The #1 AC Song During Christmas Season 2005

[JCMF3]

In the past, when AC stations flipped the switch to all Christmas, some weird things have happened at the top of the chart.

In 2002, although "Cry" and "Can't Stop Loving You" were fighting out for #1 before December, Santana's "The Game of Love" rose to #1 in December 2002 and fell out after the break only to return nearly 5 months later to the top.

In 2003, although Shania Twain was riding high at the top of the chart before the Christmas break, matchbox twenty's "Unwell" was able to sneak in there for the 2 weeks in December before falling out after the break.

Of course, though, in 2004, Los Lonely Boys's Heaven maintained the #1 spot on the AC chart even with the Christmas music.

So, this year, with the approach of the all Christmas music season on AC, can Rob Thomas hold onto the #1 spot? Or will we see a "new" #1 for that season, only to see Rob return in January?

[allow that]

"Home" because it's the most Christmas-sounding non-seasonal song and I'm sure many corny DJ's can tie it in with going "home for the holidays."

[Mega248]

Rock-leaning songs usually tend to benefit during the holiday seasons, so I'm going with "You And Me".

[Hervard]

If it is "You And Me", I hope it holds off until the December 9 chart. That way, there will have only been four number one hits during the 2005 chart year, which I believe ends on December 2. That would beat the old record of five, set back in 2000.

The December 2 chart would be the final update for the Sunday after next. Since "You And Me, the only likely contender, is still about 200 spins behind the #2 song and only gaining 31 and "Home" is losing plays slowly and will likely gain a few spins during the switch, the chances of having no new number one songs before December 2 are pretty good. But who knows what'll happen with the Christmas switch?

[MinusName]

I would like to see Lifehouse take this, but as of right now they are cutting it pretty close, I don't know if they will make it in time before everything loses a bullet.

[Hervard]

I think that, if nothing else, Lifehouse will take the gold sometime after the new year.

Either way, I have a feeling that they'll be on the chart for the at least the first half of 2006. Not that I'm complaining, because it's a great song.

[Topay]

I think Rob will hold on, but it'll definitely be an interesting battle with Lifehouse.

I'm curious to see which Christmas song comes along and takes #1 on Billboard's AC chart.

[Arson]

Lifehouse can really have a chance. As Mega248 said, rock songs generally benefit as the softer ACs switch to All-Christmas, leaving the ones that play more pop-rock.

With that said, the increase may not be enough to top Rob Thomas or Michael Buble.

[Hervard]

Even though the spin difference between Lifehouse and Michael Buble is less than 200, the former has an increase of only 17 spins and the latter has an increase of 33. Rob Thomas continues to decrease in spins, but, if anything, Michael Buble could end up getting an extra week or two at the top, at least before the 2005 chart year ends. Lifehouse might end up passing Rob Thomas before then at the rate things are going (however, as we all know, rates can and usually do vary on the AC chart!)

[Libra]

jerseyboy said:

"Home" because it's the most Christmas-sounding non-seasonal song and I'm sure many corny DJ's can tie it in with going "home for the holidays."

I agree with Adam's assessment - this will be enough of a sure thing that no one else will beat him during the holidays.

About the only other thing I could see happening is for Michael and Rob to go back and forth (with "Lonely No More" serving as the uptempo that could provide listeners with a needed departure from the excess Christmas music).

[JCMF3]

Although not completely related to the #1 battle, but I noticed that despite the spin totals beginning to decrease for a number of songs, Jim Brickman and Wayne Brady's "Beautiful" has increased by over 200 spins, even on the all Christmas stations! Is there a Christmas version of the song? Could this song rise into the top 10 based on a Christmas remix (if there is one)?

[Topay]

If so, I think we got our #1 on Billboard (since BB doesn't cut out the all-Christmas stations from the panel).

[Marv]

The r&R/Mediabase chart year ends next Saturday at midnight (EST), and R&R's year-end issue will hit the streets two weeks later, on December 8th here in L A, dated December 9th.

[JCMF3]

marv said:

The r&R/Mediabase chart year ends next Saturday at midnight (EST), and R&R's year-end issue will hit the streets two weeks later, on December 8th here in L A, dated December 9th.

Uhhhh.. thanks, but what does that have to do with this topic?

[Hervard]

jcmf3 said:

marv said:

The r&R/Mediabase chart year ends next Saturday at midnight (EST), and R&R's year-end issue will hit the streets two weeks later, on December 8th here in L A, dated December 9th.

