Have yourself a very early Christmas

For a growing number of Americans, the calendar flipping to “fall” is a sign for speakers to start playing “fa-la-la.” Winter holiday music has never been more popular across the country, and it’s now arriving earlier than ever before, new data reveals.

On December 1, 2019, only 14 holiday songs cracked Spotify’s Top-50 chart. On the same date this year, that number had more than doubled to 30.

• And by December 10 of this year, 20 of the top-25 songs were about Christmas, with the only non-holiday songs being heavy-hitters like “The Fate of Ophelia” by Taylor Swift and “Golden” from Kpop Demon Hunters.
• Thanksgiving is also slowly losing the custody battle over November, with holiday playlists popping up earlier than usual, and a growing number of listeners going all-in on Christmas music in early November.

So why the early surge in sleigh bells and sax solos? Experts say it’s more than just increased seasonal cheer. Matt Bailey, founder of music analytics firm Hit Momentum, told the Wall Street Journal that during periods of high stress—like the current economic climate, with rising costs and a shaky job market—listeners are more likely to return to familiar comforts. Bailey noted that Christmas streaming also spiked early during the pandemic in 2020.

But…While the holiday listening season is changing, the soundtrack has largely stayed the same.

Classics like Mariah Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas Is You,” Wham!’s “Last Christmas,” and Brenda Lee’s “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree” continue to top the charts, with just a handful of more recent tracks—Ariana Grande’s “Santa Tell Me,” Justin Bieber’s “Mistletoe”—also sprinkled in.