All I want for Christmas... is data ??

Earlier this year Mariah Carey tried to trademark herself as the “Queen of Christmas” – but is she really worthy of this royal title? We took a look at search and streaming trends around her most popular festive tune to find out…

Mariah Carey has become somewhat of a signifier of the beginning of the festive season for many. The self-proclaimed royalty is well known for her 1994 addition to our festive playlists, and since its release “All I Want For Christmas Is You” has firmly held its place on the Christmas charts.?

But has she started defrosting for Christmas earlier and earlier? We took a look at data from all over the internet, including Billboard and Google Trends, to investigate. Check out the graphs below to get the inside scoop on how different countries celebrate the holiday season.

I don’t want a (dot plot) for Christmas

We began by looking at when AIWFCIY entered the top 20 in each country over the past few years, and when it dropped out again. As it turns out, there’s a small cohort of countries, including Denmark, Sweden, and the UK, which turn the song on abnormally early and turn it off abnormally late.

Special mention should also go to Denmark, who have managed to keep Mariah in the top 20 most consistently over the past three years.?

There is just one (marker map) I need

For true festive insight, the chart below shows the top 10 Countries around the world who love Mariah the most, determined by their search interest in AIWFCIY since 2008.

Shoutout to the Philippines for being Ms. Carey’s number 1 fans!?

Make my wish come true (with an interactive timeline)?

But was Mariah Carey an instant Christmas hit? Or did it take her a few years to climb her way to the top of the tree?

To investigate this question, I took a look at historical data for the Billboard Hot 100 to see when AIWFCIY made its way into the charts.

Surprisingly, it took AIWFCIY until 2019 to top the Billboard Hot 100 for the first time in the United States with 45.6 million streams and 27,000 digital copies sold. This means that AIWFCIY was the slowest climb to the top spot in the chart's history, with 35 consecutive weeks on the chart and 25 years after the song's original release.

Happy Holidays!