From Ed Sheeran to Sooty: the best (and worst) Christmas singles of 2024
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The festive season means chugging mulled wine, gobbling mince pies, and lining up the Christmas classics for shambolic bouts of office party karaoke. And for musicians it’s a chance to have a go at securing an elusive but incredibly lucrative cash-cow – a regular spot on the festive playlist, a rare place in the Christmas single history books, and a cheeky end of year bonus, for life.
Nail the brief and you could end up like Mariah Carey, who scoops an estimated £2.4 million every single year off the back of her smash hit All I Want For Christmas Is You. Swing and miss, and… well, let’s face it, nobody is going to remember by the time next year rolls around.
Alongside all of the usual suspects re-entering the charts for yet another lap around the Christmas tree, loads of artists are back with brand new festive tunes in a bid to join their colleagues. Here’s our take on all the top contenders... By now, Kelly Clarkson is a Christmas single veteran: her jangling 2013 song Underneath the Tree and 2022’s Ariana Grande duet Santa Can’t You Hear Me are firmly part of the winter canon, and now she’s back with this year’s You For Christmas (★★★★). Drawing plenty of inspiration from Motown and vintage Sixties pop, it’s a solid addition to her Yuletide oeuvre.
Ed Sheeran has form in this arena, too, previously linking up with Elton John for the chart topping Merry Christmas. Now, he’s back with his solo track Under the Tree (★★★) recorded for the soundtrack of Netflix’ new animated family film This Christmas. Going straight for the emotional jugular, the ‘moping around after getting dumped right before the holidays’ vibes are strong with this one lyrically, and Bridgerton’s Claudia Jessie co-stars in the music video.
