Your State’s Favorite Christmas Song of 2022

As we head into the coldest months of 2022, the most wonderful time of the year is fast approaching. Trees are decorated with ornaments, Christmas presents are wrapped, and the smell of cookies and hot chocolate fill the air. And of course, no holiday activity is truly complete without Christmas music! Whether you’re at the grocery store, listening to the radio, or simply online shopping at home, you get to tune into the songs you’ve been waiting all year to hear. 

From modern hits to old-timey tunes, Christmas songs are universally cherished. But which song is everyone’s favorite? As it turns out, people across the country have varying opinions on which holiday jingle is the best of the best. Find out your state’s go-to Christmas song and other festive findings below!

Interesting Facts and Findings

• Mariah Carey’s record-breaking Christmas anthem “All I Want for Christmas is You” is the nation’s overall favorite Christmas song, with it being the most popular in 17 states. The song has earned the singer over $60 million since its release.
• Brenda Lee was only 12 years old when she first recorded “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree.”
• Three songs tied as the least popular in the nation, each being the favorite in only one state: “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year,” “The Twelve Days of Christmas,” and “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas.”
• George Michael composed “Last Christmas” in his childhood bedroom. The singer unexpectedly passed away on Christmas Day in 2016

The Nation’s Top 5 Favorite Christmas Songs

From “Silent Night” to “Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer,” there are many beloved Christmas songs that we look forward to year after year. But when it comes to the nation’s favorite Christmas songs, it came down to only five. Here are the Christmas tunes you can expect people to blast this holiday season. 

All I Want For Christmas Is You

It’s official: Mariah Carey is the queen of Christmas. Every year since its release in 1994, Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas Is You” has charted every holiday season. According to the streaming service Spotify, this hit was the number-one Christmas song in the world last year and the top Christmas song in every country except Iceland and Denmark. Clearly, this tune is catchy in just about every language!

Carey has won three Guinness World Records for the song and broken the record for the most played song on Spotify twice. This festive holiday anthem has been adapted into a picture book and even an animated movie starring Carey. As for the other artists who have covered the song? The endless list includes Shania Twain, John Mayer, The Cheetah Girls, and Demi Lovato, to name a few.

When she first composed the song, Mariah was inspired by 1950s and 1960s music. The artist’s mission was the evoke utter bliss in the listener (and we would say she accomplished her goal). 

States where “All I Want for Christmas Is You” is the favorite:

• Alabama
• Delaware
• Georgia
• Hawaii
• Illinois
• Louisiana
• Maryland
• Massachusetts
• Michigan
• Minnesota
• Missouri
• New Jersey
• Ohio
• Pennsylvania
• Rhode Island
• South Carolina
• Virginia

Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree

64 years after Brenda Lee first recorded “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree,” it continues to be a holiday favorite. This holiday jingle was composed by legendary songwriter Johnny Marks, who also composed “A Holly Jolly Christmas,” “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer,” and “Run, Rudolph, Run.” After he wrote the holiday tune, Marks immediately sought out Brenda Lee to be the voice behind it.

To this day, Lee isn’t quite sure why Marks chose her. “I was only 12, and I had not a lot of success in records, but for some reason, he heard me and wanted me to do it.” the singer shared. The rest is history! Lee’s short stature of 4’9 earned her the nickname “Little Miss Dynamite.”

There have been several other renditions of the cover, including Mickey Gilley’s country swing version and Alvin and the Chipmunks’ squeaky parody. You may also recognize this classic tune from the Christmas movie “Home Alone.” 

States where “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree” is the favorite:

• Arkansas
• Iowa
• Kansas
• Kentucky
• Oklahoma
• Texas
• Utah
• Wyoming

Feliz Navidad

“Feliz Navidad” was composed and originally recorded by Jose Feliciano in 1970. The Puerto Rican artist, who was permanently blinded at birth, originally wrote the song to unite people with its holiday cheer and bilingual lyrics. “If I had left in Spanish only, then I knew the English stations might not play it, so I decided to write an English lyric, ‘I want to wish you a merry Christmas,” the artist shared with Billboard magazine. “And then there was no way the stations could lock that song out of the programming.” The traditional Puerto Rican saying "Feliz Navidad, próspero año y Felicidad” translates to “Merry Christmas, a prosperous year and happiness.”

To this day, “Feliz Navidad” has been heard on the radio by over 3.8 billion people and remains one of the top 10 best-performing songs on Billboard’s Holiday 100 chart. The song has been covered by Celine Dion, Kacey Musgraves, BTS, The Cheetah Girls, Glee Cast, Boney M, El Vez, and Luciano Pavarotti.

States where “Feliz Navidad” is the favorite:

• Arizona
• California
• District of Columbia
• Florida
• Nevada
• New York
• Tennessee

Last Christmas

Many people are familiar with the boppy holiday song “Last Christmas,” which was written and recorded by Wham!, George Michael’s pop duo with Andrew Ridgely. This 1984 holiday classic was composed one fateful day when Ridgely and Michael visited Michael’s parents. The story goes, when the bandmates were watching TV, inspiration struck, and Michael rushed up to his childhood bedroom. Within the hour, “Last Christmas” had been written. 

Despite its popularity, “Last Christmas” did not reach the number one spot on the UK charts until 2021 (or should we say last Christmas). The hit single stayed in the #2 spots for about 35 years. “Last Christmas” made it to the American Billboard in 2016 following Michael’s death, who unexpectedly passed away on December 25 that year. 

Since its release, “Last Christmas” has been covered by Jimmy Eat World, Hilary Duff, Ariana Grande, Taylor Swift, Carly Ray Jepsen, and Gwen Stefani, among other artists. The song has also inspired a 2019 holiday film with the same name.

States where “Last Christmas” is the favorite:

• Connecticut
• Nebraska
• New Hampshire
• North Carolina
• Washington

A Holly Jolly Christmas

“A Holly Jolly Christmas” is the second song on this list to be composed by Jewish songwriter Johnny Marks. The song was originally sung by Burl Ives, who was already in his mid-50s when he first recorded it. Ives was also an actor and starred in “Cat On A Hot Tin Roof” and “The Big Country,” for which he won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor.

Ives recorded two versions of the song, and the slower one, released in October 1965, was the version that remains popular today. The single was produced by Milt Gabler and arranged by Owen Bradley. While no one can recreate Ives’ signature mellow and warm voice, other artists have covered this song, including Alan Jackson, Johnny Matthis, Faith Hill, and Lady A.

States where “A Holly Jolly Christmas” is the favorite:

• Idaho
• Indiana
• Mississippi
• Wisconsin

Methodology

We looked at popular Christmas songs and search trends correlating to them over the last year to determine which song is the favorite in every state. For those states where more than one song tied as the favorite, we took the song with the highest search volume according to Ahrefs.