The ultimate pop Christmas playlist

From Britney Spears to Sabrina Carpenter, we’re trading carols for choruses this year

When it comes to Christmas songs, we love the classics – by which we mean the modern classics, of course. Justin Bieber, Ariana Grande, and of course Mariah Carey – all have headed into the studio come the festive season to lay down tracks both cosy and ridiculously catchy. As the years have passed, the number of pop stars releasing infectious festive hits has only grown, and Christmas music has come to be defined equally by carols and chart hits. To get you in the festive spirit, here’s your ultimate Christmas pop playlist.

‘Santa Tell Me’ – Ariana Grande

Grande has had a few swings at a Christmas hit in her time, but ‘Santa Tell Me’ remains her strongest. The track sees the singer pleading with Santa to grant her Christmas wish and send her a love that lasts into the New Year, over an instrumental practically dripping with jingle bells. In true Grande fashion, her confessions of heartbreak are incredibly catchy.

‘A Nonsense Christmas’ – Sabrina Carpenter

Less than a month after dropping ‘Nonsense’ as a single, Carpenter had a holiday remix ready to go – one that somehow manages to take itself less seriously than the original track. Whilst ‘Nonsense’ sees the singer stumbling over her words and making awkward jokes, ‘A Nonsense Christmas’ is a confident stream of festive double-entendres – but probably not a great one to put on in the car for the kids.

‘Underneath The Tree’ – Kelly Clarkson

Taking inspiration from Phil Spector, the big-band pop of ‘Underneath The Tree’ is as infectious as any Christmas single could hope to be. Consistently voted one of the most popular Christmas songs of the 21st century, Clarkson’s festive hit sees the singer build a choir out of her own backing vocals, whilst she explains to her new lover that they’re really all she needs this Christmas after years of being alone.

‘Snowman’ – Sia

This mellow Christmas tune sees Sia pleading with her lover not to let his love for her melt away. She promises him that this Christmas, the two of them can run away from the harsh light of the sun and hide in the cold together – she’s not leaving his side. Although the track was released in 2017 as part of Sia’s Everyday Is Christmas album, it was in 2020 that the track soared in popularity after going viral on TikTok.

‘Christmas Tree Farm’ – Taylor Swift

Tired of the hectic Christmas season in the city, Swift dreams herself back home in this festive single. The track sees her looking back at a cosy, idyllic childhood growing up on a Christmas tree farm, watching local shoppers come to drink mulled cider and collect their firs. She’s homesick, but at least she’s able to find some comfort in the arms of her partner, who makes her feel just as safe and warm as those memories do.

‘Mistletoe’ – Justin Bieber

Bieber’s reggae-influenced Christmas track sees him shunning all the traditional Christmas activities to wait under the mistletoe for his lover. The lead single from Bieber’s Under the Mistletoe album, ‘Mistletoe’ offers a laidback, guitar-driven style of Christmas pop that landed well with listeners – the song peaked at No.11 on the Hot 100, becoming the third highest charting Christmas track in the chart’s history.

‘One More Sleep’ – Leona Lewis

Lewis’ Motown-tinged ‘One More Sleep’ embraces the way in which the Christmas season can bring out a childlike excitement in all of us, breaking down her anticipation for the big day into the number of sleeps to go. Of course, what she’s really excited for is the time she’s going to spend with her loved one.

‘Santa, Can’t You Hear Me’ – Kelly Clarkson, Ariana Grande

After each previously releasing successful Christmas singles, Clarkson and Grande joined forces in 2021 for ‘Santa, Can’t You Hear Me’, a plea to Old Nick to shelve all the Christmas cheer if he isn’t able to bring them what they really need: someone to love. The two vocal powerhouses debuted the song live on Clarkson’s televised holiday special Kelly Clarkson Presents: When Christmas Comes Around.

‘Last Christmas’ – Wham!

The original Christmas pop hit, Wham!’s ‘Last Christmas’ isn’t afraid to go downbeat, with a mellow synthpop vibe and a musing on how fast fortunes can turn. “Last Christmas I gave you my heart, but the very next day you gave it away,” sings George Michael, forlornly, before vowing to make better choices this time around. Forty years later, despite its melancholy tone, ‘Last Christmas’ remains one of the most popular Christmas singles of all time.

‘Buy Me Presents’ – Sabrina Carpenter

Characteristically tongue-in-cheek, this offering from Carpenter’s fruitcake EP sees the singer warning her new beau to treat her well, or she’ll… leave him for Father Christmas? It’s a big swing, but she sells it. “He’s a little bit older, got a bit of a dad bod,” she sings cheerfully, ad-libbing freely in the background and never shying away from a risqué lyric.

‘My Only Wish (This Year)’ – Britney Spears

In the long tradition of pop stars pleading to Santa to fix their love lives, Spears assures Santa that she’s been good this year – more than deserving of waking up on Christmas morning to find her lost love back under her tree. The teen pop track served as the lead single for the 2000 compilation album Platinum Christmas, which also featured TLC and the Backstreet Boys.

‘Santa’s Coming For Us’ – Sia

Despite the vaguely threatening overtones of the track’s title, the lead single on Sia’s Everyday is Christmas is about as pure a dose of holiday cheer as anyone could wish for. There are reindeers in the sky, stars on top of Christmas trees, and unlike many of the songs on this list, not a hint of conflict. This landed well with the general public – the track saw the singer top the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart for the very first time.

‘Together This Christmas’ – Maisie Peters

Peters knows that good things don’t last forever, but she at least wants an assurance that her and her lover can be together for the holidays this year. Commuting out of London and back to her home town, she spends the whole journey dreaming about the magical time they’ll have together. There’s also a nod to Wham!’s ‘Last Christmas’ – that’s exactly the kind of heartbreak that Peters is hoping to avoid.

‘All I Want For Christmas Is You’ – Mariah Carey

You can’t beat it. Three decades later Carey’s timeless Christmas pop song has entangled itself up completely in the holiday season to the point where it’s inescapable, but that’s okay – it’s a masterclass in Christmas pop. A little melancholy, a little hopeful and endlessly infectious, ‘All I Want For Christmas Is You’ comes out on top every time. Long may it reign.