For the first time ever, Mariah Carey‘s “All I Want for Christmas Is You” broke the top 10 of Billboard’s Hot 100 chart this week.
The 23-year-old single has been a holiday staple all over the globe since its release in 1994, but it’s never made it past the no. 11 spot, surprisingly, until now. With services like Spotify and YouTube adding streaming numbers to the song’s plentiful radio plays, it seems like Carey’s Christmas audience is only growing over time.
The achievement gives Carey her 28th Hot 100 Top 10, making for a tie with Stevie Wonder for the fifth-most Hot 100 top 10s in the chart’s history. Carey is behind only Madonna, The Beatles, Rihanna, and Michael Jackson at this point (though Madonna’s lead is strong with a staggering 38 Hot 100 Top 10 singles).
Carey told Billboard that the achievement has been equally humbling and exciting for her.
“As a songwriter, I feel so honored to have this song reach Billboard’s [Hot 100] top 10 for the first time,” she said. “I honestly never thought we’d be talking about this happening, but I’m so thankful to everyone who embraces this song as part of their holiday tradition.”
“It truly warms my heart, and I am proud of this song that I wrote basically as a kid on my little Casio keyboard.”
Earlier this month, “All I Want for Christmas is You” had already started eating up the holiday charts on Spotify and YouTube. The singer shared some early stats on her Instagram Dec. 6:
https://www.instagram.com/p/BcYDs3aHAcx/?taken-by=mariahcarey
At this point, December is Mariah’s season. Christmas just happens to fall within it.