Christmas is coming ever nearer, and the undisputed best part of the holiday season (besides family time, presents and tons of pie) is the music. Holiday songs have been filling people's minds and hearts for hundreds of years, and have become more than a tradition.
From "The Christmas Song" to "O Holy Night" to "The Little Drummer Boy," classic Christmas carols have become a major part of the holiday season and worked their ways into family life and popular culture. Thus, old Christmas favorites, which have some of the warmest spots in our hearts, get constant reimaginings and covers from all of music's major players.
But what versions of all the Christmas songs are the best? We here at Music Times are determined to find out. And, as a part of the 12 days of Christmas, we'll be counting down the days (and the best Christmas songs).
So, it's Christmas Eve, the lead-up to the big day. We've counted down the best Christmas songs from 12 to two, ranging from somber carols like "Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas" to the super upbeat, like "Rockin' Around The Christmas Tree." Of course, for the final day, there's only one song to talk about. With countless holiday tracks and even more covers, it's hard to think of one song that remains untouchable, despite covers. So, what Christmas song goes without competition? The answer is obvious, of course: Mariah Carey's "All I Want For Christmas Is You."
Written in 1994 by Carey and Walter Afanaseiff, "All I Want For Christmas Is You" is one of the rare modern Christmas songs to make it into the normal holiday music rotation. To date, the track has sold over 12 million copies and has been at No. 1 on the Billboard Holiday Songs list for most of 2013 (except Pentatonix's "Little Drummer Boy," which reached the top for one week on Dec. 21).
Though artists such as Michael Buble, the cast of Glee and Lady Antebellum have covered the song, no other version has the sheer poppy power of the original. Even nearly 20 years after the song debuted, Carey is still called in to perform the song at Christmas concerts around the country, proving that a new classic will never go out of style.
Listen to Mariah Carey's "All I Want For Christmas Is You" below:
© 2024 MusicTimes.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
