Although it’s not December just yet, Spotify listeners have already streamed more than 6.5 billion minutes of Christmas music globally – with more than 37 billion streams of Christmas music on Spotify since the platform launched in 2008.
In the latest episode of our podcast Spotify: For the Record, Spotify looks at which songs are making it to the top of listeners’ Christmas lists and also got the chance to chat with beloved Filipino artist Jose Mari Chan on the inspiration behind his iconic holiday tunes, which have been a staple of festive celebration in the market for the last three decades. Together, the festive favourites “Christmas in Our Hearts” and “A Perfect Christmas” have been streamed more than 13 million times on Spotify.
To hear Jose Mari Chan’s iconic, soothing voice directly to your ears, check out the latest episode on Spotify: For the Record podcast – Holiday Music: It’s (Already) Beginning to Sound A Lot Like Christmas. To complete the holiday experience, fans can also stream the first Asia-made Spotify Holiday Single “A Perfect Christmas” recorded by none other than “The Little Drummer Boy” (as he prefers to call himself) Jose Mari Chan alongside Ben&Ben, December Avenue, I Belong to the Zoo, Julie Anne San Jose and Moira Dela Torre on this year’s Spotify Singles: Holiday Collection.
Here’s a snapshot of how listeners are streaming Christmas music this year:
- We Need a Little Christmas: In this pandemic year, we’re seeing evidence that suggests listeners may be seeking comfort from holiday music earlier than usual. They streamed our most popular holiday playlist – “Christmas Hits” – at a higher rate in September and October compared to previous years.
- The top ten Christmas songs on Spotify saw an average increase of 25% in share of listening in October 2020 compared to previous Octobers.
- Also, traditionally most Christmas listening happens on weekends, but this year Spotify is seeing a slight increase in weekday Christmas listening compared to years past.
- Drumroll for the unofficial king of Christmas: Michael Bublé’s “Christmas” album is the top streamed Christmas album of all time on Spotify, with more than 1.8 billion streams on Spotify.
- Soundtracking Christmas:
- The top five Christmas songs of all time on Spotify, include:
- “All I Want for Christmas Is You” by Mariah Carey
- “Last Christmas” by Wham!
- “Santa Tell Me” by Ariana Grande
- “It’s Beginning to Look a Lot like Christmas” by Michael Bublé
- “Mistletoe” by Justin Bieber
- The top five most streamed Christmas songs in the Philippines on Spotify from December 2019 to present:
- “Bibingka” – Ben&Ben
- “A Perfect Christmas” – Recorded at OnQ Studios, Manila – Ben&Ben, December Avenue, I Belong to the Zoo, Jose Mari Chan, Julie Anne San Jose, Moira Dela Torre, Tatak Pinoy All-Stars
- “All I Want for Christmas Is You” – Mariah Carey
- “Santa Tell Me” – Ariana Grande
- “Last Christmas” – Wham!
- Check out some of Spotify’s Filipino Christmas playlists:
- The top five Christmas songs of all time on Spotify, include:
