Sorry Mariah, ‘Last Christmas’ Is The Best Christmas Song
The Christmas music radio rotation is always something to look forward to when the weather gets colder. You’ve probably seen the meme where Mariah Carey is defrosting in preparation for her song “All I Want For Christmas Is You” shooting up to be No. 1 on the Billboard 100 charts for the nth year in a row.
Indeed, Mariah’s hit is one of the most profitable songs in the world racking up over $1.8 million in 2022 alone, according to Billboard. Heck, even Brenda Lee’s “Rockin’ Around The Christmas Tree” broke records this year by becoming platinum and peaking at No. 1 65 years after its release. But, there’s a universal hopeless romantic essence to Wham!’s classic song that keeps it playing every single hour during the month of December.
Despite the jolly bells and bouncy synths and drum fills in the background, “Last Christmas” binds any type of yearning, heartbreak, revenge, and “Fuck it all!” type of feelings together. It’s a melancholic ballad that hits you straight away with the first line, “Last Christmas I gave you my heart / But the very next day you gave it away.” Does anyone expect heartbreak on Christmas? Or the day after Christmas, for that matter? For a holiday that is constantly marketed and steeped in joy and maybe the blues, heartache is the last thing on our minds.
The second part of the chorus tries to reel the singer back up into reality. What better way to show yourself than to take ownership of your pain and know that you deserve better: “This year to save me from tears / I’ll give it to someone special.” The first verse gives in to that doubt if the love is gone: “I keep my distance, but you still catch my eye.” Immediately, the repetitive chorus brings you back from the lull to that firmness of decision. Looping the same chords over and over again with a simple melody sounds redundant most of the time. But, the magic of George Michael’s clever lyricism and refined vocals makes relatability in all forms present, and all the bittersweet memories overflow like an avalanche from a failed romantic relationship.
There’s a reason there are countless types of covers of the track—whether it’s punk, R&B, folk, or jazz. The song is even capable of transcending language barriers too with several translations in Japanese, Greek, Russian, and more. It’s not something to take lightly, because if you just do that with any kind of song, even if it’s not a Christmas tune, it might not sound too right. But, if you listen to a random cover of “Last Christmas,” the song never excludes that heartwrenching sentimentality that feels ever-so familiar. Maybe it’s a pop song in its truest form.
The yearly tradition of Whamaggedon! stems from the track overplaying on radio stations. The rules are simple: Try to go for the longest time from December 1 to 25 without listening to “Last Christmas.” I ventured to do an Anti-Whamaggedon! where I challenged myself to listen to the original song as many times as possible during the holiday season (My record is 376 times.) What I gathered from the experience is that “Last Christmas” actually never gets tiring or old. It might be torture to listen to a breakup song over and over again, and it might be even more nonsensical for someone who hasn’t experienced true love or heartbreak before. Nonetheless, it evokes a specific type of longing for a romantic feeling that’s better and quite attainable.
Despite the jolly bells and bouncy synths and drum fills in the background, “Last Christmas” binds any type of yearning, heartbreak, revenge, and “Fuck it all!” type of feelings together.
Perhaps what weighs the song down even more is the poetic history of the track. Wham!’s Andrew Ridgeley recalled how Michael wrote it in his childhood bedroom one holiday within a couple of hours and both of them instantly recognized it as a hit; Ridgeley called listening to the song for the first time a “wonder.”
32 years later, on Christmas Day 2016 no less, George Michael was found unresponsive in his home and was pronounced dead that morning. His fans celebrated the legendary songwriter’s life profoundly that day. Since then, grief seems to break through the atmosphere of the song—but it still holds hope for a kind of optimism even if it’s for another kind of heartbreak.
I remember one Christmas night walking around the empty New York City streets during the height of the Omicron variant part of the COVID-19 pandemic. The air was crisp and eerie, and the night felt quite darker than it usually is. All I had in my ears was the generic Spotify Christmas playlist playing through all the usual carols and songs, and once I got past all of them, I realized that “Last Christmas” gives that undeniable comfort in times of loneliness. It speaks the same for the hundreds of thousands of people who have used the song as a sped-up TikTok sound year-round. Maybe there’s another song that can reach that level of ease, but maybe that’s a conversation for another holiday.
