More News from The Latest Billboard Hot 100

Brenda Lee in November 2023

As someone who followed Billboard's music charts religiously in the the 1970s and '80s, I was taken aback by yesterday's news that the #1 song on this week's Hot 100 is a 65-year-old Christmas song by Brenda Lee. Well, Tuesday's the day when Billboard releases each week's full Hot 100 list, and today's chart blew my mind yet again.

In what probably has to be considered good news for seasonal music enthusiasts, six of this week's Top 10, 21 of this week's Top 40 and 26 of this week's Top 50 songs are holiday tunes. (Remarkably, no holiday songs appear in positions 51 through 100.)

Most of the holiday songs that made the Hot 100 this week are vintage tracks. In other words, they're old. The average age of this week's Top 10 songs is 32 years old. Four of the Top 10 tunes were released before I'd entered kindergarten.

Frankly, I'm a little surprised by my reaction to these developments. I should really be elated. I love Christmas music, and I prefer music of all kinds from the 1960s, '70s, '80s and '90s to the kind of dreck that's dominated the charts since the turn of the millennium. Still, I find it unsettling that Burl Ives currently has the #6 song in the nation. I mean, it's terrific, but I feel like I've entered a strange and frightening new dimension. (The fact that Mariah Carey's "All I Want for Christmas Is You" is the #2 song in land is just flat out horrifying with no silver lining. Ditto for "Last Christmas" at #5.)

All of this is the result of a long series of changes to the way Billboard tabulates its Hot 100. Back when I followed the charts each week, the Hot 100 included only those songs that had been officially released as singles and their chart positions rose or fell based on radio airplay and singles sales. Today, few songs are even available as singles, so any recorded song can be considered. Positions are based on a host of factors, including not only radio airplay but also downloads and streaming service data. (For a good explanation of the evolving Hot 100 formula, see HERE.) That makes it easy to see what's happened to this week's Hot 100. The start of the holiday season led millions of folks to start playing their sentimental favorites on Spotify, and suddenly a 78-year-old woman has the #1 hit in the country. That's actually kind of sweet. And I'd much rather see Brenda Lee at #1 than another damned song by Taylor Swift or Drake.

And there's cause for genuine celebration when Darlene Love is back on the Hot 100 at #27 with "Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)." It's also nice to see The Ronettes at #14 with "Sleigh Ride," Jose Feliciano at #16 with "Feliz Navidad," Nat King Cole at #19 with "The Christmas Song," and Thurl Ravenscroft at #43 with "You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch."

I'm starting to feel much better now. I only hope Brenda can keep Mariah out of the #1 spot as effectively as Prince's "Purple Rain" blocked Bruce Springsteen's "Dancing in the Dark" back in 1984. Not that I think about that very much anymore ...

Check Out Billboard's Hot 100 for the Week of December 9, 2023