Olivia Dean takes home the Christmas Number 1 following a breakout year

After an insanely successful breakout year, Olivia Dean takes home the Christmas Number 1 of 2025 with “So Easy (To Fall in Love)”. Olivia Dean has been making waves in the UK music scene for a few good years now, but everything accelerated as her European 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 the Number 1-debuting “Rein Me In”. She then scored a juggernaut best-seller with “Man I Need” and the current hit “So Easy (To Fall in Love)”. She defeats Chris Rea and Sienna Spiro in a close race toward the top. The last British female solo artist to claim the Christmas Number 1 was Dua Lipa with “Don’t Start Now” in 2019. Overall, Olivia Dean is the eighth female solo artist to claim the Christmas chart-topper since 1995. 

The holiday classics take over this Top 40 again as Christmas week is approaching. Five songs chart in the Top 10 and an additional thirteen appear in the Top 40. Leading the pack this year, it’s Chris Rea’s soft-rock hit “Driving Home for Christmas”. It was first released in 1998, but is has become a beloved classic since reappearing on the UK Singles Charts in 2007. Sabrina Carpenter lands at #4 following a very successful year on the charts. Her lead single “Manchild” landed atop my personal chart and the follow-up “Tears” was a surefire #2-hit. Her festive “A Nonsense Christmas” is the icing on the cake. Michael Bublé sings his way to #6 with the warm “It’s Beginning to Look…”, while Ariana Grande is up at #7 with “Santa Tell Me”, possibly aided by Wicked: For Good its global success. Kelly Clarkson is back in the Top 10 for a fourth consecutive year with her banger “Underneath the Tree”. Meanwhile Mariah Carey’s “All I Want…” is unable to secure a Top 10-position during Christmas week for the first time since 2020. It has to settle for #11.

Amidst the Christmas take-over, Wicked continues to produce global mania and churn out major chart hits. Its killer soundtrack featuring Cynthia Erivo, Ariana Grande, Michelle Yeoh, Jonathan Bailey and others, has proved to hit just the right note during the winter season. Cynthia Erivo her “Defying Gravity” from the first film became a global Top 10-hit following its release on Spotify, while Ariana Grande her rendition of “Popular” became a Top 20-song on my chart. This week, Erivo and Grande’s big finale duet “For Good” nabs a Top 10-peak in between the Christmas onslaught. Soundtrack hits are not uncommon – just this year, Tate McRae scored a Top 10-smash with her entry to the Formula 1 Film – but musical hit singles are a bit more rare. Disney spawned a few low-flying singles, such as “We Don’t Talk About Bruno”, and Madonna’s “Don’t Cry For Me Argentina” for Evita reached the Top 10 in 1997. 

Kylie Minogue notches up another Christmas hit as her festive “XMAS” debuts at #16. It’s another of those Amazon Original songs that are boosted onto the charts by being placed on Alexa devices’ go-to festive playlists. When users ask to play Christmas songs, they are some of the first tunes to cue. That is how Tom Grennan, Jess Glynne and Ellie Goulding scored a Christmas hit in the past few years. It is now up to Kylie! “XMAS” is another Christmas outing for the Aussie star; she released a Christmas collection in 2015 and previously covered "Santa Baby", tied in with her 2000 single “Please Stay”. A second reissue of her Christmas album, titled Fully Wrapped, was released a few weeks ago. “XMAS” is boosted by a TikTok campaign and a possible contender for the Christmas Number 1 in the UK. On here, it has to settle as the highest-charting new Christmas song of 2025.

Meanwhile, Perrie caps off a successful year as a solo artist – she released her eponymous solo album and scored a Top 5-hit with “If He Wanted to He Would” – she soars to #13 with “Christmas Magic”. Wham!, Kylie Minogue’s “Santa Baby”, Band Aid, Sam Fender, Justin Bieber and Ellie Goulding all profit off the Christmas boom and move into the Top 25 at least with their respective holiday classics. Laufey re-enters at #22 with her magical “Winter Wonderland”, improving on its previous #29-peak by a wide margin. Norwegian pop singer Sigrid’s star made have fated on an international level over the past few years, but her Christmas single “Home to You” still burns bright and is back at #32 for a fifth year on the Christmas charts. British pop stars Mabel and Mimi Webb are also back for Christmas despite not notching up a big Top 40-hit in this year. Mabel her cover of Cyndi Lauper’s “Time After Time” is back at #35 and Mimi Webb’s merry “Back Home for Christmas” rounds out at #38.

Newly certified

“Hoe Hou Ik Dit Vast” – Bente & BLØF GOLD

All Christmas Number 1s

2025: “So Easy (To Fall in Love)” – Olivia Dean

2024: “A Nonsense Christmas” – Sabrina Carpenter

2023: “It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas” – Michael Bublé

2022: “Stiekem” – Maan & Goldband

2021: “Dat Heb Jij Gedaan” – Meau

2020: “Nu Wij Niet Meer Praten” – Jaap Reesema & Pommelien Thijs

2019: “Don’t Start Now” – Dua Lipa

2018: “Hij Is Van Mij” – Kris Kross Amsterdam, Maan, Tabitha & Bizzey

2017: “Blijf Bij Mij” – Ronnie Flex & Maan

2016: “Touch” – Little Mix

2015: “Hello” – Adele

2014: “Blank Space” – Taylor Swift

2013: “Story of My Life” – One Direction

2012: “Troublemaker” – Olly Murs & Flo Rida

2011: “People Help the People” – Birdy

2010: “Rolling in the Deep” – Adele

2009: “Fight For This Love” – Cheryl Cole

2008: “Make You Feel My Love” – Adele

2007: “Valerie” – Mark Ronson & Amy Winehouse

2006: “Patience” – Take That

2005: “Ugly” – Sugababes

2004: “1001 Arabian Nights” – Ch!pz

2003: “Jump” – Girls Aloud

2002: “Dilemma” – Nelly & Kelly Rowland

2001: “Something Stupid” – Robbie Williams & Nicole Kidman

2000: “My Love” – Westlife

1999: “She’s the One” – Robbie Williams

1998: “Goodbye” – Spice Girls

1997: “Too Much” – Spice Girls

1996: “2 Become 1” – Spice Girls

1995: “Ademnood” – Linda, Roos & Jessica