London – Completing a journey 26 years in the making, Mariah Carey’s All I Want for Christmas Is You has reached number one in the UK singles chart.
Taken from Carey’s album 1994 Merry Christmas, the modern classic was originally held off the top spot by East 17’s Stay Another Day.
However, it finally climbed to the summit this week, after being streamed 10.8 million times.
“Happy Christmas UK! We finally made it!” said Carey on hearing the news.
“We are keeping the Christmas spirit alive together despite how dismal the year’s been.
Truly one of the greatest songs never to be number one has finally reached the top spot,” said Radio 1’s Scott Mills, who revealed the countdown on Friday. “Hopefully it can hold on until Christmas Day!”
Carey knocked Ariana Grande’s Positions off the top of the charts, as Christmas songs continue their annual takeover of the top 40.
Festive songs account for 22 of the week’s biggest-selling records, with six in the Top 10 – including Wham’s Last Christmas at number two, and The Pogues and Kirsty MacColl’s Fairytale Of New York at four.
While most of the songs are Christmas classics, there are also entries for Jess Glynne’s cover of Donnie Hathaway’s This Christmas and Justin Bieber’s version of Brenda Lee’s of Rockin’ Around The Christmas Tree.
Both are exclusive to Christmas playlists on Amazon’s music streaming service, highlighting the power of the company’s smart speakers to boost a song into the charts. (BBC)
