2023 Christmas No.1

#20

Which is still quite the result for her

That's Cher, Madonna, Kylie, Shania and P!nk all having top 20 hits in 2023. WHODHAVETHUNK?




The TikTok no-marks scraped top 30. That should be the last we hear from them thank the Lord.
 
Following a week of intense promo (which included a sterling 26 shows played over 6 days), independent artist Sam Ryder secures second place in the biggest chart race of the year with his Amazon Music Original You’re Christmas To Me rising eight to Number 2. It becomes Sam’s second hit to peak at Number 2, joining his 2022 Eurovision entry SPACE MAN.

Speaking exclusively to Official Charts, Sam Ryder says:

“Christmas Number 2, isn’t that bonkers? When we wrote this song, in the blazing month of August, we didn’t even expect it to chart. But here we are, in a Mariah Carey and WHAM! sandwich, and we’re the filling. I’m stoked!

“I hope this has given some vigour and some fire to upcoming grass roots and indie artists. You can do it – you’ve just got to set your heart ablaze and get out there. Believe, have faith.

“We always keep fighting. There’s always next week! Let’s go for it again, let’s get that Number 1.”
 
Bless Sam, but has nobody told him he's been an ESTABLISHMENT DARLING for over a year now?

I have a lot of goodwill for him still, but it's all beginning to smell akin to when Ed Sheeran pretends to still be a busker.
 
I see the Rolling Stones managed to THWART another year of that dreadful Buble Christmas album being #1

I have never had much time for them previously but HUZZAH

Cher's album #5
 
Did the Rolling Stones release another format, is it a Dad Christmas present, or are sales just generally dreadful?

Or possibly all of the above
 
How poor must album sales be for the Rolling Stones’ album to be number one.
 
The Stones did as everyone else does and cynically issued a DELUXE CD (with a couple of extra rubbish "live" tracks) for Christmas week

But yes, sales are awful. The threshold for top 10 was 6,500, achieved by Eminem's two-decade old greatest hits.
 
I am interested to see Sam’s sales to Amazon streams split
 
Sam managing to make top 2 when he isn’t even on Spotify is dodgy as FUCK.
 
Berly said:
I am interested to see Sam’s sales to Amazon streams split
Click to expand...

56k total - 12k sales, 44k Amazon streams

ACR also obviously helping him out - that halved the tallies of 10 oldies that would otherwise have placed above him
 
Apparently LadBaby didn’t donate the profits from their first single to charity… :eyes:

Amazon clearly decided on dodgy tactics after they split Sam’s song into two versions a couple of weeks ago. The streaming sales stalled around 29k for 2 weeks before shooting to 44k this week - total sales up 92.91% week-on-week.
 
I mean, it’s nice that to people who don’t know how the charts work, this has felt like a good old Christmas #1 battle, and it’s had more media coverage than I can remember since Joe vs. Rage.

But I’d imagine the nice warm nostalgic feeling will evaporate when Wham are number one again next year. And the year after. And the year after…
 
Oh don't be so defeatist Pingu, I'm sure we'll have alternating years of Mariah to add that sense of FRESHNESS and RELEVANCE
 
Pingu said:
I mean, it’s nice that to people who don’t know how the charts work, this has felt like a good old Christmas #1 battle, and it’s had more media coverage than I can remember since Joe vs. Rage.

But I’d imagine the nice warm nostalgic feeling will evaporate when Wham are number one again next year. And the year after. And the year after…
Click to expand...
This is the first year it has made Christmas #1, and a big factor in it managing to pull it off was the there was no strong competition. It's not like it's miles ahead of the competition. So I don't think its future as the annual festive chart topper is a certainty by any means.

That said, if things continue as they are, it would still be a bloody dull race most years, as it has been every year in the streaming era. So if that feeling of evaporating nostalgia leads to something being changed, so be it.
 
Last edited:
It seems to have done one thing: more people are talking about the state of the chart rules - outside of a few core music fans - than ever before.

(It comes at an ironic time though, as for once the chart rules have done us a favour - they don't allow for charity bandwagoners and desperate teenagers to have meaningless hits)
 
Sam’s promo trail giving Victoria Beckham - Out of Your Mind vibes. Just turning up absolutely anywhere and begging people to buy buy buy.
 
Obviously these will now count towards the chart next week, but as we're about to enter a few days of silly numbers, may as well keep track.

Spotify Friday 22nd December

01 Wham! 1.251m
02 Mariah Carey 1.132m
03 Brenda Lee 1.054m
04 The Pogues feat Kirsty MacColl 858k
05 Ariana Grande 820k
06 Michael Bublé 804k
07 Dean Martin 748k
08 Bobby Helms 736k
09 Andy Williams 713k
10 Chris Rea 666k

15 Noah Kahan 616k
24 Jack Harlow 454k

27 Leona Lewis 413k

32 Cher 361k
 
Devastated to hear (on CB radio) that The Nursery Nurse had already handed in her notice at the nursery in anticipation of a glittering pop career and now can't go back on it :(
 
The OCC article about Wham! finally getting the Christmas #1 states that Last Christmas was streamed 13.3m times. From the daily charts I've posted, 6.06m of those were on Spotify, which is just under 46%.

I assume either Amazon or Apple (as the next two biggest platforms) must have Shakin Stevens high on their playlists, as he managed top ten in the final chart despite only being #39 on the biggest Spotify playlist.
 
