Every year come November, Christmas songs begin their yearly migration up the charts. While the typical Christmas carols, Deck the Halls, Jingle Bells, etc. typically make up most of these holiday songs, so-called “modern holiday classics” do make up a small but significant minority. While there is no single accepted definition of this term, songs that fit the label generally fit several characteristics: they were released in the last 3 decades, are generally associated with specific artists (as opposed to traditional carols, which have often been recorded countless times over the years), and use modern genres such as pop, R&B, or rock . And of course, they need to be successful to count as classics.
As of the first week of December, 3 songs sit in the top 20 that satisfy this criteria – All I Want for Christmas is You by Mariah Carey, Santa Tell Me by Ariana Grande, and Underneath the Tree by Kelly Clarkson. Last Christmas by Wham!, also in the top 20, could be argued by some to also be a modern holiday classic, but given that it is 43 years old , I feel it doesn’t quite count (also, it is pretty different from the other three songs I’m talking about). Technically, All I Want for Christmas Is You is more than 3 decades old as well at 31 years old, but it’s still so popular and influential that I am including it.
These three songs include some serious similarities that I think could explain why they have become popular while other original Christmas songs released by pop stars have not seen the same resurgence every holiday season.
Performed by a solo female artist known for their vocals
Mariah Carey, Ariana Grande, and Kelly Clarkson are all known for their emotional singing and high notes. While this doesn’t seem explicitly connected to being popular, I hypothesize that since All I Want For Christmas Is You has become the poster child for a modern holiday classic, songs by powerful female vocalists have followed in its footsteps successfully.
About love (generally specifically not wanting to be alone on Christmas)
The lyrical content of these 3 songs is surprisingly similar. In all three, the singer does not want to be alone on Christmas, and just wants her lover to be there. While most modern pop is about love, this specific niche topic likely strikes a chord with listeners as being lonely when everyone around you is happy is quite a miserable topic. AAlso, around the holidays, people tend to travel more, especially to visit family in other areas, so significant others being separated from each other definitely can happen. This is pretty successful as a topic as well since most traditional carols focus on aspects of the holiday such as decorations and the season instead of love, leaving an opening in the market for this.
Released by nostalgic artists
While none of them can be considered musically inactive since all three of these artists have released music within the last two years, Clarkson and Carey’s albums weren’t really as successful in the mainstream as the previous music they are really known for. Ariana still scored hits off of her 2024 album Eternal Sunshine, but before that she had not released music since 2020 and she is currently more occupied with acting than music. All three of these artists have music that is remembered fondly by Gen Z and millennials, the two generations most likely to drive new modern holiday classics up the charts. Christmas is inherently a very nostalgic holiday (as shown by the vast success of traditional Christmas carols), so people are more inclined to return to more modern releases by artists they have positive, nostalgic memories of.
Released over 10 years ago
While the two more recent releases on this list have consistently re-charted annually since their releases, they never reached the top 10 until at least 10 years after release, in 2025 for Santa Tell Me and in 2024 for Underneath the Tree (these songs were released in 2014 and 2013, respectively). The nostalgia factor mentioned above ties into this, as people generally do not have much nostalgia for a song released 2 or 3 years ago. Also, most people eventually do get tired after listening to the same set of songs for years around Christmas time, leading more of them to seek out more recent releases they are still nostalgic for to diversify their Christmas playlists.
