Grande: Dia Dipasupil/FilmMagic Williams: Steve Jennings/WireImageIt’s the most wonderful time of the year when a pop superstar in her twenties can share space on the Billboard Hot 100 Top 10 with a guy who passed away in 2012 at the age of 84.
As Billboard notes, Ariana Grande‘s “thank u, next,” is topping the Hot 100 for a sixth week. It’s her first solo #1 hit. And in at #10, it’s the 1963 Christmas classic “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year,” by the late crooner Andy Williams.
This is Williams’ first top-10 hit since 1971, which means it’s been a record-breaking 47 years, eight months and three months since he last visited the upper reaches of the chart.
That breaks the previous record of 30 years, two months and one week held by the late Dobie Gray, when he and Uncle Kracker hit the top 10 in 2003 with a new version of Gray’s 1973 hit “Drift Away.”
“It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year” is now only the sixth Christmas song ever to reach the top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100. That’s because back in the day, many holiday hits weren’t eligible for that chart. Now, however, Billboard allows old songs to return to the Hot 100 if they score significant sales and streams.
Here are those six songs:
#1 peak, Dec. 22, 1958, “The Chipmunk Song,” by David Seville & The Chipmunks
#6, Dec. 22, 2018, “All I Want for Christmas Is You,” Mariah Carey
#7, Jan. 8, 2000, “Auld Lang Syne,” Kenny G
#7, Jan. 6, 1990, “This One’s for the Children,” New Kids on the Block
#9, Feb. 21, 1981, “Same Old Lang Syne,” Dan Fogelberg
#10, Dec. 29, 2018, “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year,” Andy Williams
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