and John Lennon on the Hot 100. She remains the most successful songwriter among women and fourth overall with 17 #1 credits. The songstress would’ve been credited on 18 if not for the exclusion of her chart-topping Jackson 5 cover, “I’ll Be There,” the rare single that Carey did not write on.
Oldest woman to go #1 since Cher
Cher made music history in 1999 with her comeback dance single, “Believe,” which earned the singer her fourth #1 at the age of 52. She’s held the record as the oldest woman in history to top the Hot 100 with a distant lead in years compared to other recent notable females like Sia (40) with “Cheap Thrills” and Madonna (42) with “Music.” Carey would become the second-oldest woman behind Cher to top the Hot 100 at age 49 if “AIWFCIY” goes #1.
Longest wait for #1 ever
Released on November 28th, 1994, “AIWFCIY” initially failed to chart on the Hot 100 due to a Billboard rule that only allowed commercial singles on the chart. The rule was later eliminated in 1998 which allowed the holiday hit to reach a peak of #83 in January of 2000. 25 years later, “AIWFCIY” would mark the longest wait for a song to hit #1 since its original release if it tops the Hot 100.
Extends 2019’s record as the year with the most lead female artists at #1.
2019 broke its tie with 2012 as the year with the most female lead artists at #1 on the Hot 100 after Selena Gomez’s “Lose You To Love Me” reached the summit. Carey could extend 2019’s female reign on the Hot 100 once again if “All I Want For Christmas Is You” goes #1.
Following @SelenaGomez reaching #1 with “Lose You To Love Me,” 2019 breaks its tie with 2012 and becomes the year with the most lead females to top the Hot 100 this decade. pic.twitter.com/yKJBXjA1J2
— Pop Crave (@PopCrave) November 4, 2019
Second living female solo artist to crack the Top 5 in four separate decades.
If Billboard’s tracking week looks anything like last year’s, then “AIWFCIY” will likely go #1 on a week that begins in 2019 and ends in 2020. Going Top 5 in 2020 would make Carey the second living solo female artist behind Cher to chart in the Hot 100 Top 5 in four separate decades. Whitney Houston achieved the same feat posthumously when “I Will Always Love You” peaked at #3 following her death. Barbra Streisand and Madonna have each entered the Top 10 in the same time span, but not the Top 5.
First #1 song of 2020
What a better way to usher in the New Year than a comeback from Mariah Carey, who just two years earlier made headlines for all the wrong reasons with her glitchy NYE performance. The track’s resurgence makes it the perfect song to kick off a new decade that will certainly see more streaming success stories like Carey‘s. From “Old Town Road” to “Truth Hurts” and now “AWIFCIY,” 2019 could be the year we remember as a significant turning point for streaming’s impact on the industry.
Can you think of other records Mariah Carey would break if she goes #1? Share your thoughts with us at @PopCrave on Twitter!
