AT this time of year, you can barely go into a shop or turn on the radio without hearing the nation’s most beloved festive song, Last Christmas by Wham!.
But after two years as Christmas No1, the Eighties group have been dethroned in a surprise twist by Kylie Minogue, who was yesterday anointed the Queen of Christmas, thanks to her ridiculously catchy chart- topping festive single XMAS.
And it got to No1 despite not being on Spotify or Apple Music, and without fans being able to download it on iTunes.
Instead, it is an exclusive tune to Amazon — with the digital retail giant getting behind the pop veteran to propel her to the top of the charts.
The track, which leapt 15 places in a week to become the new No1, has been championed on playlists for streaming service Amazon Music.
That means anyone saying to their Alexa devices: “Alexa, play me a Christmas song” in the past week will have had Kylie’s XMAS blasted out as one of the top tracks.
In the current chart era, 100 streams are the equivalent of one traditional sale for new songs, and Amazon’s strategy has caused streams to soar.
However, since 2017, “Accelerated Chart Ratios” have been in place to give new music a better show in the charts, rather than well-loved classics from the past.
It means that if a song’s streams drop for three weeks in a row after ten weeks in the Top 100, ACR kicks in and 200 streams become the equivalent of one traditional sale.
That meant Wham! needed to receive double the number of streams as Kylie to stand a chance this week.
Couldn’t be happier
Alongside the boost Kylie received from Amazon Music, she also pipped Wham! to the post with physical sales and downloads.
In the end, she racked up total sales of 55,926, compared to 46,616 for Last Christmas.
That, along with the Amazon tie-in, which is a tried and tested formula, meant Kylie came up trumps.
Sam Ryder’s Amazon original song You’re Christmas To Me reached No2 in 2023, and Tom Grennan’s Amazon track It Can’t Be Christmas went to No3 last year.
Back in 2019, Ellie Goulding topped the charts the week after Christmas with a cover of Joni Mitchell’s River, using a similar strategy with Amazon.
Kylie got fans involved by creating a YMCA-style dance which went viral on TikTok and was shared by celebrities, helping it get plays on Radio 1 and 2, and other stations.
So as Kylie, 57, settles down for a quiet Christmas back in Melbourne, she will be doing so with a No1 single for the first time since Slow, way back in 2003.
It is the crowning achievement of an incredible resurgence — and puts her among the biggest pop acts of all time. And she couldn’t be happier.
The star said: “It’s hard to put into words how special this feels. Being Christmas No1 really is the most wonderful gift!
“I’m so thankful to everyone who’s been listening and sharing the love and I’m wishing you a very Merry Christmas!”
It makes Kylie the first woman to secure No1 singles in four different decades — the 1980s, 1990s, 2000s and 2020s. It is also the first time a woman has landed the Christmas No1 since X Factor winner Sam Bailey in 2013 with Skyscraper.
At the beginning of the week, Kylie had odds of 7/1. But by Wednesday, bookies were slashing them in her favour. The Aussie star also beat Mariah Carey’s All I Want For Christmas Is You, as well as charity single Lullaby.
Kylie hit the ground running to make the song a success, with a massive performance on Strictly Come Dancing which made her the star of the show.
She also sang at Capital’s Jingle Bell Ball, which aired on TV last weekend as the chart race kicked off, and appeared on The One Show and Radio 2.
One music insider said: “It’s unheard of for someone who is almost four decades into her career to be having this sort of success, but Kylie is an absolute pro.
“The public adore her and she puts in the hard graft to produce and promote her singles, which is something a lot of younger acts just aren’t prepared to do.
“Most older artists find it impossible to get into the singles charts these days, let alone score a No1.
“The last solo artist to do that who is older than her was Kate Bush with Running Up That Hill in 2022 — and that was first released in the Eighties.
“The tie-in with Amazon is a savvy move and it has paid dividends. Kylie is a music expert and is as ambitious as ever.”
The singer said of the reaction to her latest track: “It’s been amazing. Like with all songs, once they go out into the world, all you want is for them to have their own life.
“I saw that a whole village in Devon had made a video doing the XMAS dance together.
“It made me very emotional to see straight away that it has connected with people and that it means something to them. It’s amazing.”
Getting the Christmas chart-topper has been a long time coming for Kylie.
Her previous festive best came in 1998, when she went to No2 with her Jason Donovan collaboration Especially For You, while Cliff Richard clinched top spot with Mistletoe And Wine. Kylie now has eight No1 singles to her name, equalling Oasis and the Rolling Stones, and is the woman with the most No1 tunes behind only Madonna and Rihanna.
Reinvent herself
And it comes just a week after her festive collection, Kylie Christmas (Fully Wrapped), became her 11th No1 album.
It is the icing on the cake for the UK’s adopted national treasure, who found fame here after appearing in Aussie soap Neighbours — and has continued to reinvent herself and win over new audiences well into her fifties.
In 2025, she set out on her biggest world tour in 14 years, performing 66 shows across four continents. The Tension gigs have become the highest-grossing of Kylie’s career, banking more than £60million and including sold-out shows across North America.
And having played four nights at London’s O2 Arena, she became the first female solo artist to enter the venue’s “21 Club” — after headlining there 21 times.
There is more adoration than ever for Kylie after a difficult few years.
She is the highest-selling Australian artist of all time with sales of more than 80million records.
2014’s Kiss Me Once album saw her try to break America after she signed to Jay-Z’s Roc Nation management company.
Yet the album failed to ignite her career again, and despite highlights including a triumphant 2019 performance in the Glastonbury Legends slot, it was nine years before she returned to the Top 40 with 2023 earworm, Padam Padam.
Since then, she has been flying.
So, what’s next for Kylie? The singer has vowed to take some well-earned time off over the festive period but plans to get back in the studio in the new year to work on what will be her 18th studio album.
‘Music is my hobby’
On recording new music, she said: “I’ve been thinking about it, just quietly, in the background.
“With these guys who I am working with now, we always talk about, ‘Oh, remember this one we started and we didn’t get to finish it?’.
“I will have a micro-break over Christmas and come back to it. Making music is my hobby and it’s a happy place for me, so I will.” Talks have also started about another huge career-spanning tour in 2027, when she will be marking 40 years since she burst on to the music scene with debut No1 single, I Should Be So Lucky.
She added: “I’m so proud I’ve lasted the course and earned that box of experience, but I still want to keep adding to it.”
Despite having plenty to celebrate, the superstar will be having a low-key Christmas.
She told the BBC: “I’m heading home. I’m looking forward to spending time with my family and, you know, obsessing over a jigsaw while the cricket is on.
“That’s about the level I want to get to.”
You can’t say she hasn’t earned it. But we’d rather you didn’t mention the cricket, Kylie.
