It’s well documented now that all-Christmas formats don’t readily welcome new songs into the Christmas canon. Even when you look at older titles, many successful stations are virtually static from year to year. But there are two new songs making inroads this year that have the advantage of being established titles, but not previously entrenched.
The top new holiday song on the Mainstream AC chart this year is “I’ve Got My Love to Keep Me Warm” by Pentatonix f/Frank Sinatra, currently No. 7. In doing so, the vocal group managed to pick a song already considered part of the Great American Holiday Songbook, but one without a definitive version getting significant holiday radio airplay. That combination of new/old also marked last year’s leading “new” song at this time, a just-released Dean Martin version of “It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas.”
The No. 10 song at Mainstream AC is LeAnn Rimes’ cover of “All I Want for Christmas Is You” by Vince Vance & the Valiants. Years before being eclipsed by Mariah Carey’s similarly titled song, the original had established itself as a secret weapon for AC and Country programmers and still sees significant airplay. It will be interesting to see if Rimes’ version manages to elevate the song overall in its Christmas future.
Each spring, Ross on Radio takes a much-anticipated look at What Classic Hits Radio Added each year, usually a measure of new songs that have finally become “oldies,” but also occasionally a place to spot nuggets that have resurfaced in pop culture. Last year, we began looking at What Holiday Radio Added as well. Three weeks into the holiday radio season, here’s what we found.
As was the case last year, there are certainly Christmas stations that consider the holiday hits to be a set thing. There aren’t any new songs yet receiving airplay at KRWM (Warm 106.9) Seattle or WMGQ (Magic 98.3) New Brunswick, N.J., including currents. Others, such as KOST Los Angeles, WVEZ (Mix 106.9) Louisville, Ky., and WTSS (The New 96.1) Buffalo, N.Y., have added a half-dozen or so currents, but nothing older. WHUD Hudson Valley, N.Y., added only currents, but played Pentatonix/Sinatra as a power last week, comparable to major established titles.
But there are some interesting additions:
KSFI (FM100) Salt Lake City added more than a half-dozen older titles this year, including:
- Steve Lawrence & Eydie Gorme, “Happy Holiday”
- Nat King Cole, “O Holy Night”
- Michael Bublé, “Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)”—also the only new title among the currents at WJKK (Mix 98.7) Jackson, Miss.
- Jackson 5, “Frosty the Snowman”
- Taylor Swift, “White Christmas”
- A-Strings, “Sleigh Ride”
- Whitney Houston, “Joy to the World”—the most spun of the new titles at 10x last week
- Sabrina Carpenter, “Santa Doesn’t Know You Like I Do”—in her second year as an established hitmaker, this got eight spins on FM100.
WLEV Allentown, Pa., acknowledged Carpenter by adding Lindsey Stirling’s “You’re a Mean One, Mr. Grinch,” featuring her guest vocals. That song began resurfacing last year.
KWAV Monterey, Calif., added Stirling’s version of “Joy to the World” and Ray Conniff’s “Santa Claus is Coming to Town,” as well as currents.
WXMA (102.3 the Rose) Louisville, Ky., added mostly new titles, but did add “Joy to the World” by both Stirling and Pentatonix. They also added Meghan Trainor’s version of “White Christmas” and have given a spin so far to Boney M’s “Mary’s Boy Child,” a regular part of the Canadian holiday library but less heard here.
CHFI Toronto, as successful in the format as any comparable station here, added the Teddy Swims version of “This Christmas” and has also spun his version of “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas.”
KOSI Denver’s holiday adds included titles both new (Jonas Brothers, “Coming Home for Christmas,” the third most-played current) and old: Anne Murray’s “Winter Wonderland” and Brett Eldridge’s “Holly Jolly Christmas.”
WBEB (B101) Philadelphia added mostly 2025 titles so far this year but did pick up the Johnny Mathis version of “The Christmas Song.”
WLIT (Lite 93.9) Chicago added mostly currents but is playing the original “My Favorite Things” by Julie Andrews, defying those who argue about its Christmas song eligibility every year. (They are not, however, throwing themselves into the controversy over Pentatonix’s cover of Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah,” which generates both requests and complaints for a handful of stations every year.)
In general, there’s not much difference between what Mainstream and Soft AC stations play at the holidays, in part because it’s hard for a Soft AC to be softer than a Mainstream outlet going back to Steve & Eydie. Last year, WDUV Tampa, Fla., had only one surprising add last year, Ariana Grande’s “Santa Tell Me.” This year’s adds lean heavily on 2K hitmakers, including:
- Britney Spears, “My Only Wish (This Year)”
- Jessie J, “Man with the Bag”
- Run-DMC, “Christmas in Hollis”
- Smashing Pumpkins, “Christmastime”
- Teddy Swims, “Silent Night”
- Sheryl Crow, “Blue Christmas”
- Kelly Clarkson & Ariana Grande, “Santa Can’t You Hear Me”
- Miley Cyrus, “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree”
- Ariana Grande, “Santa Baby”
- Demi Lovato, “I’ll Be Home for Christmas”
WQFM (92-Mix-FM) Wilkes-Barre, Pa., also switched from Classic Hits this year, but had played Christmas music in previous incarnations. That station is a showcase for veteran AC consultant Gary Berkowitz who this week published an article encouraging stations to hold the line on a tight list—no matter how many complaint calls that typically generates—and not go too contemporary.
WQFM has had the highest spins of Christmas stations thus far. It does include some relatively recent renditions of standards including Stirling’s “Carol of the Bells,” the Backstreet Boys’ “Last Christmas,” and Trainor’s “White Christmas.”
The songs new to the station this year include:
- Nat King Cole, “Frosty the Snowman”
- Kenny G, “We Wish You a Merry Christmas”
- Steve Lawrence & Eydie Gorme, “That Holiday Feeling”
- Bing Crosby, “Frosty the Snowman”—13x last week
- Bing Crosby, “Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow”
- Martina McBride, “Winter Wonderland”
Soft AC KPOI (The Wave) Honolulu didn’t add any titles so far this year, but I wanted to mention the two likely to be found only in that market: Henry Kapono’s “Merry Christmas to You” (17x last week) and Willie K’s version of “O Holy Night.”
Finally, Brad Fuhr’s KMEE Palm Springs, Calif., is an affiliate of the syndicated Soft Oldies Me-TV FM network. That format’s Chicago flagship has not gone up against WLIT, but KMEE has segued to holiday music. This year’s adds include:
- Amy Grant, “I’ll Be Home for Christmas”
- Kenny G, “White Christmas”
- Vince Vance & Valiants, “All I Want for Christmas Is You”
- Rod Stewart, “Baby It’s Cold Outside”
- Luther Vandross, “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas”
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