The holidays are right around the corner. As happy families line up around the tree, smiles are abundant and children are over the moon to see what December brings them.
The music is what makes the holiday season truly distinct from all others. This playlist features songs across multiple decades, providing nostalgia for all age groups and generations. Give these songs a listen to release your holiday frenzies and reminisce on previous years.
"All I Want for Christmas Is You" — Mariah Carey
Mariah Carey's hit song is known to be the most popular Christmas song of all time, with 2.3 billion streams on Spotify. But the song didn't reach No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 until 2019, dominating that year for 38 consecutive weeks. The song was the first ever to chart in four separate decades and has made an appearance every single holiday season since its 1994 release.
The song holds three Guinness World Records for highest-charting Christmas or New Year song on the Billboard Hot 100 by a solo artist, most streamed song on Spotify in 24 hours and most weeks in the U.K. singles Top 10 chart for a Christmas song.
"It's Beginning to Look a Lot like Christmas"— Michael Bublé
Originally written in 1951 by songwriter and musician Meredith Willson, this track has now become a holiday tradition for artists, as more than 200 artists and musical groups have covered the track, including Bing Crosby, Laura Pausini, and Alvin and the Chipmunks.
Michael Bublé's version of the track currently has over 1.2 billion streams on Spotify. It's the first track on his 2011 album "Christmas," which has over 16 million copies sold worldwide. The album currently sits at No. 1 on the Billboard Top Holiday Albums chart.
"Christmas Lights" — Coldplay
British rock band Coldplay released the song as their first original Christmas single in 2010. The song is listed as the group's 19th most streamed song and currently has over 380 million streams on Spotify.
The tone of the track differs from the joyful, energetic tone of many other holiday tracks because the writing uses holiday lights and decorations of the festive season as symbols of connection to uplift people feeling left alone during the holidays.
The song follows a first-person perspective of a person who goes through a tragic breakup on Christmas Eve, but the lights and spirit of Christmas Day are what guide him to a great holiday season.
"Last Christmas" — Wham!
Although the song was released by the Wham! duo, George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley, in 1984, Michael wrote, produced and played every instrument on the track, all at the age of 21. The track is their most popular song, currently at over 2 billion streams on Spotify.
Michael sings throughout the track about someone who left him the day after Christmas. The music video shows Michael's heartbroken mood as she leaves him for his bandmate. The video places him and the woman at a couples retreat, but his heartache made her visually separate from everyone else in the video.
The song went through some controversy when Michael was accused of plagiarizing the melody of "Can't Smile Without You" by David Martin. Publishing company Dick James Music sued Michael in the 1980s, but the case was ultimately dismissed.
The song was covered by Ariana Grande in her song under the same name in 2013 and became the third-bestselling U.K. single after reaching the rank of No. 1 Christmas song in 2023, 39 years after its original release.
"Do You Hear What I Hear?" — Bing Crosby
Crosby's 1963 track was a cover that derived from French artist Noël Regney and Gloria Shayne from the previous year. The song has an interesting background due to the historical moment it was released.
The track was written during the Cuban Missile Crisis as a plea for peace from Regney and Shayne. The emotions surrounding the war resulted in the track not being performed and Crosby's track being recorded the following year.
The track tells a biblical story leading to the birth of Jesus, emphasizing hope, peace and unity during difficult times. It's currently Crosby's fourth most-streamed song, with over 240 million streams on Spotify and has since been covered by hundreds of artists and included in various compilation albums.
No matter how your holiday season looks this December, these tracks capture a range of emotions you may feel or have felt, bringing nostalgia for the past and joy for the present.