‘Last Christmas’ Hits New No. 2 Hot 100 High: ‘George Michael Would Have Been Immensely Proud,’ Says Wham!’s Andrew Ridgeley
Wham!’s “Last Christmas” dashes four places to No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 dated Dec. 13, as the 1984 classic by the British duo of George Michael, who died in 2016, and Andrew Ridgeley hits a new high on the chart, surpassing its prior No. 3 peak.
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The carol, written and produced by Michael (and on Sony Music’s Columbia Records/Legacy Recordings), tallied 33.2 million streams (up 63%), 18.2 million in radio reach (up 14%) and 2,000 sold (up 76%) in the United States Nov. 28-Dec. 4, according to Luminate.
Wham! posts its highest Hot 100 rank in 40-and-a-half years, since “Everything She Wants” — the pair’s third of three leaders, among seven top 10s — was No. 2 on the June 8, 1985-dated chart, after three weeks at No. 1.
“I’m delighted to learn that Wham!’s perennial Christmas favorite, ‘Last Christmas,’ has secured the Billboard No. 2 spot this week,” Ridgeley marvels via email. “Since its release over 40 years ago, ‘Last Christmas’ has established itself worldwide as one of the most cherished Christmas classics, beloved by all generations. It’s an amazing testament to the special place the song occupies in so many hearts and one that George Michael would have been immensely proud of. Thank you, everyone who has embraced the song as a little piece of their own merry Christmas.”
Michael’s estate calls the song’s new Hot 100 best, as shared in a statement, “a testament to a brilliant song and timeless record that embodies the very sound of Christmas and continues to resonate with audiences, while captivating new listeners around the world. Thank you to everyone who keeps this song at the very heart of Christmas.”
To date, “Last Christmas” has drawn 3.8 billion in radio reach and 1.4 billion official on-demand streams and sold 1.1 million downloads in the U.S.
The song reached No. 1 on the Official UK Singles chart in 2021 at last, while its pop culture impact has extended to the 2019 film of the same name. In 2024, Netflix premiered the documentary WHAM!: Last Christmas Unwrapped, a chronicle of the song’s legacy via newly conducted interviews with Ridgeley and archival footage of Michael, after the platform released an all-encompassing documentary about the duo, WHAM!, in 2023.
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