The Christmas hits of 2023

It feels like people did a lot of listening to Christmas music this 2023. They just had to feel the spirit, be lighter, hopefully happier. So, Christmas tunes resounded from everywhere ranging from Ariana Grande crooning Santa Tell Me to the Ray Conniff Singers from long ago with The Twelve Days of Christmas. The songs were on radio, social media and coming out of speakers in the malls and in other public places.

Unfortunately, original Filipino music did not have new hits to offer. Looks like the local holiday output did not make the charts. The closest they came to a Christmas big seller was Alas Dose, a sweet love song by the hot band from Baguio, Cup of Joe, which, in fact, is already four years old.

It is no wonder then that Christmas in Our Hearts by Jose Mari Chan, which is already 23 years old, remained the Pinoy’s yuletide theme song. Truth to tell, I believe it will be a long, long time before any local composer comes up with a Christmas song that would equal or at least come close to the Holiday feel and remarkable staying power of Christmas in Our Hearts.

Brenda Lee’s Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree.

Not so for All I Want for Christmas is You. Out there in the US of A and its neighboring countries and even in the local hit lists, the Queen of Christmas Mariah Carey spent the Season teetering precariously on her perch. This is thanks to the onslaught provided by Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree, a 65-year-old tune by Brenda Lee. Mariah’s All I Want for Christmas is You regained its post in the Hot 100 by year’s end but it was touch and go for a while with Little Miss Dynamite from the ‘60s era.

Speaking of the Hot 100, this year saw Christmas music dominating the hit list in a big way for the very first time. It seemed like everybody needed the cheer that Christmas songs provide and eagerly listened to recordings that are several decades old.

I have already used the word “old” several times in this piece and I am sure I will some more. There is no denying that treasured memories are among the things that make the Christmas celebration special and there is no better time machine than an old song.

Ariana Grande’s Santa Tell Me.

And now a look at the oldies that sent Taylor Swift, SZA and other big names down the Hot 100 ladder last Christmas Season and the year when they were released:

All I Want for Christmas is You by Mariah Carey, 1994; Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree by Brenda Lee, 1958; Jingle Bell Rock by Bobby Helms, 1957; Last Christmas by Wham!, 1986; Holly Jolly Christmas by Burl Ives, 1951; Lovin’ On Me by Harlow; It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year by Andy Williams, 1963; Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow by Dean Martin, 1959.

Feliz Navidad by Jose Feliciano, 1970; Sleigh Ride by The Ronettes, 1963; The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire) by Nat King Cole, 1953; Santa Tell Me by Ariana Grande, 2014; Underneath the Tree by Kelly Clarkson, 2013; It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas by Perry Como and the Fontane Sisters, 1951; White Christmas by Bing Crosby, 1942; Jingle Bells by Frank Sinatra, 1948; Christmas Baby, Please Come Home by Darlene Love, 1963.

Cruel Summer by Taylor Swift; Greedy by Tate McCrae; Snooze by SZA; Paint the Town Red by Doja Cat; Here Comes Santa Claus by Gene Autry, 1947; Deck the Halls with Boughs of Holly, also by Nat King Cole; It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas by Michael Buble; 2011; Blue Christmas by Elvis Presley, 1957.