For the past 30 years, Mariah Carey has dominated the Christmas season with “All I Want for Christmas Is You.” Her reign, which appears to be never-ending, does not allow for a new song to take over the coveted top spot. With the exception of Michael Bublé, the majority of Christmas songs on the Holiday 100 are from artists of the 20th century, like Wham!, Brenda Lee, Bobby Helms, Nat ‘King’ Cole, and more. Which begs the question, is there even room for a new Christmas song, or are we doomed to listen to Mariah Carey year after year? 

The answer to that question is tricky. 

Even though Billboard changed its criteria to prevent chart stagnation, the annual revival of holiday classics on music streaming services leads to an ongoing monopolization of old Christmas songs at the top on the Billboard Holiday 100 chart. In the past, popular songs could maintain top positions on the Billboard charts because of repeat listening by users on streaming services, as well as continuous airplay on radio stations. Now, hit songs will leave the chart after an allotted number of weeks. For example, if a song drops below No. 5 after 78 weeks, it will be removed from the Hot 100. The same goes for if a song falls short of No. 10 after 52 weeks, it will leave the chart. If a song descends beneath No. 25 after 26 weeks, it will depart the chart.

Artists, whether independent or signed to a record label, heavily profit off of a music placement on a prominent Christmas playlist, which receives

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