Uhhhh.. thanks, but what does that have to do with this topic?

I think he was referring to my post when I talked about the final chart of the 2005 chart year (my first post in this topic).

Currrently, here is how the top three stacks up:

Rob Thomas: 2036 spins. Spin loss: -269
Michael Buble: 1727 spins. Spin loss: -195
Lifehouse: 1673 spins. Spin loss: -58

So all three songs are currently losing spins, presumably due to many radio stations switching to Christmas music. I'm surprised that "Home" is losing as many spins as it is.
That said, it's hard to tell what song will be number one by December 2. Obviously, Rob Thomas already has number one in the bag for November 25, but the week after that, it could be a close race.

[Arson]

jcmf3 said:

I noticed that despite the spin totals beginning to decrease for a number of songs, Jim Brickman and Wayne Brady's "Beautiful" has increased by over 200 spins, even on the all Christmas stations!  Is there a Christmas version of the song?

Yes, there is a Christmas version of this song. It's on the Disney Princess Christmas album.

They probably made another minor change to the lyrics. Talk about going the extra mile with this song... first the All-4-One collaboration, then changing the name and adding the Cinderella references with Wayne Brady singing, and now, the very special Christmas version.

Jim Brickman did a Christmas version of "Your Love" with Michelle Wright as well.

[Hervard]

Wups!  The stats I posted were from the version of Mediabase that takes into account all stations monitored (or something like that), not the one that R&R uses.  Let's try again.

Rob Thomas: 1572 spins.  Spin loss: -217
Michael Buble: 1513 spins.  Spin loss: -82
Lifehouse: 1377 spins.  Spin loss: -77

As I recall, on the last update I saw, Michael Buble's spin loss was bigger than it is now, and Lifehouse was closer to overtaking him.  But now, looks like he might be getting more spins due to DJs tying it in with "home for the holidays".  Both songs just might be able to keep Lifehouse at bay until next Sunday night...

[Hervard]

Well, Lifehouse did not make it to number one by the final update. At that time, they had long since passed "Home" by Michael Buble (looks like Adam's theory of the song being tied in with going home for the holidays was wrong, unless they start playing it more in December as Christmas draws near) and were 59 spins away from Rob Thomas, exactly the same number they were on the Sunday afternoon update and ten more spins away than they were yesterday morning. They were getting close there for awhile, though. I think on one of Friday's updates, they were 35 spins away and the margin was getting much narrower with each update, so I was sure that they'd end up taking the gold before Sunday, but they did not, so during R&R's 2004 chart year, there were four number one songs, a record low (the old record was five back in 2000).
The question is, will "You And Me" catch "Lonely No More" for the December 9 chart?  AS unpredictable as the AC chart is, we'll find out no sooner (and no later) than a week from now.
As I said earlier, if the low spins due to the nonstop Christmas music on much of the reporting panel impede Lifehouse from getting to #1 before the end of the year, they'll most likely hit #1 after the New Year, and probably spend quite awhile on top.

[JCMF3]

Well, looks like Rob Thomas has won week #1 of the Christmas music "assault" on the AC chart. Rob spends this week @ #1.

Can he hold on next week? His biggest competition right now is Lifehouse, so we'll see...

[Hervard]

Well, Lifehouse seems to be getting further and further behind, so they just might have to wait until the Christmas sweep is over with. Then again, they were getting kind of close to Rob Thomas over the past week, so the same might happen this week too.

As I mentioned earlier, the AC chart is unpredictable as it is. During the Christmas season, it becomes even more so. Anyway, now that I know that Lifehouse did not hit number one for the last chart of the year, I'm not keeping tabs on it as much as I was over the past week, but I am curious as to how it will do over the next month. It could become an interesting battle as it was late last week.

[Arson]

Does R&R remove All-Christmas stations from the panel for the holiday season, or do they remain? I'm guessing they stay but I just want to make sure.

My other question is - are Christmas songs generally considered current only in their first year out? I know there have been some exceptions where Christmas songs have been re-released.

[Mega248]

gil said:

Does R&R remove All-Christmas stations from the panel for the holiday season, or do they remain?  I'm guessing they stay but I just want to make sure.

