Chris Rea drives Christmas into an Olivia Dean-led Top 10

The race for the Christmas Number 1 of 2025 has kicked off. Neo-soul singer Olivia Dean is officially the big breakout star of 2025, and she’s likely to add the Christmas Number 1 of this year to her list of achievements. Olivia Dean has been making waves in the UK music scene for a good few years now, but everything accelerated as her festival appearances garnered critical acclaim and listed her as “the one to watch”. Her debut album helped her become BBC’s Artist of the Year and play Glastonbury. This year, Dean managed to receive even wider mainstream recognition as she contributed “It Isn’t Perfect” to the new Bridget Jones-film and duetted with Sam Fender on “Rein Me In”. The next single “Man I Need” became a juggernaut Number 1-hit, spending nine weeks atop my chart and still starting in the Top 5 as of this week. Last month, Olivia Dean took home her third big Number 1-record with “So Easy (To Fall In Love)”. It debuted in the Top 10 following the release of its album The Art of Loving. It kept in the Top 10 ever since and now quietly trumps its competition for the Number 1-spot. If it keeps at Number 1 for one more week, Olivia Dean will take home the Christmas Number 1 of the year. She does face some competition from Sam Fender and Elton John at #2 and newcomer Sienna at #3. Further down, some new foes appear.

The Christmas season has officially begun and thirteen holiday classics appear in this week’s Top 40. Leading the pack is Chris Rea’s soft-rock “Driving Home for Christmas” at #4. It is the first Christmas song to break the Top 10 this season. It was originally released in 1998, but it has become a Christmas classic since it began reappearing on the UK Singles Charts every year since 2007. Rea never planned to write a Christmas song. It was while testing pianos with keyboard player Max Middleton he found a tune that fit the lyrics. He never played the song live until 2014, where he performed the song with 12 big snow cannons. Despite its cult status, Chris Rea’s “Driving Home for Christmas” never made it to my personal Top 40 this year. With its upwards momentum – hello #4! – Chirs Rea is now seriously contending for the Christmas Number 1-position.

In September this year, Jade released her highly anticipated solo debut That’s Showbiz Baby; the first Little Mix-alumna to put out a solo record. It featured the hit singles “Angel of My Dreams”, “FUFN” and “Plastic Box” and helped Jade land highly sought-after festival billings, including Glastonbury in the summer. The project has been described as a ‘classic’ pop album, influenced by the greats, such as the Spice Girls and Diana Ross. To cap off an incredible year on the charts, Jade gives us one final big Encore with the release of a surprise deluxe edition of her album. It features seven new songs and her cover of Madonna’s 1998-classic “Frozen”. Leading the pack is the new single “Church”, which enters at #13 as the highest debut of this week amidst the Christmas chaos. It marks Jade’s eighth solo entry. “Church” is an ode to her massive queer following and is supported by a deliciously dark music video. It features the same odd musical structure that made chart-topper “Angel of My Dreams” a clear stand-out. Jade’ll be hoping to recreate that success and make “Church” the Christmas Number 1 of 2025.

Further down, South-African pop star Tyla sticks her landing amidst the Christmas onslaught with the new song “Chanel”. It marks her ninth Top 40-hit so far. Tyla caps off another successful year on the charts; she opened in the Top 3 with “Push 2 Start” and then scored her first Number 1-hit with “Show Me Love”. Mariah Carey returns with her Christmas classic “All I Want For Christmas is You” at #29. It marks the songs’ 64^th week in the Top 40 – the most for any song of all time. Kelly Clarkson also re-enters with her modern classic “Underneath the Tree” at #31. She’ll be hoping to improve its peak at #6 this year.

With Christmas officially taking over this chart, it is high time to rank the best-scoring holiday classics of all time. Coming out on top – to little surprise – is Mariah Carey her long-running “All I Want For Christmas”. It first charted in the winter of 1995 and first peaked at #3 in 1997, and matched that peak again in 2016 and 2023. It is the longest-running Top 40-hit of all time and the only song to chart over a year. Michael Bublé’s “It’s Beginning to Look a lot Like Christmas” ranks second on the ranking. In 2023, it became the first ever holiday song to peak at Number 1; a rare feat unmatched by Wham! And Mariah Carey. Band Aid’s enduring holiday classic “Do They Know It’s Christmas” ranks third. That big hit has totalled over thirty weeks on this chart and counting, yet it never matched its #7-peak from 2005. More recent Christmas songs prove to be more and more successful in each passing year; Kelly Clarkson’s “Underneath the Tree” originally peaked at #23 in its release year, 2013, yet it peaked at #6 over eleven years later during a holiday chart take-over. Each year also sees emerging artists releasing a Christmas song, hoping to capitalize on the season’s success. The most successful efforts are “Santa Tell Me” by Ariana Grande, which was released in her breakthrough year 2014, Sam Fender’s “Winter Song”, Perrie’s “Christmas Magic” and last year’s Christmas Number 1: “A Nonsense Christmas” by Sabrina Carpenter. 

Newly certified

“Winter Song” – Sam Fender GOLD

“Talk to You” – Sam Fender & Elton John GOLD

“So Easy (To Fall in Love)” – Olivia Dean PLATINUM

Best-scoring Christmas songs of all time

1. “All I Want for Christmas” – Mariah Carey

2. “It’s Beginning to Look a lot Like Christmas” – Michael Bublé

3. “Do They Know It’s Christmas” – Band Aid

4. “Santa Tell Me” – Ariana Grande

5. “River” – Ellie Goulding

6. “Underneath the Tree” – Kelly Clarkson

7. “Winter Song” – Sam Fender

8. “Home to You” – Sigrid

9. “A Nonsense Christmas” – Sabrina Carpenter

10. “Christmas Magic” – Perrie