What to know:
- While Christmas songs dominate the charts through most of December, the day after is often a battle between holiday classics and new hits.
- Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree has consistently topped Spotify’s US Top Songs chart during the Christmas season since 2020.
- Despite Brenda Lee’s Christmas dominance, there are other challengers for her top position the day after Christmas.
Spotify publishes a daily chart of the top songs in the U.S. based on the previous day’s performance. It’s an important list because it tells us what’s the most listened to song in America but it also creates momentum for the songs themselves. Songs can see an increase in streams the following day, helping to build momentum and maintain their position at No. 1.
Top prediction market platforms have all kinds of markets, including ones about Spotify. On Kalshi, a federally regulated prediction platform, there is a daily market for which song will be Top Song on Spotify USA chart that day.
Typically, the top song can be difficult to predict far ahead of time. Most people wouldn’t be able to predict what song will be No. 1 a month from now.
However, there is an exception – Christmas season. Most of the December charts are made up of popular Christmas songs. For example, in 2023, Brenda Lee’s Rockin’ Around The Christmas Tree was the top song from Dec. 1 to Dec. 26.
Is the same true for 2024?
Top Spotify songs in December 2024
If you take a look at 2024, the throne was not Lee’s for all of December. Kendrick Lamar released his new album GNX and his music was at the top of the charts.
His songs were at the top from Dec. 1-6 and then Lee took it for 2 days before being overtaken from Dec. 9-11 by Lamar again. Since Dec. 12, Lee has solidly sat at the top.
Despite Lamar’s album being a new release and featuring pop stars like SZA, it was still a tight competition with Lee. She wasn’t far behind for the days Lamar was on top.
But what will happen the day after Christmas?
A look back
The day after Christmas, you probably expect Lee to drop off the top spot but that’s not always been the case.
| Date | Top Spotify Song in the US |
| December 26, 2023 | Rockin’ Around The Christmas Tree
by Brenda Lee |
| December 26, 2022 | Kill Bill
by SZA |
| December 26, 2021 | INDUSTRY BABY
by Lil Nas X feat. Jack Harlow |
| December 26, 2020 | Rockin’ Around The Christmas Tree
by Brenda Lee |
| December 26, 2019 | The Box
by Roddy Ricch |
| December 26, 2018 | Wow.
by Post Malone |
| December 26, 2017 | rockstar
by Post Malone feat. 21 Savage |
Since 2017, Lee has been at the top twice the day after Christmas. But let’s take a closer look.
On Dec. 26, 2017, the highest charting Christmas song was Mariah Carey’s All I Want for Christmas at the No. 30 spot. In 2018, it was the same song but at the No. 32 spot, and in 2019 she returned to the No. 30 spot. In 2021 and 2022, Lee’s song was able to stay strong at the No. 2 spot.
Essentially, Lee’s song has been at the top or in the runner-up position since 2020. There is still a very strong chance that Lee will be No. 1 this year as well.
What songs beat out Brenda Lee for the top?
When looking at chart history, you have to wonder if they have more to do with Lee’s Christmas song or a lack of competition. Let’s take a closer look at what songs have beat out Lee in 2021 and 2022.
In 2021, Lil Nas X and Jack Harlow’s INDUSTRY BABY beat out Lee for the top spot. On Christmas Day, Lee’s song had 3.9 million listens, placing it at No. 1. The next day, Rockin’ Around The Christmas Tree had 758,219 listens, dropping to second place.
While there was a sharp decline in listens from Christmas Day, INDUSTRY BABY only received 763,195 listens, leading by fewer than 5,000 plays, making it a very close race.
In 2022, the competition was a lot tougher. SZA’s Kill Bill took the lead with close to 2 million listens versus Lee’s 1.2 million. Lee’s song performed more strongly than in 2021 but SZA’s overall listeners were higher.
In 2023, it was another tight race. Lee narrowly beat out Jack Harlow’s Lovin’ On Me by just 57,000 listens, maintaining a consistent 1.2 million streams.
If we expect Rockin’ Around The Christmas Tree to maintain similar numbers this year, it could face strong competition from Kendrick Lamar and SZA’s Luther, which has been averaging around 1.6 to 1.8 million listens, respectively, in recent days. If those numbers hold, Lamar or SZA could take the top spot from Lee.
Bruno Mars and Lady Gaga’s Die With A Smile also continue to perform well and may be a top competitor.
Whether nostalgia or fresh hits claim the top spot, it’s clear that December 26th remains a day to watch on Spotify’s charts.
