Best-selling Christmas/holiday singles in the United States

This page shows the best-selling Christmas singles in the United States. It includes artists from around the world, but it only reflects sales in the United States of America. According to the Guinness Book of World Records, "White Christmas" by Bing Crosby is not only the best-selling Christmas/holiday single in the United States, but also the best-selling single of all time, with estimated sales in excess of 50 million copies worldwide.[1][2][3][4]

Prior to March 1, 1991, the only means of tracking sales figures for record albums and singles in the United States was via the certification system of the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), based specifically on shipments (less potential returns) on a long-term basis. From March 1, 1991 through the present day, the Nielsen SoundScan tracking system has been more widely used to accurately track sales of record albums and singles at the point of sale (POS) based on inventory bar code scans, as well as digital music download sales starting in 2003. As of November 25, 2016, the holiday single with the most digital downloads is Mariah Carey's 1994 track "All I Want for Christmas Is You," which SoundScan estimates as having sold 3,200,000 copies.[5]

Best-selling Christmas/holiday singles since Nielsen SoundScan tracking began

This is a list of the top ten best-selling Christmas singles of the SoundScan era in the United States according to the Nielsen Company, as last updated on November 25, 2016.[5] Nielsen SoundScan began tracking digital download sales data at the end of June 2003.

Best-selling Christmas singles

Rank Title Artist Released Label(s) Digital Downloads
1 "All I Want for Christmas Is You" Carey, MariahMariah Carey 1994 Columbia 3,200,000
2 "Do You Want to Build a Snowman?" Bell, KristenKristen Bell, Agatha Lee Monn & Katie Lopez 2013 Walt Disney 1,600,000
3 "Christmas Eve/Sarajevo 12/24" Trans-Siberian Orchestra 1996 Lava 1,300,000
4 "Mistletoe" Bieber, JustinJustin Bieber 2011 Island 1,100,000
5 "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree" Lee, BrendaBrenda Lee 1958 Decca 1,000,000
6 "Christmas Canon" Trans-Siberian Orchestra 1998 Lava 918,000
7 "Where Are You Christmas?" Hill, FaithFaith Hill 2000 Interscope 897,000
8 "Feliz Navidad" Feliciano, JoséJosé Feliciano 1970 RCA 808,000
9 "Jingle Bell Rock" Helms, BobbyBobby Helms 1957 Decca 780,000
10 "Last Christmas" Wham! 1984 Columbia 751,000

Best-selling Christmas/holiday singles by RIAA certification

This is an incomplete list of the best-selling Christmas/holiday singles in the United States based on certification by the RIAA. This list provides a more complete representation of the best-selling Christmas/holiday albums in history, as it includes those released well before the Nielsen/SoundScan era of music sales.

Digital downloads

Year of Release Title Artist Label(s) Certification Award[6] Certification Date
2013 "Do You Want to Build a Snowman?" Bell, KristenKristen Bell, Agatha Lee Monn & Katie Lopez Walt Disney Platinum 2014-04-23
2011 "Mistletoe" Bieber, JustinJustin Bieber Island Platinum 2015-02-27
1996 "Christmas Eve/Sarajevo 12/24" Trans-Siberian Orchestra Lava Gold 2009-12-14
1995 "The Chanukah Song" Sandler, AdamAdam Sandler Warner Bros. Gold 2005-10-05
1994 "All I Want for Christmas Is You" Carey, MariahMariah Carey Columbia 2x Platinum 2009-12-15

Physical singles

According to the most recent record album certifications, the holiday single title with the highest RIAA certification is Elvis Presley's 1964 single "Blue Christmas", which is certified Platinum by the RIAA (though its date of certification came more than ten years after the RIAA reduced the threshold for Platinum level for singles from two million copies to one million copies).[7]

