Image copyright Fox Image caption The Jesus Christ Superstar actress is getting smashed by other performers, according to the charts
It’s been 25 years since Mariah Carey ‘s Christmas hit became an ultimate New York song, but just how big is it now?
Thanks to the charts at weekly.co.uk, we can tell you exactly how much it’s grown in the UK since then.
Here are just some of the statistics:
The British Singles Chart overall used to be split into two distinct tracks: a seasonal one on the first Tuesday of every December, followed by another one for the summer months.
That has now been scrapped in favour of a summer and winter one, meaning that we can see how Christmas’s love affair with the charts has grown with it.
Image copyright Getty Images Image caption Carey has sung We Belong Together at the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade – where she hit another record
The spending power of Christmas singles has risen from £2.2m to £4.6m in the UK since Christmas 1993.
Christmas Tree ranks second in the UK charts on Christmas 1992, and then number one on Christmas 1993.
How far it’s climbed to occupy the throne today? 44.
Image copyright BBC Image caption One of her biggest hits is All I Want For Christmas Is You
All I Want For Christmas Is You has climbed the British charts from 38 in 1993 to become number one in the British Singles Chart seven times.
The strong links between Christmas and Carey – who said that We Belong Together was named after the Tree of Life, hanging by a lone branch by the window of her studio in New York – can be seen on the British Singles Chart all the way back to 1991.
Image copyright PA Image caption Carey’s smash hit is getting smashed by other performers
All I Want For Christmas Is You is at Number 49 this year.
But the strangest peak of Carey’s Christmas chart climb is perhaps the biggest: number 1 on Christmas 1997.
Image copyright AFP Image caption Other performers sang We Belong Together, including Boyz II Men
It’s not clear who released the track, but it was the work of Boyz II Men.
But, in this strange scenario, Mariah Carey shared a Top 5 spot in the charts with Boyz II Men.
This year’s Christmas chart has yet to arrive. But in a few weeks it will be interesting to see whether we continue to see Carey at the top, or other pop singers with traditional roots competing with her.
Image copyright Getty Images Image caption Carey was just starting out when We Belong Together reached Number 1
There’s still a couple of weeks to go until the Christmas chart albums goes out, too.
But We Belong Together, We Just Want To Hear Christmas, It’ll Be All Right, All I Want For Christmas Is You, Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas, Merry Christmas, Kissing Santa Claus and the soundtrack to Miracle on 34th Street go up against One Direction, X Factor winner Matt Terry, Dermot O’Leary, tenor Andrea Bocelli, Steps, Lucy Spraggan, Rag ‘n’ Bone Man, Boyzone, Simply Red, Ellie Goulding, Robbie Williams, Ella Henderson, Little Mix, Adele, Jingle Bell Ball bookmakers and big names from the world of dance, radio and classical music.