‘Silent Night’

It’s finally happened. The reigning queen of Christmas has lost her crown. For now, at least. This month, Mariah Carey’s 1994 perennial hit “All I Want for Christmas is You” was dethroned on the global stage as the only top holiday song on Billboard’s Global 200 chart since Mary met Joseph in Nazareth. Seriously, it began in 2020 when Billboard started keeping track of such things because there was spare time during the pandemic. For the 2025 holiday season, “Last Christmas” by Wham! (remember George Michael and his bandmate, Andrew Ridgeley?) was just named the most-played Christmas song worldwide. That includes primo popularity status on the radio, streaming platforms and holiday playlists – virtually everywhere.

“Last Christmas” came out in 1984, along with yours truly. Rumor has it that George wrote the song in his childhood bedroom in just over an hour, capturing the bittersweet feelings of a past Christmas breakup with a boy.

Longing, heartbreak, alienation. Ah, to be young again!

Not surprisingly, with its sort of gender-neutral lyrics, “Last Christmas” became a gay anthem for anyone yearning for lost love who couldn’t express or share their heartache because they were often hidden in the proverbial closet. Case in point: “A face of a lover with a fire in his heart/A man undercover, but you tore me apart.” Ooh-ooh.

Sadly, the talented Michael died on Christmas Day in 2016 of a heart condition and liver disease. He was 53. Ridgeley, 62, is now an environmental activist who once dated a member of ‘80s girl group Bananarama. (Remember “Cruel Summer”? That was them. It’s completely irrelevant.)

Musical royalty is a tough gig. Carey also lost the top Billboard Hot 100 spot in 2023 to Brenda Lee’s “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree,” thanks to the 78-year-old Lee becoming a TikTok sensation and gaining new fans.

According to unconfirmed reports, Lee sent Carey flowers with the heartfelt message: “I’m sorry.” (Of course, I’m lying.) Ask ChatGPT if you don’t get that timeless Brenda Lee joke from 1960, or anyone over 65.

This year, the five-octave range Carey was back on top of the Hot 100 on the U.S. charts.

Don’t cry for Carey, though. She still earns about $3 million annually in royalties alone as both the song’s writer and performer, plus extra from streaming charts.

For those of you who subscribe to my Heart Matters Blog, you know that I always include a related song or music video at the end of each post. This time I’m not going to use the obvious choices – Carey or Wham! – since you can turn on the radio or choose a playlist, and one of them will pop up.

Instead, I’ll end this holiday blog with something that has become my favorite Christmas song over the last 40 years since I heard it on a balmy December night in Miami Beach.

First off, it’s not the No. 1 best-selling Christmas song (and single) of all time, “White Christmas” by Bing Crosby. He always creeped me out.

And, no, it’s not the 1965 Vince Guaraldi Trio’s “A Charlie Brown Christmas,” which I absolutely adore, along with the remix of the same album by jazz pianist Cyrus Chestnut & Friends released in 2000.

No, it’s not Michael Buble’s classic holiday covers, although I hear they’re gaining steam in international popularity. He seems like a holly jolly guy, but he’s no Burl Ives.

It’s definitely not the most ridiculous Christmas song ever: Paul McCartney’s “Wonderful Christmastime.” Ugh. Just ugh. Such dull lyrics, a sickeningly sweet melody. One music critic dubbed it “the fruitcake of Christmas songs” because “it shows up every holiday, and no one really wants it.”

Honestly, my favorite is the most recorded Christmas song of all time: “Silent Night.”

With more than 700 different versions copyrighted since 1978, my personal favorite was recorded by Mannheim Steamroller on their first “Christmas” album in 1984. Mannheim mastermind Chip Davis brought us a completely new sound of Christmas, and they’re still touring to this day.

Mannheim blended neoclassical music with orchestral pop and elements of new age and rock, mingling modern sounds with Renaissance music. Who knew synthesizers, drums and lutes could be so beautiful?

This five-minute instrumental version of “Silent Night” reaches back to its roots as a Germanic hymn. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do every year at this time. Turn up the volume, close your eyes and simply listen.

It is one of the most beautiful and moving pieces of music I have ever heard. It touches my soul. Gives me goosebumps and always brings a tear of joy.

And don’t forget to listen for the bells jingling at the very end … believe.

Merry Christmas!