News from the Latest Billboard Charts

The latest edition of Billboard magazine is out, featuring charts for the week ending December 21. I used to love reading Billboard when I was in high school and I followed the pop singles and albums charts (the Hot 100 and Hot 200, respectively). It was easier to keep up in college since I worked on the college radio station and we had a subscription to Billboard. I kept up with the music scene pretty consistently until I got into my mid 30s, when the number of artists I didn't know began to outnumber the ones I did. 

The methods by which Billboard determines its charts have changed radically over the years. They used to be based almost entirely on record sales and airplay, but today's chart makers have to account for such things as streaming on Spotify, YouTube and other services, digital sales and other factors.

During the holiday season, millions of listeners play their favorite holiday tunes many millions of times, driving a holiday-themed takeover of the Billboard charts. The latest Hot 100 for the week ending December 21, 2024, features 29 holiday tunes, including 11 of the Top 20 and five of the Top 10: 

  

Far be it for me to trash all of the oldies, I only wish programmers would try out some material that's less than 30 years old. And I wouldn't shed any tears if I never had to hear Mariah Carey or Wham! ever again. Happily, my favorite Christmas song of all time, Darlene Love's 1963 release "Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)" is at #31 on the Hot 100, up from #38 last week. It's also #16 on Billboard's "Holiday 100" chart. The Top 10 Holiday songs for the week ending December 21 appear below:

I hope your favorite holiday song turns out to be a big hit again this year!