As the countdown to Christmas begins (yes, we’re the type of people who start getting ready in November), it won’t be long before the only music we’ve got blasting will be the festive kind. But just which Christmas songs are actually the most festive?
Of course, this is entirely up to personal preference and can stir up quite the debate, so we thought we’d take a look at things from a more ‘scientific’ point of view. To do so, we compiled a list of the top 100 most popular Christmas songs from Spotify and then found out the BPM (beats per minute) to determine which was the jolliest of all Christmas tracks.
According to an article by NME, the average BPM is 115, and one song managed to get really close, with 114 BMP! Curious whether you’re truly getting into the spirit with all the best songs? Here are the top 10 most festive Christmas songs according to our research:
| Song | Artist | ||
| 1 | Merry Christmas | Ed Sheeran & Elton John | 114 |
| 2 | Winter Wonderland | Tony Bennett | 116 |
| 3 | It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas | Perry Como | 113 |
| 3 | One More Sleep | Leona Lewis | 113 |
| 3 | Baby, It’s Cold Outside | Idina Menzel & Michael Bublé | 113 |
| 4 | Santa Claus Is Comin’ To Town | Bruce Springsteen | 120 |
| 4 | Jingle Bell Rock | Bobby Helms | 120 |
| 5 | A Marshmallow World | Dean Martin | 110 |
| 5 | Mistletoe and Holly | Frank Sinatra | 110 |
| 6 | Last Christmas | WHAM! | 108 |
Last year’s upbeat “Merry Christmas” by Ed Sheeran and Elton John (114bpm) is taking the top spot; one BMP away from the sweet 115bpm! In second came Tony Bennett’s version of “Winter Wonderland” at 116bpm which has a charming jazzy feel.
The number one most festive song, “Merry Christmas” might actually have the most festive music video of all time as it makes references to all sorts of other famous Christmas songs such as “All I Want for Christmas is You”, “Merry Christmas Everyone”, and more.
Next up are three songs taking joint third at 113bpm which includes Perry Como’s 1951 version of “It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas”, Leona Lewis’ more recent “One More Sleep”, and the super festive duet between Idina Menzel and Michael Bublé with “Baby, It’s Cold Outside.
Fourth place includes two absolute Christmas classics, “Santa Claus is Comin’ to Town” by Bruce Springsteen and “Jingle Bell Rock” by Bobby Helms (which you might recognise from the popular 00s film Mean Girls) both with a tempo of 120bpm. Meanwhile, in fifth there’s Dean Martin’s 1966 “A Marshmallow World” and the 1957 song by Frank Sinatra, “Mistletoe and Holly”.
In sixth comes WHAM!’s 1984 “Last Christmas”, a classic for any festive spirit listening to Christmas music. This festive song has been nominated for different awards, including the Brit Award for British Video of the Year. Sorry for anyone playing Whamaggedon this year, but you can’t fight an all-time classic!
As you can see, the hitlist features a real mix of songs, both old and new! Perhaps you’re surprised that the queen of Christmas herself Mariah Carey doesn’t make an appearance, or missing your family’s fave festive tune, but hey, we can’t help what the research found.
While the most wonderful time of the year may almost be upon us, it’s an equally busy time with shopping for presents, getting in everything you need for Christmas dinner, and decorating the house. So, tick one thing off your list and order your Christmas cards from thortful online today. Plus, we’ve got great gifts that you can easily add to go along perfectly with your card including a beautiful bouquet of flowers or decadent chocolates.
