ASCAP’s Xmas No. 1: Mariah Carey’s ‘All I Want for Christmas Is You’
In what may be a late-breaking contender for the least shocking news of 2020, this year’s most-played holiday song so far is, per ASCAP, Mariah Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas Is You,” the single that finally went to No. 1 on the pop charts last year after 25 years in wait. Carey recorded a video message in celebration of the ASCAP honor (see below).
If that seems like something that happens every year, though, think again: When ASCAP released its annual rankings last year at this time, “All I Want for Christmas” was all the way down at No. 3. Last year’s topper? “It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas,” penned in 1951 by Meredith Willson, of “The Music Man” fame. (ASCAP’s lists are tallied by the song itself, not by performer, so multiple versions of the Willson chestnut would have figured into its ranking.)
This year, “It’s