Mariah Carey Christmas streaming began rising in September, well before the traditional holiday rush. Her festive catalog drew 7.7 million Spotify streams during the month, showing that listeners were already ready for the season.
Mariah Carey Christmas classics lead the way
The 1994 album Merry Christmas remained the center of that activity. Its tracks collected almost 7 million Spotify streams in September as fans anticipated another major holiday season.
“All I Want for Christmas Is You” was the clear leader. It earned more than 5 million streams during September, or about 293,000 per day. In the first week of October, its daily average had already climbed to roughly 350,000.
“Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)” ranked second among Carey’s seasonal songs. Her Darlene Love cover gained 578,000 September streams. The recording had already earned Platinum certification in March 2022.
“O Holy Night” followed with nearly 350,000 streams for the month. The performance was certified Gold in October 2019, while its continued growth suggested further certification potential.
More songs gain early holiday momentum
Other tracks from the first Mariah Carey Christmas album also attracted thousands of daily plays. They included “Santa Claus Is Coming to Town,” “Silent Night,” “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing,” “Joy to the World” and “Miss You Most (At Christmas Time).”
Listeners also returned to “Jesus Born on This Day,” “Jesus Oh What a Wonderful Child” and “God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen.” Together, those songs strengthened the album’s early seasonal performance.
“Oh Santa!” and newer festive favorites
“Oh Santa!” was Carey’s fourth most-played festive track in September, averaging more than 10,000 daily streams. At the time, Spotify combined the original recording with the version featuring Jennifer Hudson and Ariana Grande. The platform later separated them again.
The duet version of “All I Want for Christmas Is You” featuring Justin Bieber averaged almost 9,000 daily streams. That pace brought it closer to joining Carey’s catalog of songs with more than 100 million Spotify streams.
The “Magical Christmas Mix” also passed 1 million streams, despite receiving no physical or promotional single release. Its performance showed that alternate versions can become holiday favorites too.
Recent releases join the celebration
“Fall in Love at Christmas,” released in 2021, had reached 11 million total streams. It averaged about 1,200 daily plays in September and remained one of Carey’s newer seasonal selections.
Her cover of “Sleigh Ride” also entered the top 20 Mariah Carey Christmas tracks for the month. The recording stood at 3.5 million total streams and continued to gain listeners.
The Merry Christmas II You catalog
Carey’s second holiday album had not yet matched the streaming scale of her 1994 classic. Still, Merry Christmas II You generated 412,000 streams in September and approached 78 million total plays.
The album includes medleys, original songs and an energetic version of “Auld Lang Syne.” Its September activity suggested that more listeners were discovering the project each year.
Christmas starts earlier every year
September is not usually treated as a festive month in most markets. Even so, the Mariah Carey Christmas catalog generated millions of streams before Halloween.
Those early numbers pointed toward another season of chart records, sales milestones and new certifications. For Carey and her fans, the holiday countdown was already underway.