Yes, AC stations are removed from the panel as soon as they go all-Christmas.

gil said:

My other question is - are Christmas songs generally considered current only in their first year out?  I know there have been some exceptions where Christmas songs have been re-released.

They are considered current as long as the record company officially pushes the song. As a result, some Christmas songs are only "current" for 1 year, while others remain current for as many as 3 or 4. Newsong's "The Christmas Shoes" is a good example of the latter.

[Arson]

ehl said:

Yes, AC stations are removed from the panel as soon as they go all-Christmas.

Thanks for answering my questions. :)

So does this mean that any Christmas song that makes the R&R AC chart would be from stations that have NOT gone All-Christmas, but are just playing the occasional Christmas song?

Are All-Christmas stations removed from the Mediabase link for AC - R&R Panel?  Or does R&R do this manually?

[JCMF3]

Another interesting point I just noticed:

Kimberley Locke's "I Could" has fallen below #15 in midweek, and if it stays there till Sunday, it will be removed to recurrent. Undoubtedly, the removal of certain stations has contributed to this song's quick drop. So, what's so interesting about that? Well, last year, "Eighth World Wonder" was also a victim of the same fate! It was hovering in the low teens, and as soon as the Christmas season happened, the song fell below #15 and was moved to recurrent! Coincidence?

[bks]

jcmf3 said:

Another interesting point I just noticed:

Kimberley Locke's "I Could" has fallen below #15 in midweek, and if it stays there till Sunday, it will be removed to recurrent.  Undoubtedly, the removal of certain stations has contributed to this song's quick drop.  So, what's so interesting about that?  Well, last year, "Eighth World Wonder" was also a victim of the same fate!  It was hovering in the low teens, and as soon as the Christmas season happened, the song fell below #15 and was moved to recurrent!  Coincidence?

Don't feel too bad for Kimberley -- she jumped from No. 31 to No. 5 on Billboard' AC chart this week and hit No. 1 on R&R's Holiday Top 30 w/ "Up On The Housetop".

At this rate, she could top Billboard's AC chart as early as this Sunday.

[JCMF3]

bks said:

Don't feel too bad for Kimberley -- she jumped from No. 31 to No. 5 on Billboard' AC chart this week and hit No. 1 on R&R's Holiday Top 30 w/ "Up On The Housetop".

At this rate, she could top Billboard's AC chart as early as this Sunday.

Where is this R&R Holiday Chart?

[bks]

BILLBOARD - CHARTBEAT
December 01, 2005, 9:40 AM ET
Fred Bronson

'UP' RIGHT DIRECTION FOR 'HOUSETOP': A song written in the 1860s sets a record this week for the biggest leap into the top 5 of Billboard's Adult Contemporary chart. Kimberley Locke's version of "Up on the Housetop" (Curb) zooms 31-5 as AC stations turn to holiday fare.

The three biggest moves into the top 5 until this week included two holiday recordings. Bob Carlisle's "Butterfly Kisses" jumped 21-3 the week of May 17, 1997; Josh Groban's "O Holy Night" rocketed 16-5 the week of Dec. 21, 2002; and Rod Stewart and Dolly Parton's "Baby, It's Cold Outside" bounded 23-4 the week of Dec. 18, 2004. Like Locke's "Housetop," those three songs all moved into the top five in their second week on the AC survey.

"Up on the Housetop," written by Benjamin Handy in 1864 and published under the title "Santa Claus" in October 1866, was popularized by Gene Autry in 1953 and remade by the Jackson 5 in 1970. The song has also been recorded by the Chipmunks, Eddy Arnold, Conway Twitty, Jimmy Buffett and Reba McEntire.

"Housetop" is Locke's fifth entry on this tally. She first appeared on the chart two years ago this week, debuting at No. 22 with "Silver Bells," recorded as a duet with her then-roommate, fellow "American Idol" finalist Clay Aiken. That song peaked at No. 16.

Locke made her solo AC debut with "8th World Wonder," which peaked at No. 6 the week of Oct. 23, 2004. Her next chart entry, "I Could," peaked at No. 8 in September. That makes "Housetop" her biggest hit to date. It could become even bigger, as it is the song most likely to be No. 1 next week.

