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Kylie Minogue has secured the coveted Christmas number one, surpassing Wham!’s “Last Christmas,” which held the top spot in both 2023 and 2024.
The pop icon achieved this feat with her single “XMAS,” an upbeat and festive anthem celebrating “the presents underneath the tree” and romantic moments “out in the snow.”
Marking 37 years since her initial UK number one hit, “I Should Be So Lucky” in 1988, this accomplishment makes Minogue the first female artist to reach the chart summit in four distinct decades.
“It’s hard to put into words how special this feels,” the singer stated, adding that she plans to celebrate Christmas by “obsessing over a jigsaw” with her family in Australia.
“XMAS” is featured on a newly expanded edition of her 2015 album, “Kylie Christmas,” and was exclusively available through Amazon.
While this exclusivity may have provided a slight advantage due to prominent placement on Amazon Music’s Christmas playlist, it also meant the song was absent from competing streaming platforms such as Spotify and Apple Music.
Ultimately, the combination of streams on Amazon and YouTube, coupled with the availability of limited edition vinyl and CD singles, secured her the Christmas number one title.
“Kylie really, really targeted this particular race. Her record label pulled out all the stops,” commented Martin Talbot, head of the Official Charts Company.
“When you have a superstar of her status really going for it, she’s always going to be in with a chance.”
According to chart data, Minogue’s festive campaign resulted in her biggest sales week in 23 years, since 2002’s “Love At First Sight.”
Despite this, Talbot noted that the competition for this year’s Christmas number one was “tight right the way through the week.”
At one point, a mere 10,000 copies separated the top five contenders.
Mariah Carey and Brenda Lee were also in contention for the top spot, driven by the widespread streaming of their classic Christmas hits.
This victory marks Minogue’s first time scaling the festive summit as a solo artist.
Her duet with Jason Donovan, “Especially For You,” was a strong contender for Christmas number one in 1988 but ultimately landed in the runners-up position behind Cliff Richard’s “Mistletoe and Wine.”
Despite finally achieving seasonal chart success, Minogue has expressed her intention to enjoy a quiet Christmas following her extensive, 66-date Tension World Tour.
This involves settling in to watch the Boxing Day cricket Test match between Australia and England while working on a jigsaw puzzle.
“We’re not long-term puzzlers, but somehow a jigsaw puzzle was on the end of the dining table in the family house last Christmas,” she explained.
“So all Christmas, you’d float past and, if someone else was working on it, you’d be like, ‘Is now the right time? Are we on the same page? Should we work on separate zones?'”
“But as time went by, we were getting nowhere. There were all these trouble zones – a bit of blue sky and a big patch of grass – and nobody could get them. No-one.”
“Then, maybe about a month ago, my brother sent me a video of the moment the last piece of the puzzle went in.”
“I was like, ‘Oh my God! Hallelujah that he happened to be filming!'”
“So this year, I know there’s a new jigsaw puzzle with a $1 sticker on the box from our local op shop [charity shop]. It’s another 1,000-piecer and we’ll start all over.”
Wham! had hoped to become the first act to top the Christmas chart three times with the same song.
“Last Christmas” famously missed the top spot upon its initial release in 1984 due to the overwhelming success of Band Aid’s charity single “Do They Know It’s Christmas?”
It finally reached number one in 2023, propelled by widespread goodwill and strong streaming numbers. It repeated this achievement last year, accumulating a massive 12.6 million streams during Christmas week alone.
Although Wham! was surpassed by Minogue in the UK, “Last Christmas” has just topped Billboard’s Global 200 for the first time – solidifying its position as the number one song in the world.
BBC Radio 1’s Jack Saunders, presenter of the UK chart show, attributed the song’s enduring popularity to its message.
“It’s a fantastic pop song,” he said, “but it also captures the true heart and soul of what Christmas means to people. It’s family coming together, it’s reigniting friendships, it’s community.”
“When you hear Wham! on the radio, you think, oh yeah we are all in this together, this is our song.”
Other contenders for this year’s Christmas number one included Together For Palestine’s charity single, “Lullaby,” which is raising funds to aid people in Gaza.
Based on the traditional Palestinian folk song “Yamma Mwel El Hawa (Mama, Sing to the Wind),” it features new lyrics by Peter Gabriel and was recorded by a collective of Palestinian artists alongside British stars such as Neneh Cherry, Celeste, and Dan from Bastille.
“To me, the Lullaby will always be number one,” said Nai Barghouti, who features on the track.
“I am beyond proud of and humbled by the overwhelming support that we have received globally. Thank you to each and every one of you.”
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