If you follow pop music at all today, you probably check out the sales and airplay charts from Billboard magazine from time to time to see which artists, albums and songs are moving up and down at the moment. Billboard's Hot 100 tracks the top 100 singles every week and the Billboard 200 reflects the top albums or CDs. Most folks in the music interest will tell you that these are the definitive listings when it comes to the current music scene, and Billboard's other charts, including R&B, Dance, Country and Adult Contemporary are equally respected among industry professionals.
Around the beginning of December each year, Billboard features a variety of Holiday Music charts that purport to capture the relative sales and airplay statistics of various holiday tunes. I'm in no position to take issue with Billboard's rankings, one of my greatest pet peeves is the fact that the holiday charts have remained essentially stagnant for the past 20 years or more. Despite the release of a significant number of great new seasonal songs every year, the Top 10 listings feature the same handful of classics at the top of the chart without exception.
Here are two recent charts from Billboard's December 2, 2023 edition, the first of which lists the current Top 10 Holiday Songs, and the second lists the Top 10 Holiday Songs of all time:
Sad, isn't it? I realize many people are reluctant to give new holiday songs a chance because the holidays are a sentimental season and it takes a little longer to grow tired of songs you only hear one month out of the year. I also admit that I never liked the entries by Mariah Carey and Wham! even when they were both fresh and new. But c'mon now! Only one of the current Top 10 Holiday tunes is from this century! The majority are at least 50 years old! We've got to do a little better than this!
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