Ariana Grande’s ‘Santa Tell Me’ & Kelly Clarkson’s ‘Underneath the Tree’ Hit the Hot 100’s Top 10 for the First Time

Two modern original holiday hits each dash merrily into the Billboard Hot 100’s top 10 for the first time: Ariana Grande’s “Santa Tell Me,” released in 2014 (14-9), and Kelly Clarkson’s “Underneath the Tree,” from 2013 (15-10). Both songs previously peaked at No. 11 last holiday season.

“Santa Tell Me” totaled 27.7 million official streams (up 17% week-over-week), 8.9 million in radio airplay audience (up 3%) and 1,000 sold (up 12%) in the U.S. Dec. 13-19, according to data tracker Luminate. “Underneath the Tree” rang up totals of 28.4 million streams (up 19%), 9.2 million in radio reach (up 16%) and 2,000 sold (down 1%).

(Despite higher raw streaming totals for “Underneath the Tree,” “Santa Tell Me” ranks higher on the Hot 100 and the Streaming Songs chart due to the application of weighting to all titles’ paid/subscription and ad-supported on-demand streams and programmed/radio streams.)

Grande notches her 22nd career Hot 100 top 10, and her third this year, following two No. 1s: “We Can’t Be Friends (Wait for Your Love)” in March, and “Yes, And?” in January. She first hit the top 10 with her debut entry, “The Way,” featuring Mac Miller (No. 9, June 2013).

Clarkson posts her 12th Hot 100 top 10 and first since “Piece by Piece” hit No. 8 in March 2016. The inaugural American Idol winner soared in with her debut coronation anthem “A Moment Like This,” which led for two weeks in October 2002.

Reflecting that contemporary traditions have a home during the holidays, “Santa Tell Me” becomes the most recently released seasonal song to reach the Hot 100’s top 10, while “Underneath the Tree” is the second-newest. Prior to this week, Kenny G boasted the most recently released holiday top 10: His take on “Auld Lang Syne,” released at the end of 1999, hit No. 7 in the Y2K holiday season. (A mix including news clips of noteworthy 20th century events added to the original instrumental’s reach.)

Mariah Carey’s 1994 carol “All I Want for Christmas Is You” – at the Hot 100’s highest bough for a 17th total week at No. 1 – is the only other holiday song from the ‘90s to have hit the top 10. New Kids on the Block’s “This One’s for the Children,” from 1989, is now the fifth most recently released holiday-themed top 10, having risen to No. 7 that Yuletide season.

The other seasonal songs that have reached the Hot 100’s top 10 were released between 1946 (Nat King Cole’s “The Christmas Song [Merry Christmas to You]”) and 1984 (Wham!’s “Last Christmas”). The bulk of holiday hits that have hit the top 10 have done so this decade, as streaming has grown and holiday music has become more prominent on streaming services’ playlists.

The Hot 100 blends all-genre U.S. streaming (official audio and official video), radio airplay and sales data, the lattermost metric reflecting purchases of physical singles and digital tracks from full-service digital music retailers; digital singles sales from direct-to-consumer (D2C) sites are excluded from chart calculations. All charts (dated Dec. 28, 2024) will update on Billboard.com Tuesday (Dec. 24). For all chart news, you can follow @billboard and @billboardcharts on both X, formerly known as Twitter and Instagram.