"All I want for Christmas is you": Christmas Cracker or Festive Flop?

“All I want for Christmas is you” by Mariah Carey is often hailed as being THE Christmas song. As soon as November rolls into December, this song is played on Radio Stations around the globe and has charted during the holiday season every year since its release in 1994. However, it only finally achieved No.1 status in the US charts this week after a social media campaign propelled it up the rankings. But what do you think? Is this your ultimate Christmas go-to jam or does it make you want to rip your own ears off with its festive feast of fuzzy Christmas feelings? We asked the people at Loop what they thought...

‘All I want for christmas is you’ is a modern classic. One of the most streamed christmas songs of the decade- but despite its vocal impressiveness, the song written by carey in 1994 has taken 25 years to reach number 1. She has significantly benefited from the streaming of Spotify and Apple music, with its plays more than doubling over the christmas period. But could the reason it took so long to get to number one be because it potentially isn't the best? Some iconic christmas songs will never get old, unlike the repetitive manner of Mariah's music. The morals and meanings behind the song is about a relationship and love, only being happy at christmas when you’re with the person you love: she ‘doesn't want presents underneath the tree’ after all. But what about songs with a much deeper meaning? - ‘Happy Xmas (War is over)’ as an example. This single written by John Lennon celebrates the start of a new era and the happy nostalgia that comes with it is unbeatable. What about BandAid, ‘do they know it's christmas?’- all these songs have a much more emotional or meaningful story behind it than just ‘all I want for christmas is you’.

It is known that ‘All I want for Christmas is you’ is a modern classic of a Christmas song and has been one of the most streamed Christmas songs of the decade. Although, in the past 25 years it has not reached the number one spot despite its substantial vocals and overall nostalgic feel. Does this mean All I want for christmas for you is becoming less popular?

In my opinion there are superior classics like ‘Last Christmas’ and ‘Silent Night’ which never get old as they are just as (or even more) emotive, deeper and exciting which hold much more of a Christmas feeling.

I don't think we can deny that ‘All I want for Christmas is you’ is definitely one of the most iconic Christmas songs ever released. However, whether it is the best Christmas song is another question entirely, and in my opinion there are more superior songs such as ‘Last Christmas’ and ‘Do they know it’s Christmas’ by Band Aid. This is because I think it is important to focus on the entire festive season which is something I think that Band Aid does really well.

It is clear that many people see ‘All I want for christmas’ as a classic Christmas song to this day, shown by it finally reaching the number 1 spot 25 years after its release. But is it “THE Christmas song”?: in the end this is down to opinion. There are many great christmas songs such as Last Christmas by Wham!, Fairytale of New York by The Pogues, Do They Know It's Christmas? By Band Aid and many more.

‘All I want for christmas is you’ is a modern classic. One of the most streamed christmas songs of the decade - but despite its vocal impressiveness, the song written by carey in 1994 has taken 25 years to reach number 1. In my opinion, my favourite is silent night because it is very calming and an absolute classic and really symbolises how christmas is for the family and everyone to enjoy with everyone.

‘All I Want For Christmas’ is the most popular christmas song around as it re-enters the charts every year around christmas time. In my opinion, it is not the all time best christmas song.

While most people believe that ‘All I Want for Christmas’ is the most popular Christmas song, I would have to disagree. Yes, it’s recurrence on radio and on the charts every Christmas is evident, but this isn’t necessarily down to the song being good. Perhaps this is down to the fact that people like the idea of having those songs every year, like a comfort blanket. Personally, Christmas songs don’t interest me and never have done, but I can see why most people do. If I had to name the best one though, it definitely wouldn’t be ‘All I Want for Christmas’, it’s too repetitive and to be completely honest, it’s just annoying.