Brenda Lee Makes History Topping Hot 100 With 65-Year-Old Hit, ‘Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree’

Thania Garcia
·2 min read
7

Brenda Lee’s iconic “Rockin’ Around The Christmas Tree” has hit No. 1 for the first time in its 65-year history. The single, which annually returns to the Hot 100’s top 10, is Lee’s third No. 1 — and her first since 1960 (behind “I’m Sorry” and “I Want to Be Wanted”).

The song collected nearly 35 million streams and 21 million radio impressions, according to data provided by Luminate. It previously spent nine weeks at No. 2 between December 2019 and 2022 and is only the third seasonal song to peak at No. 1, joining Mariah Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas Is You” and “The Chipmunk Song” by the Chipmunks with David Seville. Helping her achieve the feat, Lee recently released the song’s first official music video counterpart and has also made efforts to promote the song on social media.

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The festivities continue with Carey’s “All I Want For Christmas Is You” at No. 2 and Bobby Helms’ “Jingle Bell Rock” at No. 4. Wham! also returns to the Top 10 with “Last Christmas” at No. 5, followed by “A Holly Jolly Christmas” at No. 6, and Andy Williams’ “It’s The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year” at No. 10.

Meanwhile, Jack Harlow’s “Lovin On Me” is at No. 3 — just one week after dominating the singles list — while SZA (“Snooze,” No. 9), Doja Cat (“Paint the Town Red,” No. 8) and Taylor Swift (“Cruel,” 7) fill out the remainder of the Top 10 singles.

Outside of the Hot 100, Swift is also dominating the latest Billboard 200 albums chart, as she claims half of the top 10 of the list. Starting with “1989 (Taylor’s Version)” at No. 1, Swift also appears at No. 3 with her 2022 release “Midnights,” followed by “Folklore,” “Lover” and “Speak Now (Taylor’s Version)” at No.s 5, 6 and 10, respectively. The only other artist to hold at least five slots in the top 10 of the albums chart was Prince in 2016 when the listening activity for his albums ramped up following his death that year.

The yuletide spirit continues on the Billboard 200 with Michael Bublé’s “Christmas” making its annual return to the charts at No. 9 with 46,000 units.

With Swift’s “1989” back at No. 1, Drake’s “For All the Dogs” retreats to No. 2 with 85,000 units. Morgan Wallen follows with “One Thing at a Time” at No. 4 as SZA’s “SOS” lifts to No. 7 and Olivia Rodrigo’s “Guts” rises to No. 8.

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