Mariah Carey’s ‘All I Want for Christmas Is You’ on course for UK No 1 spot, 28 years after its release

Festive pop tune topped the Billboard Hot 100 in the US for the first time last year

Mariah Carey’s festive hit “All I Want for Christmas Is You” is on course to finally reach No 1 in the UK charts, nearly three decades after its release.

The song, first released in 1994, had previously peaked at No 6 in the Official Charts Company’s UK Top 40.

In the build-up to Christmas 2019, the song topped the Billboard Hot 100 chart in the US for the first time, although it failed to do the same in the UK.

It has now reached the top spot on the rival music charts The Official Big Top 40, however, and it looks like it could be set to repeat the feat in the Official Charts Company’s rankings.

Yesterday (6 December), Carey’s song sat in first place in the Official Chart’s Company’s First Look, with Wham’s yuletide hit “Last Christmas” trailing in second. 

If things stay on track, Carey’s song is poised to officially claim No 1 when the charts are updated this Friday.

The chart surge is the result of a campaign by Carey’s fans to give the single its belated due.

After one of her fans, Jeffrey Ingold, was featured on Channel 5 promoting the campaign for “All I Want for Christmas Is You” to reach No 1, Carey responded to his posts on Twitter.

“Thank youuu Jeff!” she wrote. “Now we can only hope to make it happen.”

The song was adapted into a direct-to-video animated Christmas film in 2017, and is also known  for its use in the popular festive film Love Actually.