We knew it was about to happen, and now, as foretold, it has happened. Mariah Carey’s “All I Want For Christmas Is You” has broken the record for most weeks at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart.
Thanks to streaming, Carey’s Christmas classic has returned to #1 for several weeks during the holiday season every year since first topping the chart in 2019, a quarter-century after its original release. Last week, the song spent its 19th week at #1, tying the record held by Lil Nas X and Billy Ray Cyrus’ “Old Town Road” and Shaboozey’s “A Bar Song (Tipsy).” Now, it has logged a 20th week.
This isn’t Carey’s first time holding this record. “One Sweet Day,” her 1995 duet with Boyz II Men, topped the chart for 16 weeks, breaking the previous record of 14 weeks that had been held by Whitney Houston’s “I Will Always Love You” and Boyz II Men’s “I’ll Make Love To You.” The 16-week mark has since been matched by Luis Fonsi, Daddy Yankee, and Justin Bieber’s “Despacito” and Morgan Wallen’s “Last Night,” while Harry Styles made it 15 weeks with “As It Was.”
On her Instagram account, Carey posed in Christmas garb while holding a torch, alongside the caption, “Humbly taking back the torch!! 20 weeks at #1… I’m so grateful ❤️.” She posted the same image to her Twitter account with a quote-tweet of her 2019 post congratulating Lil Nas X on breaking her record.
“All I Want For Christmas Is You” is one of three original Christmas songs on Carey’s 1994 album Merry Christmas. In a resurfaced interview with Video Soul from around the album’s release, Carey discussed the prospect of having a classic Christmas song someday. “I would love it,” she said. “I mean, I’m not gonna be that arrogant as to say, ‘Well, this will become a classic,’ or, ‘That’s a classic,’ but I’m very happy with them.”
@Mariah Carey has reclaimed the record for America’s longest-running #1 hit. ❄️ She and @BoyzIIMenOfficial once held the honor with “One Sweet Day,” which topped the Hot 100 for 16 weeks in 1995-1996, until Lil Nas X’s “Old Town Road” and Shaboozey’s “A Bar Song (Tipsy)” each logged 19 weeks in 2019 and 2024, respectively. This week Carey’s 1994 classic “All I Want For Christmas Is You” spends its 20th week at 1, having reached the summit in 2019, and every year since. #MariahCarey #Christmas #Hot100
Also today, Carey was the first musical performer announced for the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics. She’ll be singing at the Opening Ceremony on Feb. 6.
