Mariah Carey’s “All I Want For Christmas Is You” has become the biggest holiday hit in 60 years.
The 48-year-old singer’s festive 1994 song went from No. 7 on the Billboard Hot 100 list last week to No. 6 this week—on the chart dated Dec. 22—according to Billboard Monday.
Carey’s chart-topping song now only trails behind the 1958 Christmas classic by David Seville & The Chipmunks, aptly titled “The Chipmunk Song.” (RELATED: Mariah Carey Reveals Her Secret Bipolar Battle)
WATCH:
“The Chipmunk Song” still remains the only holiday hit single to stay at No. 1 for four weeks since Dec. 22, 1958.
Last holiday season, the catchy Christmas favorite by Carey—who’s been topping the chart for decades—hit the top 10 for the first time since its debut in 1994, coming in at No. 9. Last week she beat even that, rising to No. 7. Now it has reached one step higher.
“All I Want For Christmas” has now beat out two previous No. 7 holiday hits, “Auld Lang Syne” by Kenny G and “This One’s for the Children,” by New Kids On The Block. (RELATED: Dennis Quaid: Criticism About ‘Baby, It’s Cold Outside’ Is ‘Going A Little Far’)
With 28.1 million U.S. streams, the tune is also doing well with streaming sites, going up from No. 8 to No. 6 on the Streaming Songs chart, passing its previous high at No. 7 last year, according to Nielsen Music.
Since its release, the singer has earned over $60 million, according to The Economist. This is not to mention the $500,000 in royalties she’s earned in the U.K. every year, per the Independent.
“To me, it’s kind of a cosmic occurrence that happens once every 5 billion years,” the “One Sweet Day” hit-maker shared with Billboard on the song’s 20th anniversary. “Thousands of original Christmas songs have been written in the last 20 years. It’s not like no one writes Christmas songs; everyone is trying to get a Christmas song. But for whatever reason, ‘All I Want for Christmas Is You’ just became that song.”
Other notables on the “Highest-Charting Holiday Songs in the Hot 100 History” include Bing Crosby’s 1962 “White Christmas” at No. 12, Pentatonix 2013’s “Little Drummer Boy” at No. 13, and Brenda Lee’s 1960 classic “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree” at No. 14.
The song “Baby, It’s Cold Outside,” didn’t even crack the top 100 list. The song has been generating headlines this year for its so-called problematic lyrics—something even Deana Martin, Dean Martin’s daughter, called “insane.”
