Wham! see out 2022 with Last Christmas back at Number 1
Wham! have returned to Number 1 in the UK for the second time this year with Last Christmas.
Despite missing out on last week’s coveted Official Christmas Number 1 single to LadBaby’s Food Aid, Andrew Ridgeley and the late, great George Michael have performed a fantastic rebound, with their Christmas classic now the last Number 1 single of 2022.
Last Christmas rockets back to the top spot with over 79,000 combined chart units. It is also once again the UK’s most-streamed track of the week (18 million streams).
Also rebounding today are Mariah Carey’s All I Want For Christmas Is You (2) and Ed Sheeran & Elton John’s Merry Christmas (3).
Two Christmas classics in particular prove that they still resonate with chart fans new and old; Brenda Lee’s 1962 hit Rockin’ Around The Christmas Tree reaches its highest-ever peak (4), while Bobby Helms gains a posthumous Top 10 entry (and his first ever) with Jingle Bell Rock (7).
Stormzy’s Firebabe jumps back up five places to re-peak at Number 5, now the highest-charting non-Christmas song in the UK (and the only one to appear in the Top 10 this week).
Joining in on the end-of-year fun, we have several tracks rising up into the Top 10; Michael Bublé’s It’s Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas rebounds, up five (6), Lizzo gains third UK Top 10 single with Amazon Music Original Someday At Christmas (8), The Pogues feat. Kirsty MacColl’s Fairytale of New York rises (9), as does Andy Williams’ It’s The Most Wonderful Time Of Year (10).
Kelly Clarkson also has a big week; Underneath The Tree reaches a new peak this week (12), solidifying its status as a modern Christmas staple, while her Ariana Grande team-up Santa Can’t You Hear Me also re-enters the Top 40 to achieve a new highest peak (34).
As expected, Christmas songs dominate the Top 40 this week, with 34 places on the chart being taken up by the festive anthems. Those rising include: Ariana Grande’s Santa Tell Me (14), Shakin’ Stevens’ Merry Christmas Everyone (15), Chris Rea’s Driving Home For Christmas (16), Paul McCartney’s Wonderful Christmastime (17), Elton John’s Step Into Christmas (18), Wizzard’s I Wish It Could Be Christmas Every Day (19), Dean Martin’s Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow! (20), Jose Felicano’s Feliz Navidad (21), The Ronette’s Sleigh Ride (22), Michael Bublé’s second single entry Holly Jolly Christmas (23), John Lennon & Yoko Ono’s Plastic Band with Happy Xmas (War Is Over) (24), Leona Lewis’ One More Sleep (25), and Slade’s Merry Xmas Everybody (26).
Also rising: Sia’s Snowman (28), Darlene Love’s Christmas (Baby Please Come Home) (29), Justin Bieber’s Mistletoe (30), Frank Sinatra’s cover of Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow! (33), Nat King Cole’s The Christmas Song (35), Coldplay’s Christmas Lights (36) and Bing Crosby’s White Christmas (39).
Finally, Michael Jackson &The Jackson Five’s Santa Claus Is Coming To Town re-enters the UK Top 40 for the first time in four years (40).
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Steven Edwards
I miss the old days when you watched your favourite song slowly climb the chart for a month or so then just as slowly slip away. Yes, Christmas was a bit different from the norm back then when most of these songs in the charts were originally released but surely Ladbaby must have the biggest drop from number 1 ever.
Kent Vigilante Ω
Interesting how they skip #27 https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/e029f344b7e3a25c000efb7d642981d3b3706c8d3b4db4ead5fb136f5d2b2f9d.png
misterber
Oh dear, this article fails to mention the previous week's record-breaking Christmas number one! Oh right, it's only about songs that moved up the chart.
JN
James Norris
"Merry Christmas Everyone", not my words, the words of Shakin' Stevens
thierry henon
So happy to see WHAM back at number 1 but mainly over the moon to see LADBABY dropping the chart so fast!!
thierry henon
Happy New Year 2023 everyone! wishing you all the best for the coming year...
AUCF
Angry UK Chart Fan
Disgusting chart. No more Xmas songs next week! Hooray!
BleeUK
This Week is important and special better than the 23rd, Charts, This year the 30th Dec Countdown, is the ultimate one, Christmas #1 Week, Wham Done it again Last Christmas is 2022 Official Christmas #1, For Christmas Week, the Last time was 2020 data Wham was top, remember Radio 1 is behind time of branding Christmas as that never includes any Christmas Data, this year it was up to the 22nd Dec only,
J
JK
Ladbaby is a ripoff, a robbery of dumb people who are only helping that scammer couple to monetize their YouTube channel
O
Oliverx
Loving the fact this classic is doing so well after all these years. George would've been so happy.
Piran
Lmao LadBaby down to #85! 😭
BleeUK
I know Right, it could not hold On, Well Done Wham for being Christmas Week #1 Again, for the 2nd Time With Last Christmas after being #1 during 2020 and now it Top again in 2022.
Mark Willmott
Such a shame Wham didn’t sell this many last week. Would’ve been enough to beat Ladbaby.
Zimowski
Christmas song falling after Christmas. Shock!
BleeUK
Yeah Ladbaby got #1 5 times but before Christmas Week Data, its was the run-up to Christmas Units, only, which was before 25th Dec Compressed Sales & Streams, #1 For Christmas Was Wham - Last Christmas (2022 & 2020) Ed Sheeran & Elton John - Merry Christmas (2021), Ellie Goulding - River (Amazon Music) (2019) and Ava Max - Sweet But Psycho (2018)
Piran
Most of the festive hits climbed this week, since the tracking week literally included Christmas Day itself! 😂
Piran
Wham! didn't even need to sell any more copies last week for 'Last Christmas' to be the rightful #1 in the Christmas chart!
The only reason they were blocked was because of ACR against it! LadBaby would've been #4 without that stupid rule. :/
Mark Willmott
It does seem a pointless rule. It’s designed to stop old songs getting in the charts but that only really happens at Christmas anyway so all songs should just be allowed to have correct sales figures
BleeUK
Correct, that why Radio 1 is behind times, just like 2020, Wham was Christmas #1 2022 with Last Christmas (for 2022 30th Dec Countdown, Ladbaby was for 23rd Dec Before Christmas), Ladbaby's #1 Hit was locked data before 25th Dec.
BleeUK
it got nothing to do about the ACR., it just Radio 1 cut off there christmas data for charts early as always, before 1982 it was nearly 2 weeks and a bit before Christmas due to charts being frozen, but today it still about a week before, 2022 Radio 1 Christmas Charts data was from 16th to 22nd Dec units only Ladbaby was Top then, Wham was Top for Christmas From 23rd to 29th Dec for 30th Dec-the True Christmas week Charts.