When it comes to Christmas songs, no two people can agree on which is the best. While some listeners gravitate toward ballads like “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” and “Silent Night,” others love to jam out to more modern tracks. Enter: Wham!’s “Last Christmas.”
Released on December 3, 1984, by George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley, “Last Christmas” has become a certified holiday classic. In fact, as of Tuesday, November 11, the single has re-entered the Billboard Hot 100 at No. 43.
“Last Christmas” didn’t land on Billboard’s Hot 100 until January 2017, where it debuted at No. 50. The song’s peak position on the chart happened in December 2024 with a solid No. 3 spot.
“Last Christmas” is one of two X-Mas songs appearing on the music charts right now. Of course, the other is Mariah Carey’s “All I Want For Christmas Is You.”
No offense to Carey, but “Last Christmas” is arguably a more versatile song. Don’t believe us? A wide array of artists like Taylor Swift, Ariana Grande, Jimmy Eat World, Carly Rae Jepsen, and The xx have all covered it.
Speaking with People in a November 2023 interview, Andrew Ridgeley opened up about hearing “Last Christmas” for the first time.
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“The first time I ever heard it, it was absolutely knockout. It sounded for all the world like a Christmas classic,” Ridgeley, 62, recalled. “It’s Christmas distilled if you ask me. It’s the essence of Christmas.”
Ridgeley added, “And so, its enduring nature, its perennial nature isn’t really a surprise. But it’s a wonderful privilege to have had bestowed upon Wham!, to have one of the all-time Christmas classics — which I think it’s fair to say it probably is now.”
Wham! was formed in 1981 by Ridgeley and George Michael. During their time together, they released popular tracks like “Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go” and “Careless Whisper.”
They disbanded in 1986 after their farewell concert at Wembley Stadium. George Michael went on to have a hugely successful solo career before his untimely death in 2016 at age 53 from natural causes related to heart and liver disease.
