25 festive pop songs perfect for your holiday playlist

“All I Want For Christmas Is You” – Mariah Carey

Why not start with a big one? Mariah Carey’s “All I Want For Christmas Is You” might be one of the most successful original Christmas songs of the last 100 years. It’s not every year an artist releases a song that can penetrate the holiday market quite as effectively as Carey’s Christmas track. It has become ubiquitous with the holidays and has made Mariah the unofficial Queen of Christmas, a title she lives up to every year with a string of holiday shows and performances.

Carey co-wrote and co-produced the song, which appears on her 1994 holiday album Merry Christmas. The album features holiday staples like “O Holy Night” and “Santa Claus Is Comin’ To Town” but also a few originals. Who knew that it would be one of those original tracks that took the world by storm? The song has been covered by artists like Justin Bieber, Idina Menzel, Kelly Clarkson, Fifth Harmony, and the list goes on and on. It has also been featured in movies like Love, Actually and even an animated family film based on the song (and the children’s book it inspired, written by Carey).

“All I Want For Christmas Is You” starts out slow, with the ever-recognizable line “IIIIIII don’t want a lot for Christmas….” and then launches into full holiday cheer mode, complete with jingle bells. The song is a romantic ode to Mariah’s lover, who is on the top of her Christmas list, more than anything else. It’s hard to even think of Christmas without thinking of this track, and that’s why we’re still talking about it so many years later.