[EvanJ]

jcmf3 said:

Where is this R&R Holiday Chart?

www.radioandrecords.com/Formats/AC.asp has a drop down "View Stations" menu and you can get a list of AC Holiday stations there. The list includes both regular AC stations and year-round Christian AC stations:
KBIQ-FM - Colorado Springs, CO
KCMS-FM - Seattle-Tacoma, WA
KESZ-FM - Phoenix, AZ
KFIS-FM - Portland, OR
KFSH-FM - Los Angeles, CA
KGFM-FM - Bakersfield, CA
KLTY-FM - Dallas-Ft. Worth, TX
KMSX-FM - Little Rock, AR
KOSI-FM - Denver-Boulder, CO
KOST-FM - Los Angeles, CA
KQXT-FM - San Antonio, TX
KRNO-FM - Reno, NV
KRWM-FM - Seattle-Tacoma, WA
KSFI-FM - Salt Lake City, UT
KSRC-FM - Kansas City, MO
KUDL-FM - Kansas City, MO
KVIL-FM - Dallas-Ft. Worth, TX
WARM-FM - York, PA
WASH-FM - Washington, DC
WBBQ-FM - Augusta, GA
WEZF-FM - Burlington-Plattsburgh, VT-NY
WFFI-FM - Nashville, TN
WFHM-FM - Cleveland, OH
WFZH-FM - Milwaukee-Racine, WI
WLIT-FM - Chicago, IL
WLQT-FM - Dayton, OH
WLTJ-FM - Pittsburgh, PA
WLTW-FM - New York, NY
WMAG-FM - Greensboro-Winston Salem-High Point, NC
WMGV-FM - Greenville-New Bern-Jacksonville, NC
WMJY-FM - Biloxi-Gulfport-Pascagoula, MS
WMXL-FM - Lexington-Fayette, KY
WMYI-FM - Greenville-Spartanburg, SC
WMYX-FM - Milwaukee-Racine, WI
WNIC-FM - Detroit, MI
WOOD-FM - Grand Rapids, MI
WRVF-FM - Toledo, OH
WRVR-FM - Memphis, TN
WSNE-FM - Providence-Warwick-Pawtucket, RI
WSNY-FM - Columbus, OH
WSPA-FM - Greenville-Spartanburg, SC
WSRS-FM - Worcester, MA
WSUY-FM - Charleston, SC
WTSS-FM - Buffalo-Niagara Falls, NY
WVMX-FM - Cincinnati, OH
WWLI-FM - Providence-Warwick-Pawtucket, RI
WYYY-FM - Syracuse, NY
Unfortunately I haven't found the AC Holiday chart.

[jdanton2]

mediabase has 2 ac lists .one of them has more christmas songs than the other ,Kimberly Locke is #1 on one of them . not sure if the Jim Brickman song is a christmas one but its gaining fast .


www.mmr247.com/mmrweb/AllAccess/Charts.asp?format=a1M



LW: Nov 18 - Nov 24 TW: Nov 25 - Dec 1 Updated: Fri Dec 2 3:39 AM PST

Rank Mediabase Sortable Stats™ - Click any Blue Header Spins Aud.
/mill
lw TW   Artist Title TW lw Move
17 1  KIMBERLEY LOCKE Up On The Housetop 864 479 385 7.097

15 3  JIM BRICKMAN W/WAYNE BRADY Beautiful 599 589 10 2.520

24 6  VANESSA WILLIAMS Silver And Gold 487 220 267 5.744

25 8  JAMES TAYLOR Deck The Halls 458 214 244 7.086
r 9  MERCYME O Holy Night 441 135 306 3.484

28 14  ROD STEWART Baby, It's Cold Outs... 398 197 201 6.877

43 18  LEANN RIMES Rockin' Around The C... 320 120 200 7.264
31 19  CLAY AIKEN Mary, Did You Know 315 172 143 2.667
48 20  CLAY AIKEN O Holy Night 304 91 213 2.047




www.mmr247.com/mmrweb/AllAccess/Charts.asp?format=A1R&showtopn=500




19 4 KIMBERLEY LOCKE Up On The Housetop 403 309 94 2.458

16 7 JIM BRICKMAN W/WAYNE BRADY Beautiful 395 509 -114 1.540

30 14 VANESSA WILLIAMS Silver And Gold 279 156 123 2.106

35 19 JAMES TAYLOR Deck The Halls 232 139 93 2.371
31 20 ROD STEWART Baby, It's Cold Outs... 215 153 62 2.084

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[BillboardBoy]

I think Rob will hold the top spot, but Kimberely Locke could hit #1 with "Up on the Housetop."