According to the site, All I Want for Christmas’ 20-year reign (can you believe it was released in 1994?) at the top of retail store playlists is over, as The Shins version of Paul McCartney’s Wonderful Christmastime has dethroned the pop diva. The list of top songs was calculated by PlayNetwork, which helps about 400 retail brands create playlists for their stores during the holidays that will inevitably have shoppers bopping (and hopefully buying) and salespeople cringing at yet another eight-hour shift full of holiday cheer on repeat.
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All I Want for Christmas Is You, which offers the popular combination of romance with something you can dance to, was released by Columbia Records in 1994 as the lead single from Carey’s Merry Christmas studio album. Several artists have since done covers of the tune, from Shania Twain to Fifth Harmony. And Carey most recently performed it live with Michael Buble on his 2015 Christmas special. Rolling Stone ranked the tune one of the top greatest rock and roll Christmas songs.
Interesting that a cover should replace the original Paul McCartney version of the new retail champ, but the Shins do bring a nice mix to the 1979 hit. Have a listen below.
Sung by the American indie rock band (which hail, we might add, from Digital Trends’ home base of Portland, Oregon), The Shins’ version of Wonderful Christmastime was recorded in 2012, so it’s interesting that it’s only now overtaking Carey. The Shins are perhaps best know for the tune New Slang, which was featured in the 2004 film Garden State. The band’s most recent hit was So Now What, which appeared on the 2014 soundtrack for Wish I Was Here.
Rounding out the top 10 songs that will be played (and have been playing) in stores this year: Christina Aguilera’s Christmas Time, Waitresses Christmas Wrapping, Jack Johnson (Someday at Christmas), Kelly Clarkson (Underneath the Tree), Michael Buble (A Holly Jolly Christmas), Bing Crosby (White Christmas), Train (What Christmas Means To Me), and Ella Fitzgerald’s Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas. It’s nice to see a mix of some of the classics as well as innovative new tunes on the list.
But one thing’s for sure: regardless of which songs make up the top tunes played at retail, chances are that, by the end of the season, all that retail workers will want for Christmas is a new playlist.