Year of Release Title
(A-side/B-side)		 Artist(s) Label(s) Certification Award Certification Date[6]
1964 "Blue Christmas"/
"Santa Claus Is Back in Town"		 Presley, ElvisElvis Presley RCA Victor Platinum[7] 1999-12-15
1989 "This One's for the Children"/
"Funky, Funky Xmas"		 New Kids on the Block Columbia Gold[6] 1990-01-09
1984 "Do They Know It's Christmas?"/
"Feed the World"		 Band Aid Columbia Gold[6] 1984-12-19
1959 "Alvin's Harmonica"/
"Mediocre" (David Seville)		 The Chipmunks Liberty Gold[8]
1958 "The Chipmunk Song"/
"Almost Good" (David Seville)		 The Chipmunks with the Music of David Seville Liberty Gold[8]
1958 "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree"/
"Papa Noël"		 Lee, BrendaBrenda Lee Decca Gold[9]
1957 "Jingle Bell Rock"/
"Captain Santa Claus (and His Reindeer Space Patrol)"		 Bobby Helms Decca Gold[10]
1955 "Nuttin' for Christmas"/
"Santa Claus Looks Just Like Daddy"		 Mooney, ArtArt Mooney and His Orchestra
Vocal by Barry Gordon		 MGM Gold[11]
1952 "I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus"/
"Thumbelina"		 Boyd, JimmyJimmy Boyd Columbia Gold[12]
1950 "Frosty the Snow Man"/
"When Santa Claus Gets Your Letter"		 Autry, GeneGene Autry and The Cass County Boys Columbia Gold[13]
1949 "I Yust Go Nuts at Christmas"/
"Yingle Bells"		 Yorgesson, YogiYogi Yorgesson Capitol Gold[14]
1949 "Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer"/
"If It Doesn't Snow on Christmas"		 Autry, GeneGene Autry & The Pinafores Columbia Gold[13] 1969-11-10
1948 "All I Want for Christmas (Is My Two Front Teeth)"/
"Happy New Year"		 Jones, SpikeSpike Jones and his City Slickers RCA Victor Gold[15]
1948 "I've Got My Love to Keep Me Warm"/
"I'm A-Tellin' You, Sam"		 Brown, LesLes Brown and his Orchestra Columbia Gold[16]
1947 "Here Comes Santa Claus (Down Santa Claus Lane)"/
"An Old-Fashioned Christmas"		 Autry, GeneGene Autry Columbia Gold[13]
1946 "Christmas Island"/
"Winter Wonderland"		 Andrews Sisters and Guy Lombardo and His Royal Canadians Decca Gold[17]
1946 "The Christmas Song (Merry Christmas to You)"/
"In the Cool of Evening"		 The King Cole Trio Capitol Gold[18]
1944 "White Christmas"/
"If You Are But a Dream"		 Sinatra, FrankFrank Sinatra Columbia Gold[19]
1943 "I'll Be Home for Christmas (If Only in My Dreams)"/
"Danny Boy"		 Crosby, BingBing Crosby Decca Gold[20]
1943 "Jingle Bells"/
"Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town"		 Crosby, BingBing Crosby and the Andrews Sisters Decca Gold[20]
1942 "White Christmas"/
"Let's Start the New Year Right"		 Crosby, BingBing Crosby Decca Gold[21]
1942 "White Christmas"/
"Abraham"		 Martin, FreddyFreddy Martin and his Orchestra Victor Gold[22]
1935 "Silent Night"/
"Adeste Fideles (O Come, All Ye Faithful)"		 Crosby, BingBing Crosby Decca Gold[21]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Guinness Book of Records, 2007 Edition, page 187
  2. ↑ Guinness Book of Records, 2008 Edition, page 181
  3. ↑ Guinness Book of Records, 2009 Edition, pages 14, 15 & 169
  4. ↑ Roy J. Harris, Jr. (December 5, 2009). "The Best-Selling Record of All. 'White Christmas' and the reasons it endures". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved December 6, 2009. It was a peaceful song that became a wartime classic. Its unorthodox, melancholy melody—and mere 54 words, expressing the simple yearning for a return to happier times—sounded instantly familiar when sung by America's favorite crooner. But 67 years after its introduction, some still are surprised to learn that Bing Crosby's recording of the Irving Berlin ballad "White Christmas" became not only the runaway smash-hit for the World War II holidays, but the best-selling record of all time.
  5. 1 2 Staff, Billboard (November 25, 2016). "What Are the Top-Selling Holiday Songs?". Billboard Magazine. Retrieved November 29, 2016.
  6. 1 2 3 4 "RIAA Gold & Platinum". Recording Industry Association of America. Archived from the original on February 25, 2013. Retrieved November 2, 2011.
  7. 1 2 "RIAA Gold & Platinum". Recording Industry Association of America. Archived from the original on February 25, 2013. Retrieved November 2, 2011.
  8. 1 2 Whitburn, Joel (2004). Christmas in the Charts (1920–2004). Wisconsin: Record Research Inc. p. 27. ISBN 0-89820-161-6.
  9. ↑ Whitburn, Joel (2004). Christmas in the Charts (1920–2004). Wisconsin: Record Research Inc. p. 45. ISBN 0-89820-161-6.
  10. ↑ Whitburn, Joel (2004). Christmas in the Charts (1920–2004). Wisconsin: Record Research Inc. p. 40. ISBN 0-89820-161-6.
  11. ↑ Whitburn, Joel (2004). Christmas in the Charts (1920–2004). Wisconsin: Record Research Inc. p. 50. ISBN 0-89820-161-6.
  12. ↑ Whitburn, Joel (2004). Christmas in the Charts (1920–2004). Wisconsin: Record Research Inc. p. 22. ISBN 0-89820-161-6.
  13. 1 2 3 Whitburn, Joel (2004). Christmas in the Charts (1920–2004). Wisconsin: Record Research Inc. p. 19. ISBN 0-89820-161-6.
  14. ↑ Whitburn, Joel (2004). Christmas in the Charts (1920–2004). Wisconsin: Record Research Inc. p. 66. ISBN 0-89820-161-6.
  15. ↑ Whitburn, Joel (2004). Christmas in the Charts (1920–2004). Wisconsin: Record Research Inc. p. 43. ISBN 0-89820-161-6.
  16. ↑ Whitburn, Joel (2004). Christmas in the Charts (1920–2004). Wisconsin: Record Research Inc. p. 25. ISBN 0-89820-161-6.
  17. ↑ Whitburn, Joel (2004). Christmas in the Charts (1920–2004). Wisconsin: Record Research Inc. p. 18. ISBN 0-89820-161-6.
  18. ↑ Whitburn, Joel (2004). Christmas in the Charts (1920–2004). Wisconsin: Record Research Inc. p. 28. ISBN 0-89820-161-6.
  19. ↑ Whitburn, Joel (2004). Christmas in the Charts (1920–2004). Wisconsin: Record Research Inc. p. 58. ISBN 0-89820-161-6.
  20. 1 2 Whitburn, Joel (2004). Christmas in the Charts (1920–2004). Wisconsin: Record Research Inc. p. 31. ISBN 0-89820-161-6.
  21. 1 2 Whitburn, Joel (2004). Christmas in the Charts (1920–2004). Wisconsin: Record Research Inc. p. 30. ISBN 0-89820-161-6.
  22. ↑ Whitburn, Joel (2004). Christmas in the Charts (1920–2004). Wisconsin: Record Research Inc. p. 47. ISBN 0-89820-161-6.
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 11/30/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.