The Christmas songs that get stuck in your head

All I want for Christmas is the secret alchemy for composing a Yuletide earworm and live off its royalties for life.

You know, like Will Freeman in Nick Hornby's 1998 novel "About a Boy" that was adapted for the big screen in 2002? British actor Hugh Grant played the worry-free protagonist living off the royalties of a Christmas hit single written by his late father.

Though that was fiction, it wasn't very far from fact.

Through widespread airplay annually at shopping malls, on the radio or on Spotify Christmas playlists, some Christmas earworms — despite being decades old — have repeatedly (re)entered charts and minted a pretty penny for their writers.

They often feature upbeat tinkly music, sleigh bells, lyrics sprinkled with "snow," "love," "Christmas" and "you."

Here are some hits that have gotten this mix magically right.

Mariah Carey: 'All I Want for Christmas is You'

Fact: Carey was initially reluctant to record a Christmas song.

Speaking on "The Bobby Bones Show" in 2021, she explained that it was at the start of her career and with only two albums behind her, she felt it was too soon. "Because growing up, it was like, most people did [a Christmas album] later on."

However, she went on to co-write the rousing "All I Want for Christmas is You," earning the title "Queen of Christmas."

A 2016 study by The Economist said Carey makes about €2.3 million ($2.5 million) per year for the song. So, if her 1994 hit continues to weave its magic this year, Carey is looking at total earnings of €67.2 million for this song alone.To date, it has been streamed more than 1.6 billion times on Spotify.

Wham!: 'Last Christmas'

Love it or hate it, Wham!'s 1984 hit "Last Christmas" has undeniably sealed its spot in the pantheon of Christmas earworms.

Yet the festive song by the late George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley only reached No. 1 on the UK Top 40 charts on January 1, 2021 — 36 years after it was first released. It then reached the top spot for a second time in 2022, and for a third at the very beginning of 2023. But it has yet to be No. 1 within Christmas week itself.

For the grinches who grumble at the song's saccharine sweetness, Wham! donated all its royalties to the Ethiopian famine relief fund.The Independent reported last year that the track's annual royalties are estimated at €350,000 per year. 

Irving Berlin: 'White Christmas'

An exception in this list is "White Christmas," penned by legendary songwriter Irving Berlin for the 1942 musical film "Holiday Inn." Unlike the usual Christmas songs, its melancholy and wistfulness struck a chord with listeners.

It got its world premiere on December 26, 1941, performed by legendary crooner Bing Crosby on his weekly NBC radio "The Kraft Music Hall." The version he subsequently recorded in 1942 is, according to Guinness World Records, the bestselling Christmas single of all time, having sold over 100 million records worldwide.

Paul McCartney: 'Wonderful Christmastime'

Released in 1979, "Wonderful Christmastime" was written, produced and performed solely by ex-Beatle Sir Paul McCartney, who also played all the instruments himself. Thus, he gets to keep all the song's royalties.

A 2010 Forbes report estimates that McCartney makes between €370,650 to €555,810 annually from royalties on "Wonderful Christmastime." Even when calculated at the lowest end of this range, McCartney would have made €15.9 million to date just from this Yuletide hit alone.

By the way, McCartney's total net worth, according to 2021 estimates, is €1.1 billion.

Slade: 'Merry Xmas Everybody'

Noddy Holder, lead singer of English rock band Slade, once said in a 2005 interview, it's "like winning the lottery every December 25 for the rest of your life." He was referring to the estimated €1.1 million in annual earnings from "Merry Xmas Everybody," which he co-wrote with band bassist Jim Lea in 1973.

Speaking to the BBC on December 9, 2023 to commemorate the song's 50th anniversary, he said the band was inspired to release a Christmas song after John Lennon and Yoko Ono's single "Happy Xmas (War Is Over)" was released in the UK in 1972. 

"I went to the local pub in Wolverhampton and went back to my mum and dad's after and I sat up all night with a bottle of whisky and wrote the total lyrics that night," the 77-year-old recalled about the song that was No. 1 in the UK charts in both 1973 and 1989.

Perhaps this abridged list of money-spinning earworms might serve as inspiration for those toying with the idea of penning a Christmas hit. Maybe, in line with 21st century realities, one co-written with a bot?

Edited by: Elizabeth Grenier