As Christmas classics take over the Top 10, Sam Fender pulls ahead in a close race for Number 1

While 2024 has seen the rise of many breakout stars, near the end, one of the greats has also made his long-awaited comeback. Sam Fender debuted at #4 with his comeback lead single “People Watching”, taken from his upcoming third studio album of the same name. An instant classic, it was produced by The War On Drugs and his first solo material since 2021. This week, Sam Fender manages to quickly pull ahead of the Christmas onslaught to secure himself his fifth Number 1-song. He pulled off the feat before with “Hypersonic Missiles”, “All is on My Side”, “Seventeen Going Under” and “Spit of You”. He ranks as one of the most successful male artists of all time on my personal chart. Noticeably, Sam Fender is only the third male solo artist to reach Number 1 in 2024, since this year has been absolutely dominated by female stars. Further down, Sam Fender continues his success, as his festive cut “Winter Song” re-enters at #25 just in time for the holidays and the promotional single “Wild Long Lie” debuts at #26.

Meanwhile, the Christmas classics take over my chart, with Perrie leading the charge with “Christmas Magic”, capping off her first year as a solo artist. Following Little Mix’s hiatus, Perrie debuted earlier this year with the Ed Sheeran-penned “Forget About Us”, which earned her the Number 1-position for two consecutive weeks. Perrie her follow-up releases “Tears” and “You Go Your Way” both became small Top 20-entries, failing to match the success of her debut or JADE’s “Fantasy” or Leigh-Anne’s “My Love”. However, in a moment of marketing brilliance, she released a new Christmas classic just in time for the holidays with “Christmas Magic”. It soars up eleven spots to #4 this week, earning Pezz her second Top 10-hit as a solo artist. Every Little Mix-alumna has now scored a second Top 10-entry, though its success varies greatly. Perrie could seriously best them all, now possibly contending for the official Christmas Number 1 of 2024.

Not far behind, Michael Bublé re-enters the Top 10 with “It’s Beginning to Look…”, reaching #6 this week. The festive classic was last year’s official Christmas Number 1, becoming the first ever holiday song to achieve this feat. Ariana Grande caps off an incredible year following hits such as “yes, and?” and the Wicked film, returning to the Top 10 again with her modern classic “Santa Tell Me”. Charity darling Band Aid return to #9 with “Do They Know It’s Christmas?”, aided by a new mix for its 40^th anniversary. This mixes recordings from the original version with the Band Aid 20 and Band Aid 30 versions. Mariah Carey follows closely at #10 with her annual smash hit “All I Want For Christmas”, set to reach dazzling heights once again.

Sabrina Carpenter caps off an incredible chart year – three consecutive Number 1s, hello?! – with an instantly iconic Christmas special on Netflix. Its lead song “A Nonsense Christmas” debuts at #16 this week. Further down, Sam Fender his festive “Winter Song” re-enters at #25, marking the song’s fourth chart run. Mabel also returns with her soulful rendition of Cyndi Lauper’s “Time After”, originally recorded in 2021 for a McDonalds commercial. Since then, it has re-entered my personal chart after Christmas period, becoming one of the top-performing holiday hits of all time. Meanwhile, Yade Lauren proves that a holiday song can also be a full-blown club hit with the trap-infused “Hitte in de Winternacht” at #35. With its tropical beat, it is sure to keep the clubs dancing and moving all throughout December. It marks Yade Lauren’s first solo appearance on my chart since 2021’s Top 5-hit “In De Nacht”. At #38, Icelandic-Chinese singer Laufey debuts with her heartfelt cover of “Winter Wonderland” at #38. It is her first Top 40-song on my personal chart and the first ever charting version of this Christmas classic.

With 2024 nearly coming to a close, it is time to ready the year-end analyses machine. This week, I’ll reveal the best-scoring artists of 2024. It has been the year of the breakout star, with many new talents finally making their breakthrough. Coming out on top is the short ‘n sweet Sabrina Carpenter! She has had an incredible charting year – starting off with the sleeper hit “Feather” before knocking out three back-to-back Number 1s, including the multi-platinum “Espresso”. The Netherlands’ breakout artist of the year was undoubtedly Roxy Dekker, who ranks second place. All her songs reached my Top 4 this year, including the highlight “Sugardaddy” which became her first Number 1. Charli XCX takes third place following her best year yet. She took over the summer with Brat, earning a well-deserved second Number 1-smash with Lorde on “girl, so confusing”. She scored the most Top 40-entries this calendar year with seven total. Other big breakout stars from this year make the year-end ranking as well, with Noah Kahan, Chappel Roan and Joost all making the Top 10.

Newly certified

“Ik Haat Hem Voor Jou” – Froukje & S10 PLATINUM

Best-scoring artists of 2024

1. Sabrina Carpenter (3 Number 1s + 1 Top 40)

2. Roxy Dekker (2 Number 1s + 3 Top 10s)

3. Charli XCX (1 Number 1 + 6 Top 40s)

4. Noah Kahan (1 Number 1 + 3 Top 40s)

5. Dua Lipa (1 Number 1 + 3 Top 40s)

6. Chappel Roan (1 Number 1 + 3 Top 40s)

7. Billie Eilish (1 Number 1 + 2 Top 40s)

8. Joost (1 Number 1 + 2 Top 40s)

9. Ronnie Flex (1 Number 1 + 3 Top 40s)

10. Froukje (3 Top 10s)