As three songs released very closely together, I'd love to see how Ariana Grande, Kelly Clarkson and Leona Lewis would fare if Spotify supported them equally. The first two get much more preferable treatment on playlists, probably due to them favouring US acts.

On the biggest Spotify playlist (5.7m saves) Ariana is 5th, Kelly 10th, Leona 26th.
On 'Christmas Pop' (the third biggest playlist with 2.3m saves) - the second is 'Christmas Classics' which appears to be all pre-1970), Ariana is 1st, Kelly 2nd, Leona 25th.

They charted this week at #11 for Ariana, #13 for Kelly and #32 for Leona.

It's felt for me the last few years that Leona has fallen behind the other two, but I don't think she would be at all if she was given equal treatment.
 
do all songs deserve equal treatment? Spotify can push whatever they like and I'd say Underneath the Tree is a significantly better song than One More Sleep.
 
Jark Frosty the Snowman said:
do all songs deserve equal treatment? Spotify can push whatever they like and I'd say Underneath the Tree is a significantly better song than One More Sleep.
Click to expand...
Well that's entirely subjective, of course. I'm not arguing that one or another 'deserves' it - and it's not like the playing field has ever been level. It's just interesting now all the stats are out there and you can easily see how songs are treated and placed.

I'd personally take Underneath The Tree of the three, unless we're considering the Cahill mixes for Leona - which of course 99% of the public won't be. I find Santa Tell Me very average and wouldn't actively seek it out personally.
 
When do Christmas streams generally start to fall off? It's usually Xmas day itself, isn't it?
 
A Lolly Dolly Christmas said:
If we look at Last Christmas (ahem), last Christmas

Dec 24 1.931m
Dec 25 2.670m
Dec 26 0.418m
Dec 27 0.172m
Click to expand...
Yup, that tells a story! So it won't be a complete clear out next Friday then because some songs will already be well established, I guess.
 
Do people just wake up on Christmas Day, bellow ‘Spotify play some Christmas songs’ and then leave it on until they slump into an alcoholic coma? That sounds like my idea of hell, except for the alcoholic coma bit.
 
the octy and the ivy said:
Yup, that tells a story! So it won't be a complete clear out next Friday then because some songs will already be well established, I guess.
Click to expand...
Yes, and if you consider that the song which knocked Last Christmas off #1 on Dec 27 (RAYE's Escapism) only had 313k streams, the week's chart is heavily stacked at the start of the chart week. Plus the fact that Christmas is a day later into the chart week this year is only going to heighten that.
 
Underneath The Tree has quickly made its way into my most DETESTED of the Christmas songs

Particularly the final chorus when she gets OVERLY HYSTERICAL. No.

I would take Leona any day.
 
Home Admlawne said:
Do people just wake up on Christmas Day, bellow ‘Spotify play some Christmas songs’ and then leave it on until they slump into an alcoholic coma? That sounds like my idea of hell, except for the alcoholic coma bit.
Click to expand...

YES

And then by midday they're complaining when songs start to repeat, and you have to point out to them it's because they've had a 50-song playlist on for over four hours already, to which they umm but decide they couldn't possibly put anything else decent on because it's Christmas. And so ten more hours of the nonsense.

"I don't know why more people don't record new Christmas songs. It would change things up, and it's clearly a guaranteed money spinner"

"Because Aunt Linda, every time a song comes on you don't know, you scream "skip, play Mariah Carey" "
 
Ariana/Kelly/Leona CHART STATS - chart peaks each year

Santa Tell Me

2014 - 79
2015 - 68
2016 - 90
2017 - 29
2018 - 13
2019 - 13
2020 - 11
2021 - 13
2022 - 14
2023 - 11

Underneath The Tree

2013 - 30
2014 - Did not chart
2015 - Did not chart
2016 - 66
2017 - 32
2018 - 37
2019 - 21
2020 - 17
2021 - 18
2022 - 12
2023 - 13

One More Sleep

2013 - 3
2014 - 80
2015 - 83
2016 - 70
2017 - 19
2018 - 8
2019 - 15
2020 - 18
2021 - 20
2022 - 25
2023 - 32

There must be a reasonable chance that both Ariana and Kelly will climb next week and make new peaks. But Noah Kahan and Jack Harlow are the only two non Christmas songs in the top ten, so there isn't that much climbing to do unless they manage to overcome some of the other Christmas songs as well.
 
Jark Frosty the Snowman said:
do all songs deserve equal treatment? Spotify can push whatever they like and I'd say Underneath the Tree is a significantly better song than One More Sleep.
Click to expand...

Oh come on toots, given you are very much against airplay being in the chart you surely can’t just take the approach of ‘Spotify programmers can do what they like’ and be okay with it. It is literally the same thing as a radio programmer deciding whats on the A list and thus the chart.

Leona does worse than Ariana and Kelly by and large due to playlisting. All three songs are fairly loved in a similar manner but the charts don’t currently reflect that.
 
I'd say it's considerably worse than radio programmers deciding on the playlist - at least in the UK where we've never had an airplay component on the chart. Radio programmers only influence what people may have bought or streamed. Spotify playlisters have far more power, particularly at Christmas.
 
I've just asked Alexa to play Christmas music, and the first five tracks I've been given were Jorja Smith, Sam Ryder, Bobby Helms, Bublé and Andy Williams. Wonder how long it would have been before it gave me Wham?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Users who are viewing this thread

Total: 1 (members: 0, guests: 1)
Back
Top Bottom